To put it frankly it is frightening how the system can work so effectively to the advantage of the wealthy. Granted, it isn’t surprising given that this country was founded by wealthy landowners who even while creating a constitution that championed democracy still kept tight control of the process for an inordinate amount of time in our nation’s history.
Independence from Britain was declared in 1776, the Constitution was ratified in 1788, and the Bill of Rights were added in 1791. Women did not receive the right to vote until 1920 and legislation to protect the African-American vote did not occur until the 1960s. And against all odds we elected our first African-American president in 2008.
We’ve come a long way in a short time and now a small group of wealthy white billionaires and deep pocket corporations are literally spending fortunes to “take back their country.”
In the Wisconsin recall election, “Republicans poured $45.6 million into the election and Democrats spent $17.9 million. The cash disparity was even greater when comparing what the two campaigns raised, without factoring in all the outside cash: Walker had a nearly eight-to-one advantage.” (Huffpo)
And the Supreme Court sanctioned rise of the Super Pac has led to unprecedented amounts of money being spent in the general election.
Outside groups [such as those controlled by the Koch Brothers and Karl Rove] now say they plan to spend $1 billion on behalf of Republicans in the November election, which will probably be twice the level raised by groups supporting Democrats.
The reason for these staggering numbers — and for the growing imbalance between the parties — is that the vast financial power of the business world has been loosed as a political tool by the federal courts. In pursuit of lower taxes and less regulation, businesses, led by the United States Chamber of Commerce, are determined to remove President Obama from office and return full control of Congress to the Republican Party. Executives and companies are the principal source of the unlimited checks that are fueling the rise of these outside groups. (NYT)
This is a 30 second ad created by one of those groups (Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS) that will run for two weeks in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
All of that sounds really problematic doesn’t it? Personally I wouldn’t even know where to begin to dissect what’s real and what isn’t but I do know this, Obama inherited an economy in free fall and only had two years of a supportive Congress to get it back in shape. I’ll repeat, TWO YEARS to make things better after EIGHT YEARS of severe fiscal irresponsibility.
Continuing…
Bill Burton, a senior strategist with the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action, argued that “in rushing to defend” Romney with the ad, Crossroads was actually highlighting his “key weaknesses.”
“As CEO, Romney often made millions by loading up companies with unsustainable debt to pay himself fees,” Burton told Hotsheet in an email. “As Governor, Romney increased state debt by $2.6 billion – leaving the state with the highest debt per capita in the country. Now Romney is proposing to add $3.4 trillion to our debt with new tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans.”
He added: “In business and government, Romney has always been for more debt at the expense of the middle class, especially when it stood to make the wealthy, wealthier.” (cbsnews)
Here is the ad released by the Obama Campaign on Monday attacking Romney’s credibility on economic leadership:
It will run in the most of same states as the Crossroads GPS ad: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. (cbsnews)
Better yet, here’s a chart for you to review:
AND
Source: http://www.barackobama.com/real-story
I may not have billions but I do have a voice and the internet is still free. Spread the word, don’t let Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers buy America. If it’s a David v. Goliath fight they want then let’s get ready to rumble. #Obama2012
