When Supreme Corruption Enables Plutocracy

If you had any doubts about the corporately corrupt majority on the U.S. Supreme Court trying to rewrite election rules so their masters could pour millions of dollars into the U.S. Electoral process, the recent McCutcheon v. the Federal Election Commission (FEC) decision they handed down makes it evident that your doubts were not unwarranted. The same court that started clearing the way for corporations to spend freely to buy elections in 2010 has opened the floodgates (link: http://www.commondreams.org/video/2014/04/03 [2]) for fraudulent billionaires to deal Democracy a deadly blow. The McCutcheon v. FEC decision removed what constraints were left in place by the Citizens United decision to limit amounts "donated" (link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/04/02-0 [3]) to political hopefuls running for office.
 
The ruling in the McCutcheon v. FEC case -- where the court was actively encouraged to intervene on behalf of big-money politics by Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) -- found the corporately corrupt quintet's decision eviscerating caps on the total amount of money an individual donor can give to political candidates, parties, and political action committees (PACs) by finding them unconstitutional, enabling endless corruption (link: http://bit.ly/1lneFzm [4]). By allowing their corporate masters to buy any election anywhere, the corrupt majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has enabled a full-on Plutocracy.
 
UNCHECKED MONEY IN POLITICS FUELS EXTREME INEQUALITY
 
By catering to their Oligarchic owners, the corrupt Supreme quintet has unfettered rule by the rich (link: http://www.alternet.org/supreme-court-just-destroyed-our-democracy-favor-plutocrats [5]). The "Justices" destroyed a ruling that went back to 1976 (link: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/04/04/pers-a04.html [6]), tearing down the last vestige of campaign finance regulations. For that we will all pay a heavy price. Now we need to make sure the quintet of corrupted "Justices" that enabled that devastation pays a heavy price too. The 2012 elections found more corporate money backing corrupt candidates than ever before and the 2014 elections will fare a lot worse for the U.S. population. Unchecked money in politics is also fueling extreme inequality.
 
Wealth and Income are already highly concentrated in the hands of a few, and the egregious McCutcheon decision just made that fact more dangerous by taking Citizens United one step further, and effectively eviscerating campaign finance laws, opening the door to oligarchy (link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/04 [7]). The decision by the corrupt quintet will widen inequality and create a vicious cycle where the wealthy buy politicians to lower their taxes, give them more bailouts and subsidies, and deregulate their businesses, making them even wealthier and more capable of subverting Democracy. Corruption breeds more corruption, and in case you haven't noticed, the U.S. Supreme Court has rigged the whole system in favor of the rich (link: http://www.alternet.org/most-elitist-disgusting-supreme-court-has-rigged-whole-system-favor-rich [8]).
 
The Supreme Court has taken another step towards the complete capture of our political process by moneyed interests (link: http://bit.ly/1lMuodR [9]). If money is speech (link: http://www.commondreams.org/video/2014/04/04-1 [10]), how long will it take for the Supreme Court to rule that laws against bribery are unconstitutional? If money is speech, how can the law prevent fraudulent billionaires from fully exercising their freedom of speech by topping off their request with a grand rhetorical flourish (bribe) that only a multi-million dollar campaign contribution can provide? All good questions that deserve answers as soon the fraudulent billionaires in question will be doing just that. Bribing represents corruption and the reality is the U.S. Supreme Court majority ruling in favor of McCutcheon are themselves profoundly corrupt, though some possibly more than others (link: http://bit.ly/PIFwLk [11]).
 
MAJORITY DECISION HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH CORRUPTION
 
Over the past four years, under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, the corporately corrupt quintet majority of the U.S. Supreme court has made it easier to buy elections and much more difficult to vote in them: The 2010 majority in the Citizens v. FEC brought us the fraudulent Super PAC era; The 2013 majority decision in Shelby County v. Holder gutted the Voting Rights Act; and now the McCutcheon v. FEC majority decision shot down limits on how much individuals can "donate" to candidates, political parties, and questionable PACs (link: http://www.thenation.com/blog/179131/supreme-courts-ideology-more-money-less-voting [12]). To the criminal majority in the U.S. Supreme Court, the First Amendment lets wealthy donors buy elections but the Fifteenth Amendment doesn't give the public the right to vote free of racial discrimination. You can thank people like the Koch brothers and their whores for that.
 
