Small Online Contributions Add Up to Huge Fund-Raising Edge for Obama
~ NYTimes Feb 20, 2008
In 2008 Americans fought and beat Corporate Lobbyist sponsored politicians like John McCain (Drill,baby,drill & Bomb,bomb,Iran) and elected Barack Obama to be the President of the United States.
Just imagine if we could harness small contributions like this all the time to elect politicians who will stand up for people and against the special interests!
Well, the Corporatists can imagine that, and it scares them out of their minds! That is why, with the help of the recent Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court that allows Corporations to flood the American election process with millions and millions of Corporate money to fund Republican politicians and Corporate Democrats.
And their goal is to make sure that no one like Barack Obama ever wins a major election again, but you CAN fight back.
How to, below the fold
Regardless of what the results of today's primaries in Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Oregon turnout, it should be considered a victory over Corporatist politicians like Blanche Lincoln, Arlen Specter and others. These politicians all had their party's backing, all had the blessing of powerful special interests, and all may suffer defeat at the hands of populist driven, more progressive challengers.
But it still may not be enough.
Win or lose, this is a victory, but it may not be enough. Just imagine what we can with more organization!
Of course, the Corporatist political operations like the Republican party and the ConservaDem/BlueDog caucuses of the Democratic party know exactly how powerful populist driven, anti-corporatist, small donation driven activism can be, and that is why they have begun to use the Citizens United ruling to drown out populist organizing with unlimited corporate funding.
Witness the Dark Lord at work, Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove. In just 2 months after the Citizens United ruling, Rove has staged a Corporate $ fueled coup against RNC Chairman Micheal Steele, as detailed in the recent Rolling Stones article titled Rove Rides Again Bush's former strategist is secretly seizing control of the GOP – and amassing $135 million to destroy the Democrats
Rove could only sit by and watch as the fearsome big-money machine he built over the course of a decade – his political Death Star – was blasted out of orbit by an insurgent Obama campaign powered by hundreds of millions in small-dollar donations.
This is a tale of how the empire strikes back.
~snip~
(G)iven the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United, there is little to prevent Rove from running the whole show. Political parties are barred from coordinating specific ads with "independent" groups – but that leaves plenty of wiggle room for other forms of strategizing. And even if Rove and Co. were to cross the line, there would likely be no consequences: The Federal Election Commission, which has sole enforcement responsibility, is gridlocked by its three GOP-appointed commissioners, who consistently vote to stymie any oversight. "The existing FEC is not going to enforce the laws," says Fred Wertheimer, the founder of Democracy 21, an advocate of campaign-finance reform.
Bold text added by the diarist
Through his corporate funded groups American Crossroads and the American Action Network, Karl Rove has invented the anti-peanutbutterpac, monolithic, corporate fueled groups designed to fund corporatist politicians who will eagerly do the special interests bidding.
Their plan is simple, it is to overwhelm the small dollar donations that elected Barack Obama and other candidates who were not wholly owned by the special interests. Their goal is even more simple, and it is to ensure that no one like Obama ever wins an election over Corporatists who are only loyal to the special interests.
So, how do we fight back?
The political reality is stark, but here it is. Money talks, and bullshit walks. If Progressives and the opponents of Corporatist politics wish to have a say in the new post Citizens United $=speech world of politics, then we MUST put our money where are mouths are!
But the reality is that Progressive and anti-corporatist voters will never, ever have the money as individuals that the Special Interests can muster, and that is why we have to organize and work together.
This is where organizations like PeanutButterPAC come in.
With 1000 members donating only $5 a week, we can donate the maximum PAC donation of $5,000 each week to a progressive incumbent like Alan Grayson or a challenger to a corporatist Democrat like Marcy Winograd.
With 2000 members donating only $5 a week, we can double that!
With 10,000 members donating only $5 a week, we can run ads in swing states exposing Corporate shills in both parties, we can set up state based PAC's to shift state legislatures towards protecting and helping people and NOT corporate interests, we can do a LOT with 10,000 members donating each week to PeanutButterPAC! Only 10,000 contributing members would scare the HELL out of Corporate shills in both parties!
With 100,000 members, we can be a force to be reckoned with, and our advocacy would be a multi million dollar force.
With 1 Million members, the sky is the limit, and we can buy the Senate back from the banks!
In a post Citizens United world, money talks and bullshit walks. The banks OWN the Senate. This is a fact. The only way working class Americans can take their representative democracy back from the Corporations and the Super rich is by buying it back. This is a game we are forced to play. If we do not organize and try to buy our representative democracy back from the super rich, you WILL have another Karl Rove ran corporatist machine back in power, sooner than you think. Now is the time to choose, will you kneel to the special interests and give up all hope, or will you stand and FIGHT!
I know what I choose, and I hope you will fight with me.
Cheers
Become a member of PeanutButterPAC by clicking this link here
Make a seed money contribution to PeanutButterPAC by clicking this link here
Note: Apologies to all, but I have to go to work ( I got a job as a cook ). I will be back later to respond to comments and pass around the MoJo. Cheers to all, and I look forward to fighting alongside you against the Rove machine!
Peace
Crossposted at The Progressive Electorate.com