Big Energy Loves U.S. Supreme Court Decision "Citizens United"
Duke Brooks writes on Independent Vermont senator Citizens United opponent Bernie Sanders as follows:
Sanders is, of course, not an independent. He is, IN FACT, a self-described socialist…. The opposition to Citizens United (granting corporations the right to spend as much as they choose, in order to influence our elections) comes NOT from the faux “moral outrage” feigned by the Green Mountain socialist and his friends, but rather from a leftist opposition to capitalism in general. Their hatred is focused on companies, which are institutions that have been the victims of marx, lenin, engels, stalin, mao, castro and Sanders for generations.
Duke: I can’t say you’re absolutely wrong; obviously there are people who oppose capitalism in general. But you’re clearly wrong that there are no capitalists who oppose Citizens United on moral grounds. The reason I’m so confident in this is that I’m one of them.
All the ad hominem attacks in the world will not nullify the core truth here:
There are corporations operating in the fossil fuels industry that are spending a fortune to manipulate voters and our elected leaders with respect to environmental issues. Their motive: minimizing regulation that would cut into their profits, even at the expense of the health and safety of you and me, and all other living things on the planet – now and into the future.
That’s morally wrong.
Here we have people who aspire to double their net worth, which numbers are currently measured in the tens of billions of dollars, and who recognize that their business activities are promoting lung disease, climate change, terrorism, ocean acidification, and plummeting biodiversity, while creating shortages of food and water. Yet, on a day-to-day basis, they’re using their fortunes to buy favorable treatment from Congress and hire public relations firms to obscure the truth about the effects of fossil fuels.
That’s evil. Sorry to be so blunt, but it’s hard to find another word for it.
This kind of game is far less often played in Europe, and big energy companies in European markets are often among the biggest investors in renewable energy.
Regarding the USA, I have doubts as to whether the country is in fact an effective democracy.
The ideal is government of the people by the people for the people.
What I have heard of US politics shows that the real picture is more like the following.
Government of the people by one of two parties who’s candidates are largely funded by and who’s candidacy depends on the financial support of big business and wealthy individuals, and who as a result are disposed to act in ways favourable to the interests of big business and wealthy individuals. This duopoly prevents any third candidate without vast personal wealth from election to national office, and suppresses open discussion from considering all options at the highest levels.
We’ve been through this sort of thing before and got out of it. History tends to repeat itself, though usually not exactly in the same way, and that is what is happening now as I have previously pointed out.
During the Gilded Age, wealthy business tycoons exercised undo influence over the government in ways which were more blatant than spending hugely on political messages. They actually went to legislative bodies with suite cases full of money and directly bribed representatives, both on the state level and the federal level. Some legislators and judges actually received tens of thousands of dollars in bribes. In addition to bribing politicians and judges, businesses tycoons influenced newspapers to print favorable articles. That was even worse than spending money on political advertising because many people assumed that the slanted news articles were trustworthy. Eventually the public became fed up and those egregious practices were largely curtailed.
It’s impossible to predict exactly how this debacle will end. However, I don’t doubt that the public will eventually become fed up, just as it did during the Gilded Age, and that effective action will result. Of course we must continue to call the attention of the public to the problem.
Frank,
The problem with your comment is that you are thinking in too short a scale. Democracies or Republics, governments built around the wishes of the majority are short lived in the long view. Oligarchies have ruled over much longer periods of human history. The fact is that in our short history here in the US we have seen several cycles of the growth of power among elites is perhaps proof that our democracy is and always will be under attack by forces seeking to consolidate power. One might even say it is just human nature. We must cherish and support the Bernie Sanders of our nation that seek to remind us of the dangers our system of government faces and always will face.
Chris, perhaps I am thinking in too short a scale, but not necessarily.
For most of history, communication was not nearly so good as it is now and people were less well educated. The ordinary citizen now has more opportunities than ever before to make his voice heard.
No doubt wealthy elites are just as determined as ever before to exert their influence and attack democratic governments, but we now have more tools to limit their power to do so. How long it will take to limit their power will depend on how long it takes the people to awaken.
It would greatly help of our schools had better civics and history classes.
I hope that you are correct! However it appears that the public is being lulled to sleep. Public education is under attack. Massive spending on public relations campaigns designed to obfuscate the consolidation of power and cloak it in the best interest of the whole is being allowed with rulings such as Citizen United.
We are facing a Bastille Day of our own when the people awake. Will we have a future as portrayed in Hunger Games or will we recreate our Republic? either way there appears to be pain and anguish ahead.
Thank you, Craig Shields, for your excellent rebuttal. Some of the most feverent capitalists (those whom I refer to as “true capitalists”) are indeed philosphically opposed to the privileges that many corporate entities have wielded since the beginning . . . No “real” or “true” capitalist would ever argue for the granting of special subsidies – regardless of the form it takes, such as tax breaks, land grants, mining concessions, environmental exemptions etc. etc. – unless it could be proven that it was restitution for a previous wrong(s) that had been dealt a specific company in the past (and even then, the special grant or whatever would have to be clearly labeled as a specific restitution).
