Health & Fitness
A Word from their Sponsors
Some ideas on how we can force political candidates and elected officials to show us their true colors.
I never particularly cared for the government regulating how much money we (an individual, business or union) can give to a political candidate. If it’s a free country, we should be able to give as much as we want to whomever we want. There shouldn’t be any crime against American citizens (using legally earned money) helping to finance the candidate of their choice, it’s our money.
As usual, the regulations only cause more corruption, and it’s easy enough to get around them. How tough do you think it is to launder money and get it to a candidate? It happens all the time.
Every national candidate accepts laundered money from donors; it’s called “bundling.” Instead of having these underground donations, let’s let anyone give anything to anyone they want, but let’s take “transparency” to a higher level.
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“Transparency” is a word that gets thrown around quite a lot these days, but nothing is ever really “transparent” in politics. It seems like the more people talk about how “transparent” they are, the more they’re hiding.
What I’d like to see is the name, or logo, of every donor sewn onto a huge, white banner and whenever the candidate gives a speech, he or she has to use it as a backdrop. The larger the number of donors, the bigger the banner; the size of the logo or name should be proportionate to the size of the donation.
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As the candidate is talking about “green jobs,” tax breaks for oil companies, or card check, we’ll be able to clearly see who paid for their campaign. We won’t need to “follow the money,” the money banner will be there following them.
The banner will be created inch by inch, yard by yard, just like Jacob Marley’s chains. The candidate, or elected official, will be wearing the money on his or her banner and standing right in front of it anytime they’re speaking in public. They force drug companies to list side effects and cigarette companies to print cancer risks; let's see if they're as willing to regulate themselves.
For someone on the level of a small town mayor, there might be real estate developers or contractors on the banner. For someone higher up, it might be a Wall Street firm, union or oil company.
During a State of the Union address, wouldn’t the banner be more helpful than seeing the Speaker of the House and the vice president clapping like trained, lobotomized seals, or scowling like they have a mouth full of lemon juice?
If a candidate is elected president, the logos should be painted onto Air Force One too, so the big Boeing looks like it belongs on a NASCAR track. Wouldn’t you like to see those famous images of a smiling president and First Lady exiting Air Force One, but with huge “General Electric” and “Goldman Sachs” logos painted on it? They might even do more traveling at night, or taking a commercial red eye to avoid that kind of “transparency.”
There should be billboards showcasing the donors all over the White House lawn, and flashing neon signs in the rose garden. The president should be forced to thank his five biggest donors at the end of each speech. It’ll be the “Presidential Top Five” announcement.
For television, during speeches, if the networks chooses to cover them, they should be made to include a list of donors in large letters on a moving scroll at the bottom of the screen, like the stock market scrolls on the business news channels.
I realize that this information is supposed to be public; we can sift through piles of papers to find it, or do some internet searches, but “bundling” donations actually makes it much tougher to follow the money. I’m also not accusing anyone of wrongdoing, it’s politics as usual. But it can always be improved.
Let’s do away with the need for these people, businesses and unions to launder their money. Open up the gates, let everyone give as much as they want. But the list of donors shouldn’t just be public, it should be showcased.
Put it right out there in front, rub our faces in it. Give us the transparency we're always promised. We don’t need to know about what the CIA is doing in Yemen, or dangerous, sensitive, covert military operations, but we should have a right to know who’s sponsoring the people that make decisions for rest of us.
When we’re forced to buy more expensive light bulbs, we have a right to know how much GE donated to get people elected. When the cost of food skyrockets, the dollar amount donated by ethanol producers and lobbyists should be flashed on the screen, like the cancer warnings on a pack of Marlboros.
I’m not suggesting we tear the system down and start all over again. I love Capitalism, I love Democracy. I think there should be a lot more of it. I don’t care for corrupt, crony corporatism; big business, unions and government love the “pay to play” game, let’s get it out of the shadows.
What I’m suggesting is, the candidates and elected officials be upfront about who’s paying their bills. Full disclosure: make ‘em wear it on their sleeves, or on a huge flag backdrop.