President Palin...brought to you by Chevron

[babylonsister]

:scared:

http://open.salon.com/blog/adam_stalker/2010/01/21/president_palinbrought_to_you_by_chevron

President Palin...brought to you by Chevron


There is a bigger headline today than anything about the Massachusetts Senate race or the death of healthcare reform. The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling today overturning a long history of prohibiting corporate America from directly participating in political campaigns. This bastardization of the democratic process will have untold repercussions, although if you’ve seen Idiocracy, you might have a notion of things to come.

According to Mike Judge’s 2006 film, America’s future is bleak. In a mere 500 years, society turns into a dystopia of commercialism and capitalism thanks to the disintegration of intelligent thought and the mounting national debt forcing the Federal government to take sponsorship of its agencies from corporate America. Brawndo, a fictitious Gatorade-like corporation, takes over the F.D.A. and F.C.C., replaces water with their electrolyte laden sports drink, agriculture dies and hilarity ensues.

Well, we might not have to wait 500 years. Today’s Supreme Court ruling reverses 63 years of decisions precluding corporate participation in the campaign process and throws out the seminal McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act. Politicians, if not already, are for sale to the highest bidder. While this ruling allows unions to contribute to political campaigns, it will surely benefit Republicans far more than Democrats who typically have far fewer ties to corporations. Apparently the lobbying process wasn’t enough for this conservative Supreme Court.

Whether you believe corporations are devils or angels, there is no disputing that corporations are for-profit organizations. Why would a corporation sponsor a political candidate for any purpose other than to improve their profit margin? Doesn’t this sound directly at odds with the role government, particularly the Legislative branch, is supposed to play in protecting us? What prevents Wall Street banks and investment firms from helping elect legislators or a President that will remove all regulation from the financial sector? Or large manufacturers and energy producers from electing those that will reduce or eliminate pollution regulation, or possibly pull the plug on the EPA entirely?

If you haven’t seen Idiocracy yet, add it to your Netflix queue. I think you’ll find it uncomfortably funny. Let’s hope Mike Judge is less Nostradamus and more Beavis & Butthead.

I guess we can look forward to politicians wearing suits that look like something out of NASCAR.

[lazer47]

1. If this decision is allowed to stand, what else do you think

that the powers to be will go after next?,,, already the SCOTUS has picked a president, have taken away Habeas Corpus, given Corporations unlimited status, next what will it be? Perhaps the 2nd amendment? A disarmed public become fodder to the whims of big money,,,,,,,