Of course, these days this is hard to argue in a categorical way because this has been going on for so long and it has become so layered and complicated. What has always happened is that the original “pure capitalist” message has been distorted in such a way as to argue against subsidies for new industries (like solar, wind, methane from poop etc., or the poor and persecuted etc.) – but to keep (even increase) those long-standing privileges to the already immensely wealthy and powerful established parties (petroleum, nuclear, coal etc.).
In summation then, the reality is that these so called “anti socialists” such as Duke Brooks are really arguing for is “Welare for the Rich – and no welfare for everyone else.” They always have (& sometimes very cleverly) – and they are the ones who have always given capitalism a bad name. A good comparison would be – if one wanted to put them in an historical context – the corrupt leaders of “communist” countries like Lenin, Stalin, Breznev, Mao, Ceausescu etc. who often gave Marx (and socialism/communism) a very bad name – one that to some degree good people still have to endure today.
To compare Bernie Sanders to the USSR kind of “socialist” would be like equating Ron Paul to G. W. Bush. Absurd.
Bernie Sanders? Talk about idiots with a puppet cause. i was a native vemonter and have watched my home stare bite the dust of socialism since i eleted to leave it back in the 70’s. I am in maine and am watching the bottom being sucked out of it like Vermont.
Political hog-wash was the very same thing I faced in the 60’s growing up in the wake of that seedy West-Morland who wanted “body count”. Pathetic are we for aggreeing, allowing, being apart of this scham. St. Albans and Burlington were once proud indicaters of the nations forsight and persivered change….Once a home of ideals, dreams and inspirations. Ethen Alen, the citizens march on British subjugation. Now Vermont is a down trodden puppet state whos main source of hive dignity is persomal capitol indignity. Living off the misuery of its people. Maine is a close second in an Imperial cult state. Vermont and Maine, the peoples fear, want a legislate fear away and they think laws will do it. Sorry, its a trap. Money paid for false redemption for not being aboe to see the light of not caaring for individual rights. Its a police state all the way. Achedemic gods beware. The whos-who, unless certified to eye-con divergent training and mind-trained to fpr a perfect endemic hypocricy begs of us all, no forgiveness. Blame taught and its indignation is our god. It pays well. We Guard our Hearts and Sabotage is personal, while our bio-Genesis brain looks on in utter discuse,for being apart of it. Wake up WEE, the people!
To say it kinder would be a blatient guileless act.
If we are going to make the police gods [thy tell the only truth they are taught] then the lawyers [taqught to comply ther-with] are nothing more than social prostitues. Our contract with heaven and Hell are comiong to an end. This will not be changed to that and that will not be changed to this. Gospel of Thomas, by the way.
“Blacks law”..the truth will be used against you. The bible says…”the truth will set you free. Error. For it not not the truth we seek but advantage. But a word called INTENT. supples all of us with a perfect blame loop. We feed from it. The snake eating its own tail. If we are the head, we just eat. If we are the people of tail, called freedom, can we feel the weight of the hungry head. The entire evil of this world is centered on those who live by that icon-crdo: INTENT; the ends justify the means. The great con of man.
Not any more folks. The avitars are awaked. Say what? Stop agreeing and watch the look on peoples faces as who they are not fit the original people who agreed to be who they were for advantage….by…INTENT alone, no less. Then we legalized it. Sorry products of a failed binary legal system are WEE the people.
N0 individual rights allowed. Do we get it? No group can free us. No mono-asphasic binary agreement, the con of the memeory eye, the great sense offence as we pretend [the bases of all binary pretense, the progenitor of all pretext] but certainly our way to no-where, fast. No symbols icon agreement processing of humanity can free any one, not now or not ever. Fact. A fact on a Biolgical. Epigenetic and the Metaphysical level, what most say is the SOUL.. Use it, feel it or die with it. USE IT or lose it. Bang …bang…your dead. James Beyor
jpbeyor; your retoric and name calling reflects personal threat and extreme foolishness at best. then you retreat into cliches and negative literal bible thumping. Your invective rhetoric makes absolutely no sense. Please get help. We didn’t start the fire you are feeding..
The idea that you have to be an elitist, anti-capitalist drone to dislike our elections being bought by extremists is specious at best.
I’m a capitalist. I have benefited from our capitalist way of life – but I refuse to do so at the expense of my liberty or my fellow citizens. If our “leaders'” votes can be purchased by greedy interests rather than benefiting the majority (greatest good for greatest number – remember?), then the elitists are those denying the rest of us our rights as citizens. These critics have it backwards, and will share the polluted air and water with the rest of us.
Craig,
Who is Duke Brooks and why are you publishing his personal attack on Bernie Sanders, who happens to be one of the only politicians left who is actually fighting for the 99% of middle class and working class Americans? He sounds like just another Tea Party wing nut, and we already have too many of those.
Clyde Etchason,
Bottom Line………………….
We need a law that all elections are funded by the tax payer and the rest of the law should be etc. constructed by a think tank of the original 12 attributes……..
Sincerely Roadway