But in fact, McCain was a deeply psychologically damaged man, who legislated based upon 3 simple principles: 1) Who John McCain hates at any given time and how he can try and screw that person 2) What gets John McCain the most press 3) What is in John McCain's political interest.
Most of McCain's brief period of sanity, which extended from about 1999-2003, saw him join Democrats on everything from campaign finance reform to a patient's bill of rights, opposing Bush's tax cuts to opposing the Christian Right, supporting CAFE standards to supporting closing the gun-show loophole. But the reasons behind this transformation, as I laid out in my book, had little to do with his being a responsible man of the people, as he was portrayedvirtually everywhere.
The Democratic Party is spending nearly 100 million dollars raised in part from foreign contributions to help elect more immigration reform minded men and women to Congress.
If you happen to be a conservative of the Grand Old tea Party variety, how does such startling "amnesty" related news make you feel?
Suspicious? Fearful? Angry? Perhaps even more xenophobic than usual?
Each of those emotional responses would be expected from tea partiers had the Democratic Party actually taken this foreign money -- it has not.
The "U.S." Chamber of Commerce however, is a different story entirely.
On July 14th, Green Change announced the campaign for a Green New Deal, a 10-point program to create economic prosperity together with ecological sustainability.
Since then over 100 candidates for elected office at all levels have joined the Green New Deal Coalition.
The Green New Deal Coalition will cut military spending, create millions of green jobs, and revive the economy by protecting the planet we depend on.
Green Change is inviting all candidates, individuals and organizations that support a prosperous, sustainable future for America to endorse the Green New Deal.
To date, 11 candidates for governor, 11 candidates for US Senate, and 33 candidates for US House of Representatives have joined the Green New Deal Coalition.
All agree on the need to cut military spending, fund green public works, ban corporate personhood, pass single-payer health care, restore progressive taxation, ban usury, enact a revenue-neutral carbon tax, legalize marijuana, institute tuition-free public higher education, change trade agreements to improve labor, environmental and safety standards, and pass sweeping electoral, campaign finance and anti-corruption reforms.
These candidates represent a clean break with the failed policies of the past that have led America down the road to economic and ecological disaster.
The Green New Deal promises a brighter tomorrow for America – one that combines the New Deal’s promise of freedom from economic hardship with decisive action to protect our planet.
Yesterday I wrote about transpartisan opposition to the Van Hollen campaign finance bill written in response to the Citizens United decision. After some late-day maneuvering in which Van Hollen agreed to lower the exemption for political organizations to those with memberships over 500,000 instead of 1 million in response to objections that the bill exclusively favored the NRA, it turned out to not be enough, as Speaker Pelosi announced last night the bill would be pulled from the floor. It was scheduled for a House vote today. Politico:
Pelosi summoned the Blue Dogs and CBC to back-to-back meetings this afternoon, but was unable to overcome their opposition to the legislation. The Blue Dogs are concerned that opposition from the Chamber, National Federation of Independent Business, National Association of Realtors and other business groups will damage their reelection prospects in the fall.
The CBC, on the other hand, was unhappy about an exemption to the bill granted to the National Rifle Association agreed to by Van Hollen. While the exemption was later extended to other groups, the CBC remained concerned about the bill's potential impact on the NAACP and other progressive groups.
Democratic lawmakers were largely tight-lipped leaving Pelosi's office late Thursday afternoon, although it was clear that momentum was clearly building against a Friday vote.
By early evening, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's (D-Md.) office formally announced that the vote had been canceled.
I had posed the question of whether pretty much every broad interest group across the ideological spectrum would be able to gin up enough opposition on the one side, with the NRA alone on the other in support of the bill. In this case, it turned out to be gun control proponents and Blue Dogs who allied to bring down the bill (at least temporarily). Groups ranging from Progress Now Colorado and the Sierra Club to the hospitals' association and Chamber of Commerce had publicly urged members to vote against the bill, and in the end, that helped make the difference.
Personally, I am happy, as a bill that gives more power to the already-too-powerful NRA was unacceptable. The bill was written to benefit one singular bad actor. I want a strong campaign finance bill but the playing field needs to be leveled.
The Fair Elections Now Act would set up a public financing system for qualified congressional candidates.
Public campaign financing would break big money’s stranglehold on our government, by helping candidates to run competitive campaigns without taking money from corporate lobbyists and PACs.
