Mitt Romney: Don’t Run For Office If You Need The Salary: TPM

[RickFromMN]

45. Trying to prevent the rich from holding public office won't accomplish what we want.

The rich will buy, I mean hire, a political puppet, err person, to run for public office,
much like they hire a gardener or a chauffeur or a housekeeper.

The rich might find this so appealing they will do this anyway.
They can stay out of the lime light.
The can pull the strings, anonymously; that's real political power.
All threats and criticisms will be directed at the political puppet.

When the puppet is old and used up, the rich can replace one puppet with another puppet.

I can't see my way to finding a solution to this problem.

We need to undo the Citizen's United decision. Corporations are not people.
I think this is a necessary step, but not a sufficient step.

Another part of the problem is the ability of a person to spend his personal wealth,
without limit, on his political campaign. The Supreme Court calls it free speech.
Something has to be done to limit all sources of money, including this source of money.

I hope, in some distant Utopia, the Internet will somehow level the playing field.
I don't think my hopes are justified.

I don't think there is a solution to the problem of money buying political power.