The Silence is Deafening

Several great posts by angry blogger David Sirota. If this stuff doesn't make you angry then you are not paying attention.

What his posts make clear is the urgent need for public financing of campaigns. There I said it. Let's not pussy foot around this anymore. There is simply no other solution than to take the business of campaign contributions out of the political process for they amount to nothing more than legalized forms of bribery -- whatever the Supreme Courts warped view of bribery as constitutionally protected speech. All the reforms about gifts and junkets and meals will come to nothing until the central problem is recognized and dealt with -- politicians depend on fundraisers and lobbyists use the fundraiser as the coin of the realm to buy their way to influence.

Sirota skewers both the Democratic and Republican efforts at casting themselves as reformers. If our media was worth anything they would have already persuaded Americans that the proposals amount to little more than window dressing which preserves the central perks of the incumbents.

He also highlights the scandalous emergence of United from bankruptcy protection. Not only is United practically back on its feet, but the bankruptcy judge approved a plan to award a large fraction of the shares in United to a small handful of executives. And this comes on top of news that United, which managed to wring concessions totalling $4 billion from its workers, has awarded executives at the company $500 million in bonuses.

He goes on to tackle issues like pension reform, identity theft, and the Abramoff scandal. Always a great read, this stuff is guaranteed to get your blood boiling. But the central point is clear, the pathetic response of Democrats, the failure to honestly tackle corruption and to highlight the scandalous pillaging of American companies by corporate executives stems from the essential need to keep those with the deepest pockets placated so that the political contributions flow. A politician who wasn't beholden to those interests might be more willing to shine the light on the scurrying cock roaches as they make off with our future.