Money Matters In Our Democracy
Unfortunately, campaign contributions are out of control in our country. This election year, hundreds of millions of dollars have and will be spent on TV ads, newsletters, rallies and other incidentals. It’s disturbing that so much money is spent and so much of it is wasted on misinforming voters.
And in several key races, some candidates have much more money to spend on their campaigns. This usually means that they win because they get their face shown more and are able to smear their opponent more. Is this really fair? Is this really democracy?
In many key races, not all, Republicans have more money to spend because their platform supports the wealthiest echelon of society. So while polls may show that Americans want change, the Democratic handicap makes it more difficult for Americans to actually change the government. This is undemocratic and unconstitutional, plain and simple.
In countries like Australia, candidates are not allowed to advertise on TV until 2 weeks before the election. 2 weeks is plenty of time to get messages across while not wasting money like 16 year old girls on MTV. Here we see campaign ads 6 months prior, from candidates who have loads to spend and want to be the first horse out of the gate. The other candidate gets clobbered and then has to wait to counter attack because they have less money, in the meantime they have fallen behind in the race.
Our political system is a total fiasco and needs to change. It’s time we start acting like a democracy, like we say we are.
2 Comments
How about if elected officials actually adhered to the supreme law of the land, namely the Constitution, its intent is to limit the central government powers which have been expanded way beyond the limits imposed on them. Federal politicians make promises that are not allowed in the Constitution. The 10th Amendment is strangely ignored by all. When will we wake up? When its too late?
Unfortunately, many of our elected officials are criminals, whether they are ever charged with anything or not. So it’s definitely difficult for a criminal to er, adhere to actual laws.