David Sirota Gets it

David Sirota Gets its right Go read the whole article its worth finding out what is happening to American Democracy. And what I can see here in London, not just America: Chicago Sun-Times - 5/7/06 There’s a lot of talk these days about political “polarization,” “red and blue” America, and increased partisanship. It makes for a good storyline, for sure. But it hides a very simple truth: American politics is not polarized and it is not driven by partisanship - it is governed by a very tightly-knit, bipartisan consensus that makes sure every policy debate ends with one or another outcome that benefits the Big Money interests that bankroll political campaigns. We hear politicians tell us all the time that we live “in the greatest democracy on earth.” That implies that our government truly represents the people - yet, strangely, we see policy after policy legislated in the people’s name that serves only to enrich the already rich, and empower the already powerful. How is this possible? Because our political system is not a democracy - it is legalized bribery. Money is given to politicians for their campaigns, and those politicians return the favor through public policies once in office. And over the last thirty years, Big Money interests have used that system of legalized bribery to perform a hostile takeover of our government. ….To be sure, none of this is said out in the open. We are constantly force fed a diet of pre-packaged soundbites from politicians and pundits crafted to make us believe that public policies and the politicians who push them are working for ordinary citizens - even when they clearly are not. Illinois’ provides us with two textbook example of how this hostile takeover operates. The first comes from Chicago Congressman Rahm Emanuel. Coming off a four-year stint cashing in his Clinton White House experience to make millions as an investment banker, Emanuel penned a 2003 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal saying he wanted to mount “an aggressive attack on the tax code” and its most unfair provisions, and that “should start with corporate expatriates.” He claimed he was appalled that “some corporations are actually rewarded with federal contracts while they move their corporate headquarters to Bermuda.” But that bait was soon met with a big switch. When fellow Democratic Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT) courageously sponsored legislation to stop government contracts from going to corporate tax cheats that abuse offshore tax havens to avoid their tax obligation, Emanuel, who is the chief fundraiser for Democrats’ reelection campaign committee, voted with Big Money interests and against the bill, helping send it down to defeat. …But the more virulent and widespread form of corruption is what was just described: the corruption that happens every day, whereby politicians of both parties feed the public well-packaged rhetoric, and then push policies that harm ordinary citizens. This is the corruption that few ever talk about because it is so mundane. It is corruption that allows energy legislation to be written by oil companies, Medicare legislation to be written by pharmaceutical companies, and bankruptcy legislation to be written by credit card companies - all while politicians claim they are really acting in the people’s interest, all while pundits and political operatives on both sides of the aisle nod approvingly. …Then again, we have to remember that the people who control Washington today are products of the hostile takeover. They have risen to power through the corrupt system, and they rely on that corrupt system to stay in power. But America is clearly reaching a breaking point. Public opinion polls show that citizens are sick and tired of public policies that drive down wages, permit health care price gouging, destabilize pensions, unfairly tilt taxes and generally encourage an economic race to the bottom in what is supposed to be the wealthiest country on earth. Those polls show that citizens believe both parties are corrupt, and that America is desperate for a change.