Reply #17: Average American?

[seanparnell]

Which "average american" are you talking about? The ones who agree with, say, Rush Limbaugh, or the ones that agree with Rachel Maddow? The ones that agree with George Soros, or Sheldon Adelstein? The ones that agree with Nancy Pelosi, or John Boehner?

You seem to be under the illusion that there is some large monolithic bloc of Americans that have interests and perspectives dramatically different from those who fund campaigns, and that their voices are excluded from the political system. This is rubbish. There are some voices that are largely excluded, the KKK and the Communist Party come to mind, but that's just because very few people are willing to sink their money into supporting such garbage, and very few Americans support those ideas (at least I fervently hope so).

Yes, those with more money to give are able to do more to support their favored causes and candidates. This would be a problem if there was a consensus among political donors on whom to support, but every election cycle we have billions of dollars being contributed, much of it by wealthy individuals, to candidates with sharply contrasting views.

You also are under the delusion that somehow political contributions are the only way to have a "megaphone." The editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times would seem to rebut this, as would the grassroots legions of the National Rifle Association and the Sierra Club, and the millions of Americans who check out RedState.com and the DailyKos.

But perhaps you can share with everybody here which voice of the "average american" is being shut out?

Sean Parnell
President
Center for Competitive Politics
http://www.campaignfreedom.org
[e-mail]