Alright, Sanders supporters.There have been a lot of seemingly shady stuff to be pissed off at in this election cycle. Well, get ready to be angry once again as this time around the Democratic National Convention is joining arms with an “honored guest,” which just happens to be a corporation you probably hate.
You may have heard that the convention will be hosted in Philadelphia this year, which just happens to conveniently also be the home of cable overlords Comcast. That’s right, the guys who put limits on your internet, provide the world’s worst customer service (besides perhaps AT&T), and jack up out of your cable bill. Of all the companies for the DNC to be in bed with, why would they pick one that was named America’s worst corporation in 2014 and worst internet provider in 2015? Why would they need a corporate partner to begin with?
Oh, right. Money buys speech these days. I almost forgot. Because that’s the case, Comcast execs who donate in excess of $100,000 are being given “prime access” to all convention activities.
Hang on. It gets worse. US Uncut reports that a spokesman for Public Citizen, a Progressive advocacy group, said:
“The company that chips in with $100,000 will have one-on-one access with the presidential candidate and congressional lawmakers as well, and they are buying influence in our government. It’s one of the most offensive elements of our campaign process, an embarrassment that doesn’t pass the smell test and has never passed the smell test.”
Yeah, this reeks, and it reeks bad. I mean it’s understandable why they would want to get in bed with Comcast, given that they are heavy donors to the Democratic Party, but still, this is insane.
The executives from this corporation are not only being given access to the candidate, the DNC is also letting lobbyists for the industry help choose the Democratic nominee. The Intercept reported in February that three superdelegates are lobbyists for a firm that has U.S. Telecom Association as a client, and previously they worked to fight against the proposed healthcare reform in 2009. But no, the Democratic party isn’t corporatist. Not at all.
Did we even mention that the Senior Vice President of Comcast, a staunch Republican supporter who opposes net neutrality and paid sick leave as well as hosts fundraisers for Republicans on the regular, will be serving as senior adviser to the chairman of the DNC’s hosting committee this year? Yeah, because that’s happening too.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a Sanders supporter, a Clinton supporter, or a Republican. Chances are you want money out of politics. 78% of the country wants it, according to a Bloomburg poll last year. Get out there and make it happen. Join the next incarnation of Democracy Spring if there is one, or fight back by giving money or time to a group like Wolf PAC.
We need to stop this insanity, and we need to take back our democracy. Not tomorrow, but today.
Watch “The Young Turks” talk about Americans’ bipartisan hatred of Citizen’s United below:
Featured image by Michael Smith via Flickr, available under a Creative Commons 2.0 license
