Monday, January 25, 2010

Supreme Court ruling strips away pretensions of democracy


With the Supreme Court's ruling last week, banning limits on corporate spending in elections, the last pretensions of republic, of representative democracy in these United States are stripped away.  This wealth-obsessed and thoroughly corrupted nation is now an overt plutocracy.

With this ruling, the Court ruled that legal entities (by which it means "corporations") have the same right to free speech as do individual persons.  In effect, the Court makes no distinction between a living, breathing human and an international corporation.  So, the working man or woman struggling to feed, clothe, and educate his or her children is no different than the multi-billion dollar corporate entity.  Corporations are now free to install politicians to office that are inclined to relax corporate tax burdens or remove environmental regulations that might hinder corporate ability to extract resources from a pristine wilderness. 

But, don't worry!  Individual human beings are also free to promote candidates that will work for their interests.  So, neighbors, how shall we make our voices heard in future elections?  Shall we hold a bake sale?

The ruling was a five-to-four split, with the two Supremes appointed by Junior (another of his many rotten endowments) providing the margin.  "Honest" John Roberts and Sammy "I am not a bigot of any kind" Alito joined Tom-ass Clarence, Anthony Kennedy, and monstrous Nino Scalia to crank open the floodgate for corporate power.

Put aside any quaint notions of "one man, one vote."  The United States are ruled by corporations.  The welfare of people is secondary, and need be of concern only to the extent that they do not become restive.  No health care plan.  No green energy.  No relaxing of the financial death-grip.  Only the lash.

At the very least, "Honest" Johnny Roberts and the Supremes have had the grace to strip away the facade. Even in the face of the subversion of the people's wishes in the health care debate this last year, there was a propensity among some (and I admit, I was one of them) to yet believe that the righteous anger of the people counted for something in this country.  Fools, one and all!

Just as it was with what history terms "the Roman Republic," the allocation of political power in this nation became more and more concentrated in the hands of the wealthy.  Now, here we are.  Our republic is gone.  We are empire.

The US Congress, during the health care debate has already clearly demonstrated that it has no real interest in abasing itself by serving its purported constituency.  All that rhetoric about the hopes and dreams of the American people adds up to f*ck all when the "ins" (of both parties) consider those fat contribution checks.

President Obama's new-found populist passion also rings hollow.  His administration is as much composed of plutocrats and robber barons as was that of his predecessor.

This isn't about Democrats or Republicans.  This is about plutocrats.  They're all plutocrats.  We, the people, are in serious trouble.  There is no leader in the White House, the Congress, or the Court to champion our cause. 

What now?  Anybody got any ideas?

3 comments:

Dan Binmore said...

I think the ruling follows the original intention of those writing the Constitution, however I disagree with the Constitution about this.

Paul said...

Wow, now whoever has the big bucks is going to win.. sad but that's what America has been coming to

Eclectic Dilettante said...

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