Many of America’s problems can be traced to our poorly regulated campaign finance system – where candidates for Congress take money from wealthy special interests in return for political favors.
The BP oil spill disaster is just one example of the harm caused by big money in politics. The oil industry’s political contributions helped BP avoid having to install crucial safety features on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that could have stopped the spill.
Outrageously, BP may avoid paying for the damage it caused thanks to a liability cap passed by Congress after the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
It’s not hard to understand why Congress lets the oil companies have their way – the oil and gas industry gave a whopping $22.9 million to congressional candidates in 2008, and has already given $9.7 million in the 2010 election cycle.
Elected officials should be accountable only to the voters and the public good – not big corporations scheming behind the scenes to purchase political outcomes.
WASHINGTON, DC — In honor of Thomas Jefferson’s 267th birthday, the Green Party of Florida and the People’s Lobby Coalition for Public Funding Only of All Elections will hold a forum on the influence of corporate lobbies on US elections. The forum will take place at the National Press Club (http://npc.press.org) in Washington, DC, at 7 pm on Tuesday, April 13, 2010.
The speakers will discuss ‘Money Morality’ and the effect of corporate money on health care, energy, the economy, treatment of the poor, and other major issues, with an analysis of military expenditures in light of campaign contributions from defense contractors.
"We’ll talk about the correlation between the influence of the 13,000 special interest lobbyists and our elected officials’ voting trends in relation to these issues. And we’ll propose necessary changes to our election system to restore democracy," said Jennifer Sullivan, organizer of the event.
The event is open to the public, with doors opening at 7 pm. Admission is free for all members of the media with proper ID. General admission is a suggested donation of $10.00 or $15.00 per couple; no one will be turned away.
Refreshments will be served, with a variety of selected hors d’oeuvres, house specialty dips, gourmet chips, beverages, and a cash bar.
Guest speakers at the forum:
• Dr. Margaret Flowers, Congressional Fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program (http://www.pnhp.org), advocate for single-payer national health care, from Maryland
• Jesse Johnson, chair of the West Virginia Mountain Party (http://www.mtparty.org), twice-nominated candidate for the US Senate, the only third-party candidate to receive an endorsement from the Sierra Club in his 2008 race for Governor of West Virginia, and filmmaker (http://www.mtparty.org/nominations/2004/jesse/bio.html)
• Pat LaMarche, weekly columnist for the Bangor Daily News (http://www.bangordailynews.com), 2004 vice-presidential nominee of the Green Party of the United States, and advocate for the homeless
• Head-Roc, Hip-Hop artist and community organizer (http://www.head-roc.com), from Washington, DC
• Jennifer Sullivan, regional representative of the Green Party of Florida (http://www.floridagreens.org) and coordinator of The People’s Lobby
More speakers will be announced soon.
WHAT: The People’s Lobby: Forum on the influence of corporate special interest money on public policy and the erosion of US democracy, Tuesday, April 13 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC
I wrote a few diaries several months ago about a Democratic newcomer in Kentucky politics when John Waltz announced his run here, here, and here. While I very much liked what Waltz was saying, I wondered about his ability to mount a race as a newcomer and in Kentucky's Fourth Congressional District. However, as this race is progressing John Waltz is proving to be an extremely viable candidate as well as being a real fighting Democrat. Now, Waltz's campaign is picking up steam and with our help could mount a real challenge to put Republicans on defense this fall in at least one previously secure district.
Cross-posted at Daily Kos, Docudharma, MyDD, and FDL.
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In today's WaPo, Ike Skelton, Chair of the House Armed Forces Committee, teamed up with everyone's favorite former Democrat, Joe Lieberman, on an op-ed for more war in Afghanistan called Don't Settle for Stalemate in Afghanistan.
The president was right to call the war in Afghanistan "a war of necessity." Now it is time to treat it as such and commit the decisive force that will allow Gen. McChrystal to break the Taliban's momentum as quickly as possible.
And
Here at home, we must stabilize public support by convincing an increasingly skeptical American people that the Afghan war is in fact winnable.
. .
It comes as no surprise that Ike and Joe are in favor of treating our Armed Forces to more $#!t sandwiches and crap burgers in Afghanistan. Ike and Joe have been talking it up for quite a while.
Change Congress founder Lawrence Lessig -- with whom I work on campaign finance reform issues -- announced a new TV ad on Friday shaming "Blue Dog" leader Mike Ross on the public option.
