Isn't this all the fruit of Citizens United?

[EmeraldCoaster]

Seems to me.

[onenote]

1. I don't see it as being any one thing. Most of all, its the fruit of not getting out the vote.

Its' because of Citizens United. It's because of Fox News. It's because of the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine. It's because of electronic voting machines. It's because of gerrymandering. It's because of vote suppression.

One can argue that in some measure all of those things have contributed to where we are today. But just 7 years ago, we re-elected an African American president. Just a year ago, we recaptured the House.

Ultimately, instead of focusing on excuses, we simply need to get out our voters. Then we can go about trying to change those things that make it harder to win than it would otherwise be.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. My thought as well.

Even if this is not ALL the fruit of Citizens United, certainly this was the purpose of CU.

[Hortensis]

3. Instead, how about CU as one of the fruits? Of a perfect storm of a

* national shift to conservative domination @ 1978 after 50 years of growth of middle class prosperity and wellbeing during the liberal-dominated government of the New Deal era,

* massive influx of corruption into government, both foreign and domestic, simultaneous with and inseparable from

* the growth of new classes, domestic and foreign, so wealthy and powerful that to them democracy is a hindrance, a serious insult and an existential threat,

* the weaponizing of the internet to divide and conquer electorates (see above), and

* major, destabilizing, fear-generating (i.e., further conservatizing) changes such falling incomes and labor rights under conservative domination, grave erosion of social mobility, disappearance of millions of jobs, growing civil unrest fostered by the internet and uncontrolled gun ownership, and devastating climate change threats?

There're no doubt more, such as the rise of RW extremist nativist and religious power, but those are what come to mind. CU is part of the embedding of corruption into our government to control it. RW leaders currently want people anxious and troubled, because insecurity makes people more selfish and hostile toward others and less generous and kind. Civil unrest and the fears it generates is is also an important fascistic tool/catalyst for takeovers and transformations of democracies into autocracies.

Think people voting to destroy democracy, not fighting in the streets. At the ballot, with major election thefts and other fascistic strategies to more than help it along, is how it happens. Ergo, Citizens.

[CanonRay]

4. And Bush v Gore

The two worst SCOTUS decisions since Dred Scott.

[EmeraldCoaster]

6. Right On

[Kablooie]

5. 25 years of Fox News

Is what I think is the main cause.
Without that the influence of Right wing propaganda on uninformed voters would be much less.

[Tiggeroshii]

7. Yes

[Caliman73]

8. Further back. Buckley v. Valeo + as others said, many more factors.

Buckley v. Valeo was the case that cemented the concept that money in politics was akin to free speech. While the case did allow government to set some limits on the amounts that could be spent, it allowed the concept to continue, which lead to the other court cases that picked away at the limit setting power of government. If money is like free speech and free speech should have very few limits, then it would follow that there should be few limits on money as speech in politics.

Someone else pointed out Fox News and right wing media. The power of propaganda is immense.

This has been a concerted efforts since the attempted impeachment of Nixon, by the right wing in league with the wealthy, to consolidate power through the purchasing of the legal system, and mass communications systems.

They do not have the numbers, but they have the financial resources to try to hold on to power.