Bill Moyers got downright eloquent in a long piece in the Washington Spectator, reprinted at truthout.org (
http://www.truthout.org/...). It's titled A Culture of Corruption. He tells a number of stories about how money and lobbyists have corrupted the US political system, some of which I hadn't heard before.
Here's the lead paragraph:
Money is choking our democracy to death. Our elections are bought out from under us and our public officials are doing the bidding of mercenaries. So powerful is the hold of wealth on politics that we cannot say America is working for all Americans. The majority may support such broad social goals as affordable medical coverage for all, decent wages for working people, safe working conditions, a secure retirement, and clean air and water, but there is no government "of, by, and for the people" to deliver on those aspirations.
This surprised me:
At the same time that the cost of getting elected is exploding beyond the reach of ordinary people, the business of influencing our elected representatives has become a growth industry. Since President Bush was elected the number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled. That's 16,342 lobbyists in 2000 and 34,785 last year: 65 lobbyists for every member of Congress. The total spent per month by special interests wining, dining, and seducing federal officials is now nearly $200 million. Per month.
The numbers are staggering. And we can all recognize this one:
Look back at the bulk of legislation passed by Congress in the past decade: an energy bill that gives oil companies huge tax breaks at the same time that ExxonMobil has just posted $36.13 billion in profits and our gasoline and home heating bills are at an all-time high...
And if you think that 'reform' has taken root, think again:
The Republican leaders would have us believe this is just a "lobbying scandal." They assume that if they pass a few minor reforms to put a little distance between the politician and the lobbyist, we will think everything is okay and they can go back to business as usual. Just look at Congressman John Boehner, elected to replace Tom DeLay as House Majority Leader. He's been a full player in the K Street Project and DeLay's money machine. The top lobbyists in town frequent his office. He thinks nothing of cruising with them in the Caribbean or of hopping on corporate jets arranged by them. This is the man who ten years ago moved around the floor of the House - the "People's House" - handing out checks from tobacco executives.
As for Tom Delay? He is under indictment in Texas for money laundering and had to resign as Majority Leader. But just the other day the party bosses gave him a seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where big contributors get their rewards. And - are you ready for this? - they put him on the subcommittee overseeing the budget of the Justice Department, which is investigating the Abramoff scandal, including Abramoff's connections to DeLay. I'm not making this up. It's business as usual. Rotten business as usual.
So let's not count Abramoff and DeLay out quite yet, shall we? DeLay is still in control of the money, baby. Moyers concludes that there is only one way out, to finance elections with public money. He holds out some hope:
Fortunately, there is something we can do. A movement is gathering across the country that could restore democracy to a country run by money. It's the "clean money" campaign for the public funding of our elections. Maine led the way in 2000. Arizona followed suit. So have several municipalities, including Portland, Oregon, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Races are more competitive and attract a more diverse group of candidates.
I excerpted quite a bit from the piece, but it's a long piece and I recommend you read it in its entirety. And I think that Mr. Moyers doesn't really care, as long as his message gets out. As you can see, he put a lot of thought into this and his writing is outstanding. Read it.
Voting for a Democrat will help, of course, but is certainly not a long term solution. Ask candidates where they stand on public financing of campaigns, to remove lobbyists from the equation. I know where Russ Feingold stands - he told Jon Stewart a while back that public financing needs to be enacted, since McCain-Feingold is obviously not working. Whoa! A man of integrity! Be still my heart.
Let's see where other Democrats stand on this. I think that most Americans agree, in their heart of hearts, that lobbyists are the lowest of the scum, who are perverting the American system with money, vast amounts of it. Elect Democrats that agree with this assessment.