Commentary By Ron Beasley
So how is it that 76% of the citizens of the US support a public health plan but it may not have the votes in congress? It's simple really. When we vote we elect people who take their orders from a few wealthy oligarchs who set policy and make the decisions. The people with the most money can but the most lawmakers. Jim Hightower explains:
Pockets of Influence in Washington
What do shoplifters and members of Congress have in common? Tailor-made clothing.
Like a shoplifter's long coat, the suits of many lawmakers come with an astonishing array of inside pockets that hold surprising volumes of loot. We already know about various conduits that politicians have crafted to funnel cash into their election campaigns, but USA Today recently reported that our congressional stalwarts have also created a series of less-obvious pockets for stashing special-interest influence money.
[....]
Take the "foundation pocket." Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, has sewn one of these into his suit. His Barton Family Foundation has become a handy place for favor-seeking corporate interests to stash cash and earn Joe's gratitude. For example, Exelon, the giant nuclear-powered electric company, has deposited $75,000 in the foundation - money it could not legally give directly to Barton's campaign fund. Did I mention that Joe is the top Republican on the house energy committee and that he often carries legislative water for the nuclear industry?
Still, Barton sees no ethical lapse in such smelly transactions, cleverly claiming, "The money doesn't go to me." Too clever by half. The Exelon donation came only because the congressman personally wrote to the CEO to solicit it, the check is made out to a foundation bearing the congressman's very own name, and he controls the dispersal of the funds. Indeed, thanks to his corporate donors, Barton's foundation is able to give highly publicized grants to nonprofit groups in his district, thus scoring major political points for Joe.
Then there's the "institute pocket" stitched into the garments of a bipartisan collection of lawmakers.
One is Ted Kennedy, the Democratic icon who is presently setting up an Institute for the United States Senate in Boston. It will be named for - guess who? - him. Amgen, the huge drug corporation, was so moved by the civic nature of the institute that it ponied up $5 million to help fund it.
Please be assured, however, that Kennedy's prominent role in the current legislative fight to rein in drug company gouging had nothing whatsoever to do with the corporation's decision to donate so generously. As an Amgen spokeswoman explained, the $5 million merely reflects the drug maker's interest in helping "young people to become engaged in public service and public policy."
That's why even though the political party in charge may change things don't change that much. Without serious campaign reform the oligarchs will continue to rule and a government buy the people and for the people will remain a memory and a dream.
UPDATE
Ali Frick at Think Progress points out that the corporate media is in the attack mode:
Major Media Headlines Pretend That Latest Polls Show Obama�s Policies Are Unpopular
Today, two new national polls were released, one by the New York Times and CBS, the other by the Wall Street Journal and NBC. News headlines quickly settled on a theme: The polls showed that President Obama�s policies were suddenly unpopular:
�Sticker Shock � Obama still popular; his policies, not so much� [ABC's The Note]
�Polls find rising concern with Obama on key issues� [Reuters]
�Polls Show Declining Support For Obama Decisions� [U.S. News & World Report's Political Bulletin]
�Obama�s popularity: Problems testing it� [Chicago Tribune's The Swamp]
�Is �Smooth Sailing� Over for Obama?� [Washington Post]
The headlines have little to no relation to the actual data in the polls, both of which found broad approval for Obama�s foreign policy and economic agendas.
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