Dependence On Koch Money Is Damaging Our Democracy

United States politicians, particularly Republicans, have an unhealthy dependence on Koch money. From fueling their campaign war chests, to raising support for unpopular?proposals such as the Keystone Pipeline and the repeal of the ACA (better known as Obamacare), our politicians are continuously showing us that they no longer work for “We, the people,” but have sold themselves to the highest bidder.

Photo courtesy of Progressive Charleston
Photo courtesy of Progressive Charleston

This dependence, or addiction if you prefer, is detrimental to our political system. When most people think of an addiction, they equate it to inanimate things like drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. In America, we have a more serious problem and that is the’dependence of our politicians?on the money supplied by the Koch brothers and other right wing extremists that is being used to buy our government.

When the Supreme Court ruled on FEC v. Citizens United in January 2010, they opened a Pandora’s Box that has allowed the total corruption of our political system through the use of ‘dark money’ support from unnamed sources. Declaring that money equals speech and that donors to political organizations, many?posing as non-profit organizations, do not need to declare who their benefactors are has allowed unscrupulous people like the Koch brothers to flood our political landscape with candidates that are no more than puppets, paid to do whatever?is demanded of them.

Here is how it works. They find a buffoon that is pliable, ignorant, and willing to be bought. Ideally, the selected ‘candidate’ will have some degree of personal charisma, but not too much ability for independent thought. They?then convince this person that they are a?perfect ‘candidate’ and give them a false sense of superiority?that makes them think that they have what it takes to succeed in the political forum.

They flood their ‘candidate’ with dark money contributions from unnamed sources and make the entire campaign dependent on that money. All the chosen ‘candidate’ has to do is follow the directions of his or her handlers to be elevated high into the American political system, possibly even as high as the White House.

We have seen this scenario played out many dozens of times. Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Snyder, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, George W. Bush, just to name a few. There are dozens, if not hundreds,?more of these Koch puppets, both already in our legislature and waiting eagerly to be anointed and exalted to positions of power by their benefactors, the Koch brothers.

John Grisham actually laid out the entire process in his popular novel, “The Appeal,” which concerned selecting and elevating a judge in order to win an important corporate lawsuit. The book is eerie in its attention to detail and the laying out of the plan by the corporate shills just to win a lawsuit. But we see this played out every day in states and even in the U.S. House and Senate.

Our government has been bought and paid for, and “We, the people” seem to be asleep while this is happening.

The Koch machine has inundated 34 of our 50 state governmental bodies, and has a firm grasp on our current U.S. House and Senate. These so-called representatives of the people, with their dependence on Koch money, are?continuously?pushing for laws and repeals that benefit the top 2% of people in this country and devastate the other 98% of our citizens.

Our government is currently non-functional because of dark money and the involvement of people like the Koch brothers that will spare no expense to control this country. They will continue this onslaught until “We, the people” stand up and tell them that enough is enough. We must stop buying the rhetoric fed to us by a propagandized media and actually get off our lazy?asses and GO TO THE POLLS.

Are you in?