Bill Moyers has the key to restoring democracy to his United States of America.
This is a racket, plain and simple. A new report from Moody’s Investor
Service says that all that spending by the parties, corporations, super
PACs and other outside groups will push political ad spending up this
year by half a billion dollars — 25 percent higher than 2010 – the
biggest increase in history. That prompted the CEO of CBS, Leslie
Moonves, to lick his chops and tell an investors conference last
December, “There’s going to be a lot of money spent. I’m not saying
that’s the best thing for America, but it’s not a bad thing for the CBS
Corporation.” Yes, the media giants and the TV stations they own are in
on the racket.
So are all those highly paid political consultants who as part of their
fees skim a percentage of the cost of local TV airtime, usually around
ten percent. The pickings are better than ever, thanks to all the dark
money being thrown around since the Citizens United decision. One
Democratic consultant has called it “the greatest windfall that ever
happened for political operatives in American history.” You bet it is:
By the time the primaries were over this year, the top 150 political and
media consultants already had raked in an estimated $465 million — or
more. When Election Day finally rolls around, chances are that number
will have at least doubled.
So we can’t stop reporting on this, even though we’re often told:
“Please change the subject. Everyone’s tired of this one.” Don’t be so
sure. There’s a groundswell for rooting the money out of politics, as
Americans come to see that this is the one reform that enables all other
reforms. Two polls released in the last few days report large
majorities — as many as eight in ten — are in favor of clamping down on
the amount of money that corporations, the super-rich, and those shadowy
outside groups are pouring into the campaigns. It’s up to all of us to
put a sign on every lawn and stoop in the land: “Democracy is not for
sale.”
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