I keep getting messages in my Email in-box from politicians asking for money to help them in their efforts to fend off the Koch brothers and their millions of dollars that they are pumping into this next presidential election. Thanks to the Supreme Court and their decision that money donated does not imply in any way that a service or favor might be required by the donor…no matter how much is donated.
And this comes from a Supreme Court that has 2 members who regularly support and attend Koch brother foundations and think tanks and 1 with a wife who works for one of their organizations…so they should know all about whether or not money can influence ones way of thinking…. shouldn’t they?
Anyway, the bad news is that the Koch brothers are said to be planning to spend up to 1 billion dollars supporting the Republican candidate of their choice. That should make quite an influential impact on their chosen candidate…don’t you think?…even though 5 of the supposed greatest thinkers in the USA (The Supremes)…don’t think so…even a little bit. That seems a bit naive for supreme thinking wouldn’t you say? And how are we or anyone else supposed to know that money hasn’t changed their minds..let alone the minds of greedy, opportunistic politicians?
Democratic candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have to resort to asking for 10 dollars at a time to try to catch up to the Koch’s spending. And Good luck with that! Because the really sad news isn’t so much that the Koch brothers are going to spend 1 billion dollars trying to put their chosen candidate into the White House. The saddest news is that 1 billion dollars represents only 1% of the Koch brother’s total wealth!
1 billion dollars to them is like a 500 dollar donation to a person who earns 50,000 dollars a year or a thousand dollar donation if you earn 100,000 dollars. Well sort of because after you make that 1,000 dollar donation you won’t still have 99 BILLION dollars left!
Just imagine what the Koch brothers can do in a country that worships money at the alter of greed. Imagine what a rich foreign country or international person of power might eventually be able to do here in our most free and material world…
So for all intents and purposes,…We ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
ipledgeafallegiance 
Go, Bernie, Go, Bernie, Go, Bernie…………Maybe, just maybe Americans aren’t as stupid as we fear????
Yes! Go Bernie Go…
When I hear about how much money is being donated and spent on political campaigns, all I can think about is the good that money could be doing. It could be building hospitals and schools in communities that need them the most. It could be repairing our dilapidated infrastructures like bridges and roads and railways. If only politicians would focus on doing good works instead of blasting the people with their commercials and billboards and what not.
Sometimes I think the only way this country will save itself is if rich people start to do good things rather than greedy things because they have all the money!
It would save a huge amount of money if the campaign were limited to three weeks duration. No travelling about the country; no rallies; no fund-raising dinners. Just three weeks to pitch your policies through Internet, media, and mail. Done.
Bravo! My strategy for the the 2016 election year –
1. visit every website of every candidate as soon as I’m alerted to it via a handy-dandy ‘mailer’ in my mail box or chatter online-
2. Search for a platform topic I care about and have some knowledge about – they have publicly talked about at the site, and read what they have to say about the topic.
3. Submit an inquiry to them about complexities or perspectives or research on said topic that I know about and I think, maybe they don’t, else their copy would read differently –
4a. Wait to see if I get a canned reply that doesn’t answer a bloomin thing or one that appears someone actually read my missive –
4b. wait to see if the only response I get is thrice daily email pleas of how to avoid the end of the world if only I will donate now.
5. Tell everyone I know about why I may or may not vote for the guy who has enough money to flood the email, snail mail and airwave space –
6. Sit back to watch the feeding frenzy, cuz the candidate I really liked didn’t have enough money to make it past the first leg of the season
7. Once again wonder what the hell happened to the system of elections- –
I have a throw away email address set up for the season – little trick I learned last major election season – 🙂
LOL
You’re really good at math! Thx. This post reminds me of the way my son’s fiancé was penalized $250 some dollars on her tax return for not purchasing health care. She makes $20,000 per year.