Russ Feingold criticizes Obama’s embracing of super-PAC

From Huffpo:

Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) ripped into both President Barack Obama and his re-election team on Tuesday morning for backing off its previous criticism of outside spending on campaigns and embracing the role that super PACs will play in the 2012 election. "It is a dumb approach," Feingold said in a phone interview with The Huffington Post. "It will lead to scandal and there are going to be a lot of people having corrupt conversations about huge amounts of money that will one day regret that they went down the route of what is effectively a legalized Abramoff system."

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Three hour visit with Chris Hedges

After listening to the first hour of this video featuring writer Chris Hedges, I'm started by two things. First, it surprises me that I agree with so much of what Hedges has to say. Not everything he says, but much of it, including Hedge's critique of much of Obama's health care program, which he considers to be a bailout to the insurance industry and big pharma. I think he is spot-on with his characterization of the United States as a case of "inverted totalitarianism," ruled by anonymous corporate forces. Second, looking back at what I used to believe only 10 years ago, I'm amazed at how much my views have changed regarding the United States. Occasionally, it still feels like my country, for instance, during the pushback to SOPA and PIPA. But mostly, it doesn't feel like a country that belongs to the People. There is much to love about many of the people and places of the United States, and I suspect that we're going to officially be around as a country for a long time, but I'm afraid that I agree with Hedges assessment that we have "hollowed out" the innards of who we were, and we are now seeing a vast unsustainable empire in the throes of collapse. The people bearing the brunt of this collapse are ordinary citizens who have conned by the corporate elite in ways too numerous to count involving "free elections," warmongering, spying on citizens, banks' purchase and abuse of Congress and much more. If one ware to write an honest civics book for grade school children, it would need to say dozens of inconvenient truths that would cause uproars at the PTA meetings. But maybe that is what we need.

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Nick Penniman presents update of Get Money Out campaign

Nick Penniman, the President of United Republic, presents an update on the strategies and accomplishments of the Get Money out Campaign:

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Penniman cites disturbing statistics: 40% of a Congressional representative's time is spent soliciting donations. Almost all of that time is spent soliciting wealthy individuals who don't even reside in their districts.

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Jack Abramoff: How to fix political corruption

At LA Weekly, Paul Teetor interviews Jack Abramoff, who has recently released his memoirs, titled Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist. I focused on these parts of the interview:

Politicians have to beg constantly for money, but you say that's not the primary problem. What is the primary problem? Power. The primary problem is them wanting to stay in power. It's not just campaign contributions; it's also people giving each other meals, taking them on trips. Anytime a gratuity is given to a public servant, that is a bribe. You say the best way to get control of a congressman's office is to offer a future job to the chief of staff. How does that work? I would say, "I would like to talk to you about working for me." The minute that conversation started, I had basically bribed them. From that point forward, I found, they were basically working for us. Is that part of your reform recommendations? Members and their chiefs of staff cannot become lobbyists? I would include every member of their staff.
These are the conclusions of a man who manipulated the system for decades. Although he attributes much of the corruption in Washington, D.C. to the lust for power, all methods of playing the system involve the exchange of money and other things of value. Politicians should be making their decisions solely on the merits of the legislation being considered. The solution is to pay our representatives well but take all other money and other things of value, direct and indirect, out of the equation. No junkets, no special book deals, no lecture money, no special consideration for jobs for relatives and friends. I would also pass a constitutional amendment to undo the damage of Citizen's United. I would offer meaningful public funding for political campaigns. Although I don't agree with everything Abramoff now says, I think he is right that corruption often starts with the little things and builds up. Therefore, I would agree to ban all of the little things too: no dinners, no small gifts and nothing at all of value. In the aggregate, these things constitute the only approach for freeing up the consciences of politicians so that they can make decisions based only on what is best for their constituents.

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The one percent of the one percent

Sunlight Foundation reports on the one percent of the one percent:

In the 2010 election cycle, 26,783 individuals (or slightly less than one in ten thousand Americans) each contributed more than $10,000 to federal political campaigns. Combined, these donors spent $774 million. That's 24.3% of the total from individuals to politicians, parties, PACs, and independent expenditure groups. Together, they would fill only two-thirds of the 41,222 seats at Nationals Park the baseball field two miles from the U.S. Capitol. When it comes to politics, they are The One Percent of the One Percent. These high-monied donors wield extraordinary power, in that they serve as gatekeepers for the ideas that will be allowed in campaigns, and as a group they are highly ideological:

Unlike the other 99.99% of Americans who do not make these contributions, these elite donors have unique access. In a world of increasingly expensive campaigns, The One Percent of the One Percent effectively play the role of political gatekeepers. Prospective candidates need to be able to tap into these networks if they want to be taken seriously. And party leaders on both sides are keenly aware that more than 80% of party committee money now comes from these elite donors.
This article names names and presents the numbers to back up the claims.

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