Lobbying. Consolidation of Power. Corporate Personhood. Election Reform. Activist Organizations. Contact and Petition. Hedges and Lessig on Money and Politics (1/3) The Defining Issue: Not Government's Size, but Who It's For) The defining political issue of 2012 won’t be the government’s size. It will be who government is for. Americans have never much liked government. After all, the nation was conceived in a revolution against government. But the surge of cynicism now engulfing America isn’t about government’s size. The cynicism comes from a growing perception that government isn’t working for average people. In a recent Pew Foundation poll, 77 percent of respondents said too much power is in the hands of a few rich people and corporations. That’s understandable. Wall Street got bailed out but homeowners caught in the fierce downdraft caused by the Street’s excesses have got almost nothing.
Big agribusiness continues to rake in hundreds of billions in price supports and ethanol subsidies. American Airlines uses bankruptcy to ward off debtors and renegotiate labor contracts. Not a day goes by without Republicans decrying the budget deficit. The other big budgetary expense is national defense. Get it? Amend 2012. The Corruption Of Our Entire Political Class Explained In One Paragraph.
The Political Compass - US Presidential Election 2012. This is a US election that defies logic and brings the nation closer towards a one-party state masquerading as a two-party state. The Democratic incumbent has surrounded himself with conservative advisors and key figures — many from previous administrations, and an unprecedented number from the Trilateral Commission. He also appointed a former Monsanto executive as Senior Advisor to the FDA.
He has extended Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, presided over a spiralling rich-poor gap and sacrificed further American jobs with recent free trade deals. Trade union rights have also eroded under his watch. He has expanded Bush defence spending, droned civilians, failed to close Guantanamo, supported the NDAA which effectively legalises martial law, allowed drilling and adopted a soft-touch position towards the banks that is to the right of European Conservative leaders. Taking office during the financial meltdown, Obama appointed its principle architects to top economic positions. End the Corporate Takeover of our Democracy. An INTENSE moment of TRUTH with MAINSTREAM Media. The 99% Declaration. 40 charts that explain money in politics.