In the ad, Keith Olbermann calls out Ross for his special-interest contributions -- and then recent poll numbers show that Ross is siding with those interests against his own constituents.
It's caused quite the buzz. Within hours, it was covered by NBC, ABC, Politico, Huffington Post, The Young Turks, Roll Call...and Rachel Maddow.
In addition to calling out Ross on the public option, this ad gets to the root of the problem: our corrupt campaign finance system, calling for Mike Ross to support fundamental reform.
Lessig's announcement of the ad -- and Rachel Maddow's clip -- are below the fold.
For many, many years, in elementary and middle schools across the south and perhaps other regions in the nation as well, at a certain time each year, the student body would perhaps `nominate' several young boys and girls to be Mr and Miss `small town' (or whatever the name) of that particular school may be.
But, this contest would not be based purely on popularity, being a good citizen or high academic achievement per se, but instead, by the number of pennies that each student was able to raise since each penny counted as one vote.
After the votes, no, actually, the pennies were tallied the winners would be crowned, perhaps photographed for the yearbook, maybe even ride on a float in a local parade and then carry the largely insignificant title throughout the rest of the year.
After execution of this widely accepted practice by which these schools would raise much needed funds for things like chalk, art paper, kick balls or other necessities utilized for richer educational experiences in the classroom there was an unfortunate fact that remained embedded in the minds of the millions who witnessed or lived through it.
The children who took the title Mr and Miss local school, was in fact the student who in the end, turned in the fattest check to the powers that be at that school, a check that was often written by a wealthy parent.
In the end, the contest was not about merit or popularity but wealth although perhaps in rare cases, childlike money raising prowess. Still, for millions of children, it instilled or perhaps at least reinforced the bitter pill that money equals title, perhaps too power.
What often got lost in the drama of those contests that appears to have rewarded those children who had wealthier parents, was the cold hard fact that the schools who conducted them, often operated under umbrella school systems that under-funded them, a greater system that in many states bore the stench of inequity from district to district that left individual schools in desperate need of cash to operate fully.
It was a greater reality that was complained about, but many parents and others felt powerless to change.
Interestingly, many of our most treasured rights, the very fundament(s) of what we cherish as a free democracy are tainted by similar flaws.
While there is no doubt that Barack Obama did in fact go back on his word when he announced that he would opt-out of the public financing system, irking many, both Republican and Democrat along with those who would like to extinguish the flames of influence that large moneyed private donations, be it corporate donors who bundle, be it lobbying interests who disguise donations through other methods, be it even individuals who accept the fact that in order to win an election in these free and open United States they must contribute dollars to help their choice win votes, the facts in today's electioneering process are what they are.
The United States electoral system is broken.
It truly does not matter who is nominated or who chooses to enter a campaign for any office in this country because, in the end, that candidate must go out and raise vast amounts of dollars because in this nation, in the end, a dollar can be likened to a bullhorn by which to broadcast a message more effectively and thus win a vote.
Until we as a nation begin to aggressively address the fundamental flaws that money in politics has grown into over the past few years, we are only going to continue to witness the political pollution that money buys on an increasingly grand scale.
Yes,the presumed Democratic nominee appears to many to have gone back on his word. But, the nominee from Chicago is only operating under an umbrella, a system that has relegated him to this unfortunate choice. It is his political reality and more importantly, it is ours. We as a nation have yet to raise our collective voices and demand change in the way we pick our leaders.
It's really not fair for critics to bombard the Barack Obama campaign machine with criticism or to express profound disappointment in the candidate for choosing to opt out of public financing. It is more appropriate that we express our displeasure with our system of electing our leaders.
What makes this all similar to the analogy of students who go out and raise pennies for the tile of Mr or Miss School?
Well, that's fairly obvious.
But, this is not just a `title' that Senator Obama and Senator Mc Cain are raising their coins for. It is in fact, the most powerful title in the world.
Our political system is dominated by big money, and categorizing its influence as the work of "special interests" is misleading. At its heart the corrosive influence of money on the political process is something far more sinister, it's perhaps the most subtle form of domination of our domestic political order to have ever existed. As much as pundits lament the excesses of the old days of the Democratic "machines" at least then, candidates were required to earn the support of party activists. In the post war period, this allowed working people the greatest influence that they have ever had on the political process in this country, and paid divdends for the working class.
Those days are gone, but the time has come for change to reduce the influence of money in the system. The time has come for the Democratic party to impose spending limits for our primary season.