Not all U.S. Supreme Court Justices are corrupt. Unfortunately the minority wasn't enough to prevent the corrupt majority from screwing every American, but the minority dissent on the decision, written by Justice Stephen Breyer is worth knowing to prepare for overturning the decision in the future. Among the many things written by Breyer, a few are worth noting (link: http://www.alternet.org/investigations/arm-yourself-read-breyers-dissent-mccutcheon-v-fec [13]):
 
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The decision by the corrupt majority is based on their own views, not a record-based view of the facts;
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 The legal analysis is faulty. It misconstrues the nature of the competing Constitutional interests at stake;
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The decision understates the importance of protecting the political integrity of our governmental institutions; and
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The decision creates a loophole that will be used by fraudulent individuals to contribute millions of dollars to their preferred candidate.
 
Justice Breyer goes on to note (PDF - link: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-536_e1pf.pdf [14]) that the decision by the majority has everything to do with corruption, recognizing that when enough money calls the tune, the general public will not be heard. That corruption could easily lead to the public losing interest in political participation altogether and that would be tragic.
 
The ruling by the corrupt majority in the U.S. Supreme Court will be remembered as a decisive battle by a wealthy few against the popular will. It's not the first time judicial corruption has prevailed, nor will it be the last, and the people will continue to lose unless and until the rules of engagement are changed (link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/03-8 [15]). Until we get the money out of politics, policy will be sold to the highest bidder. Allowing a corrupt majority a lifetime to serve their corporate masters is foolish, and there need to be limits as to how long appointed criminals can serve.
 
TIME TO SHED LIGHT ON THE FRAUDSTERS AND THEIR ENABLERS
 
The fact that more than half of the members of the U.S. Congress are millionaires reveals just how corrupt and convoluted America's political system has become. If a corrupt Congress critter can make millions of dollars off of fraudulent billionaires, why should they pay attention to those they were allegedly elected to represent? To put an end to the results that will be caused by the corrupt majority's decision and its evisceration of campaign finance laws, total disclosure is needed. Shedding light on the fraudsters and their friends that donate to them could unveil a silver lining to the dark clouds created by five incorrigibly corrupt "Justices" in the U.S. Supreme Court. When Supreme corruption enables Plutocracy where politicians are for sale to the highest bidder, you no longer have a functioning Democracy (link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/07-8 [16]).
 
The influx of fraudulent cash in America's elections was evident after the Citizens United decision, but it won't be anything compared to what will happen courtesy of the McCutcheon decision (link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/08 [17]). Americans have had enough of being robbed blind and screwed over by their government (link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article38164.htm [18]). Eviscerating Democracy for corporations, government entities and the wealthy has run its course. The Supreme Court's dubious decision could easily lead to an upheaval among the general population as fraudulent billionaires take over America's Democracy in the very near future (link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/07-2 [19]). We've revolted before when Washington's corruption screwed us over so what's to stop us from doing it again?
 
As noted by Bill Moyers, the Supreme Court's evisceration of our campaign finance rules is a powerful argument for the cleansing properties of sunlight and we should respond to McCutcheon by pushing for full and timely disclosure of every penny donated to advance a political agenda (link: http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/can-we-safeguard-our-democracy-after-mccutcheon [20]). After all, if America's wealthiest can buy our politicians the least we can do is force them to own their activism. The time has come to close the loopholes for fraudulent "social welfare" organizations and trade groups, to wipe out the dark money that has corrupted our political system, and to force the fraudsters to face the music.
 
 Keywords: Citizens United, US Supreme Court, McCutcheon v FEC, Plutocracy, Corporate Corruption, Fraudulent Billionaires, Racial Discrimination, Koch Brothers, Koch Whores, Corporately Corrupt Supreme Court Quintet

Links:
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[1] http://www.commondreams.org/video/2014/04/03-1
[2] http://www.commondreams.org/video/2014/04/03
[3] http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/04/02-0
[4] http://bit.ly/1lneFzm
[5] http://www.alternet.org/supreme-court-just-destroyed-our-democracy-favor-plutocrats
[6] http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/04/04/pers-a04.html
[7] http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/04
[8] http://www.alternet.org/most-elitist-disgusting-supreme-court-has-rigged-whole-system-favor-rich
[9] http://bit.ly/1lMuodR
[10] http://www.commondreams.org/video/2014/04/04-1
[11] http://bit.ly/PIFwLk
[12] http://www.thenation.com/blog/179131/supreme-courts-ideology-more-money-less-voting
[13] http://www.alternet.org/investigations/arm-yourself-read-breyers-dissent-mccutcheon-v-fec
[14] http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-536_e1pf.pdf
[15] http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/03-8
[16] http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/07-8
[17] http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/08
[18] http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article38164.htm
[19] http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/07-2
[20] http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/can-we-safeguard-our-democracy-after-mccutcheon