Super PAC More Important Than Voters…
A PAC is the acronym for Political Action Committee and the 2012 Presidential Election primaries are all about the new era of the Super PAC.
One of the more “endearing” venues of the Super PAC is that each wealthy donor may contribute more than the customary $2,500 maximum under the normal contributory laws for Presidential campaigns.
All four GOP Primary candidates and Democrat President Obama have at least one Super PAC that can raise millions of dollars for its respective candidate. In fact, President Obama is approaching the $1 billion mark for contributions, the highest ever for a President seeking reelection or for any Presidential candidate in any political party running in a primary.
Super PACs virtually are making the majority of American voters obsolete because the wealthy corporate sector, individuals and their lobbyists usually hedge their bets during an election year so that they may retain their powerful clout no matter who wins a primary or election.
In addition, since it is the electoral college that actually selects the President and NOT the popular votes provided by American citizens, during the past several decades voters have watched helplessly as their own political clout has basically disappeared, which is why our nation is regulated by the top 1 percent of wealthy political contributors and why our nation’s direction is determined by those with money and power.
While the four GOP candidates have all spoken out against these Super PAC entities, no one has tried to eliminate them. Even Ron Paul, who has publicly stated he does not accept wealthy contributions, has a Super PAC called Revolution, which began in July 2011.
In one of the recent GOP debates, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have argued that they don’t have control over the actions of their Super PAC and in fact that they are prohibited by law to have anything to do with the PAC. However, there are several legal loopholes that do permit a certain amount of back-door diplomacy that may be used by candidates to communicate with their respective Super PACS.
There is no doubt that in a Democratic Representative Republic like the U.S. the Super PAC concept is increasingly detrimental to real democracy. The U.S. has become a corporate/military oligarchy and the American people are becoming more enslaved directly due to the evolution of the Super PAC and the management of national and domestic affairs by the wealthy and powerful. Our Constitutional rights and freedoms are under constant threat.
No wonder average and low-income Americans are frustrated, angry and frightened about what is happening in Washington at the national level, which has also trickled-down to state and local politics. We are moving further away from being a Democratic Representative Republic and our so-called legislative “Representatives” no longer represent us.
There are several options to return some power to the people:
— Eliminate the Super PAC entities
— Provide term limits for our legislators
— Eliminate large campaign contributions so that our officials are not bought by wealthy concerns
— Prohibit wealthy lobbyists from selling their wares, especially during elections and keep them out of the Capitol so Congress can do its business without special interest legislative buying and constant interruption.
— Lastly, it would be a great idea to approve a law that would enable the American people to provide “an annual report card” to each and every political officials and legislators, after which each official would be given the next year to improve on his or her record. If there is no improvement by the next report card, the official can be fired from office.
It is time that the American people fight to get honest and ethical representation in government.
Peter Stern, a former director of information services, university professor and public school administrator, is a disabled Vietnam veteran who lives in Driftwood, Texas.
