It’s Super Tuesday. Super, because after tonight the we’ll know which candidate had the fattest super PAC and the commensurate ability to post the most negative ads.
A few days ago we yawned over news of Vladimir Putin’s win. All that graft and corruption. Putin obviously the puppet master of his own victory. Pah!
Things are different in the west. In America, the candidates are innocent. There is no collusion between them and the independent super PACs or advocacy groups who buy all those negative ads.
Americans know this because Justice Anthony Kennedy, speaking for the majority after the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC (Fed Election Committee) that corporations as well as individuals could give unlimited amounts of cash to “independent expenditure entities," said, "Independent corporate expenditures in elections, even in secret, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption. So there you have it. It’s simply a matter of trusting corporations.
Well, as one Washington Post writer put it, "What we’ve seen here (the run up to Super Tuesday) is merely the first glass before the bender, the blowout that will come this fall."
It’s estimated that the USA’s fall election will feature $3 billion in negative ads. These will be sponsored by super PACs and advocacy groups.
Thankfully I live in Canada where all we do is tinker with ways of moving money around during elections, in and out of constituencies, you know, as needed; and then we have robots make prank calls leading us to phantom polling stations. Oh the fun we have.
Oh Stephen, you remind us of the embarrassment that our political system here in the U.S. has become. The Super PAC issue is bad enough, but the fact that many of our citizens don’t understand what has happened, make choices on bizarre emotional responses, or don’t participate at all is perhaps even worse.
Nice one Steve
Thanks Diane. Our own political system has also become an embarrassment. It feels as though the only response that makes sense is lampooning.
Thanks Joanne.
Stephen – to lampoon or to escape…Did you see the blog post I wrote after reading yours?
Thank you Diane…and yes, lovely post.
Still found myself watching – one of these guys may decide matters of war and peace!
Thanks Sam. I now feel much better (cough, cough).