so if you are disgusted with our current money buys votes system

[backwoodsbob]

what do you do?Where do we go from here?
With our current (d) vs (r) winner take all system where the winner....no matter which letter they have....is going to become a millionare if they win.....how do we get the system back to having the government representing the people instead of the monied elite?

With Citizens vs we gave the monied elite free access to buy every seat...from senate seats and reps right down to local BoE seats. Currently the only redress is to get our elected officials to vote against their own monied future to change the system....and that isn't going to happen.

So what do we do?

[LWolf]

1. I await answers

that won't be hidden.

[backwoodsbob]

2. so do I

it's an honost question

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. I think the phrase is "Suck it up" and pretend we have a democracy.

[backwoodsbob]

4. that's about the only answer I ever get :)

Lesser of two evils...blah blah

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. "Not as bad" is also in vogue for politicians whose first concern is feathering their nest.

Kinda like choosing between 1 tsp or 1 tbsp of arsenic in your coffee without the option of choosing neither.

[backwoodsbob]

6. I have a feeling you are about as disgusted as I am

good luck against the hoards of *you are with us or against us* posts that are coming

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. I've been on DU since 2001. I've learned to shrug at the Party Purists.

[SomethingFishy]

8. Pray for alien invasion.

Think I'm kidding? The way I see it, that is about the only thing that can turn the tide.

The only other option is to fix the media, but there is too much profit in dividing the world into us and them.

[backwoodsbob]

10. that's about it

it's sad.....vote for someone who will stab you in the face vs someone who will stab you in the back.

That's about where we are as a nation

[99Forever]

9. Very important and legitimate question...

...but I wouldn't recommend holding your breath waiting for a workable answer.

My sad view is that, short of a violent and very bloody revolution, nothing can or will be done. BOTH major political party are owned by moneyed interests and are corrupt beyond redemption.

[backwoodsbob]

11. I'm not sure there is a workable answer

if there is one I sure as hell don't have it

[helpmetohelpyou]

15. It would be interesting to see the combined wealth of the 637 people

that make laws and run our country

Senate
Congress
President
Vice President


Before and After

[helpmetohelpyou]

12. .

[tularetom]

13. Yep, we're like those frogs in a pot of water over a low flame

We're slowly getting boiled to death but 99.9% of us aren't even aware that the water is starting to get uncomfortably warm.

When enough of us wake up, will we still be able to jump out?

[dawg]

14. Money only buys votes when the people are stupid ...

enough to have their opinions dictated to them by slickly-produced 30 second commercials.

The money in politics is a problem, and of course we should work to get better campaign laws in place. (Maybe I should check out Cenk Uygur's wolf-pac.com)

But the money is only part of the problem.

[backwoodsbob]

16. we will have to disagree

when the monied can buy every election through shear buying power we have a problem.

Even at the local level money wins.....say what you want about the people being stupid but most people are too busy trying to survive to spend hours every day scouring political sites.

Face it...when the favorite of the monied even at the local level can outspend the oppenent ten to one or more the money is going to win most of the elections.....that's just a fact of life.

The question is how do we get the influence of money out of elections when the people getting the money will have to vote to cut the money off?

I don't have an answer

[dawg]

17. That's the thing. Any democratic form of government is only as good as its voters.

If they just vote for they guy who ran the most ads, they get the government they deserve. And sadly, we get that government right along with them.

All we can do is show up, vote for the best candidates, run for office ourselves if we are able, and try to influence the people we know.

[ThoughtCriminal]

18. Pravda didn't save the USSR. Fox won't save the GOP

Eventually, the disconnect with reality is just too much. 2006, 2008 and 2012 are evidence that when people do get off their ass and vote, all the money, the smears, the gerrymandering, and voter suppression are not enough for the right wing to win every time. 2010 and 2014 are the lesson of what happens when people stay home.

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/CxuMbVMGGjeZZZR_ts1xDw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQyMjtpbD1wbGFuZTtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz02MDA-/

[nichomachus]

19. The difference between Pravda and Fox

Is that everyone knew Pravda was just propaganda. It was a total charade.

[BrotherIvan]

20. The only answer I can think of is to work for someone who takes public financing

It actually exists already. In 2008, McCain--who, when he was sane and public financing was one of his special projects--made an agreement with candidate Obama to take public financing for the general. Think about what could have been if that had happened. It happens in big countries like Germany where most politicians do very little campaigning as it is considered beneath them.

Bernie Sanders supports public financing and that's one of the reasons why I support him. But this will be severely punished by the media as they are the benefactors of all of that cash. If it takes now over $1 BILLION dollars to run for president and now the rate for Rep or Senator and even state positions is going up and up and up, the media is making a killing. So we have to do our work. We have to be the media to everyone we know and start talking up those issues NOW.

I'm lucky enough that my circle does not include any Republicans and I know that it is very difficult for those who do have them (my sympathies). But I do believe that campaign finance reform is one of those things that appeals to both sides. It is, in fact, the lynch pin that will improve many things.

Thanks for your post. We need to be discussing this subject...A LOT.