THE DEATH RATTLE OF DEMOCRACY

Donors freed by McCutcheon decision: Mostly wealthy white men | Al Jazeera America



America is being ruled by Wizards in black robes. With a wave of their wands these 9 "political appointees" are transforming what was once a thriving and growing republic/democracy into a full-blown plutocracy ruled by a wealthy elite class in serving their own self interests.



But exactly who will be empowered to write more checks this election season as a result of the McCutcheon decision? Perhaps to no one’s surprise, researchers and advocates say the elite class of donors who are most likely to exceed the stricken limits tends to skew white, male, affiliated with business interests and, of course, ultra-wealthy.

These superdonors — those who are now freed to open their wallets even more to as many candidates, party committees and political action committees they deem worthy — include conservative billionaires David and Charles Koch, director Steven Spielberg and banking titan Charles Schwab.

Only a quarter of these donors were women, according to the analysis. Almost half of them lived in the richest 1 percent of neighborhoods, as calculated by per capita income. Fewer than 1 in 50 lived in a majority African-American or Hispanic neighborhood, as compared to 1 in 6 of the general population. And 28 percent of them worked for Wall Street or had roots in the financial sector.

“These elite donors stand apart from the rest of America; they are overwhelmingly wealthy, white, and male,” the report read.

“It skews the entire system to the top, to those who have money, and it puts the decision making further into the hands of those that are already doing quite well,” said David Donnelly, executive director of the Public Campaign Action Fund. “What they’re generally not interested in is the minimum wage or support for people who have low or little income.”

Analysts predict that after the McCutcheon decision, lawmakers are likely to spend even more of their time and energy attempting to woo these superdonors.

Donnelly said you could expect to see more spectacles like the pilgrimages four potential 2016 GOP presidential contenders made to Las Vegas last week to curry favor with billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who had publicly said he was looking for a candidate to bankroll. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kaisich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker all made sure to affirm their support for Israel, Adelson’s primary cause.




The one bastion against a complete takeover of our country was the vote using the "one person - one vote " principle. That is quickly coming to an end.



It accelerated in the Bush/Gore election where the 5 republican appointed wizards "selected" a Republican president even though his Democratic opponent had the majority of the popular vote.



Next, came the transforming of corporations into human beings and giving them the same rights as human beings in matters like voting.



Now, comes allowing the wealthy to literally buy elections by dropping what few restrictions were left from the Watergate days in financing campaigns with private money.



In each decision the vote was 5/4 with the majority of Republican "political appointees" ruling for.



What was once considered the one branch of our government to be incorruptible and a staunch supporter of our Constitution has now turned into a destructive tool of the wealthy to impose it's rule on Americans; which is nothing short of a coup.



There was a time when Americans would rise up against this kind of tyranny; the very kind of tyranny our Founding Fathers fought the War of Independence to free us from.



Today we hear nary a sound and there's an atmosphere filled with resignation or indifference filling the air. It's as if Americans have surrendered to a ruling class without a struggle; possibly too exhausted, anxious, paranoid, or drugged up to put up a fight.



The final blow will come in the "mid-term" elections which Republicans have boldly proclaimed is theirs for the taking. Their confidence is bolstered by these recent events but foremost by American's reactions to them which would predict most Americans will stay home glued to their LED big screens mesmerized by some mindless reality show and far, far, away from a voting booth.



Let's see if they are right.