Bill Ayers speaks out! An In These Times exclusive.

$200 Million Pyramid Scheme

By Craig Aaron

The language and logic of Wall Street have so infected the political discourse that most campaign coverage is now indistinguishable from the squawking heads of CNBC. “Follow the money” long has been the mantra of every wannabe Woodward or Bernstein, and more reporters are on the campaign-finance beat than ever before. The public certainly would benefit from knowing who’s backing… return to article

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  • Zoom OutZoom In Reader Comments (6)

    Page 1 of 1 pages

    We can be proud as a Nation that we have the best leaders that money can buy. In addition, unlike some crummy third world despots, our guys stay bought. When you send that person to the White House or Congress, you can rest assured that your dollars will keep working for years to come.
    What’s the difference between a working prostitute and someone running for office here?  Well there are just some things no self respecting hooker will do for any amount of money, while most of those running for office will do anything for a large enough contribution.

    United States Posted by Paul N. Sidio on Aug 4, 2003 at 5:21 PM

    Your story misses the point that
    Howard Dean’s money,
    while widely reported, is truly
    amazing because 93,000 small donors
    who are fed up with the DLC, the
    whiny self-absorbed Greens, the
    turncoat same ole D.C. Democrats,
    and most of all, the radical right
    Bushites, donated 7.5 million at an
    average of $75 per donor.

    United States Posted by Colleen Fowles on Aug 5, 2003 at 3:29 PM

    The American political process has become so corrupted and polluted by money, that I see no hope in saving it.  The concept of “one man (or woman), one vote” is long gone.  Do you think your vote is as important as say, Richard Mellon-Scaife’s or Ken Lay’s?  If you said yes, you should have your friggin’ head examined.  Wealthy individuals and corporations control the politicians of both parties and most politicians could give a shit about the average American!  That is what is so appealing about Howard Dean.  He is truly trying to build a grassroots movement, where Big Money does not call all the shots.  I should know, my brother-in-law lives in Iowa, is a poor librarian and has Howard Dean call him twice at home, to solicit his viewpoints!

    Until we severely restrict the amount individuals can give to candidates, and prohibit PACs, corporations, and other non-individuals from giving one nickel in hard or soft money, we are going to have a corrupt system where vermin like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney get elected.

    And don’t let some right-wing Dittohead try to tell you that restricting campaign contributions equates to restricting free speech.  That isn’t free speech - It’s bought-and-paid-for speech.

    United States Posted by Stephen Kriz on Aug 6, 2003 at 1:10 PM

    To those jumping on the Howard Dean bandwagen, do you really believe that when push comes to shove he’s NOT going to accept the big dollars from corporations and PACS if he should do well in the early primaries?

    Dean is not a liberal/progressive by any means, he is only riding a wave of anti-war, anti-Bush sentiment.

    Dennis Kucinich at the recent AFL/CIO debate called Dean out on wanting to raise the retirement age for social security and Dean promptly lied and claimed he never said that. Do we really need ANOTHER liar as president?

    I suppose that is what our corrupt political system produces, liars as our leaders. Dean went to Yale just like Bush, maybe Yale offers the course Lying 101. I have no influence in regards to the moneyed elections, but I still will look hopefully for an honest politician to vote for, Dean is off my list. 

    United States Posted by Jon Barber on Aug 11, 2003 at 7:38 AM

    Dean strikes me as basically conservative and not very honest where it counts. In the Dem Party’s own terms, the left’s candidate is Kucinich.

    Japan Posted by Charles Jannuzi on Aug 29, 2003 at 7:17 PM

    The problem with Kucinich is that he cannot win a general election.  Oh, and he’s also a maniac.

    Dean’s lie about SS age isn’t a very big lie compared to the deceptions of Dubya.  Maybe not even as big as Clinton lying about where his donkey’s been. 

    United States Posted by Donkey Show on Sep 5, 2003 at 12:12 AM
    Page 1 of 1 pages

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