March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31 are the most important dates of the year to most candidates running for office, other than Election Day and possibly the day of a debate. If the dates are important, and if the candidates aspire to be public servants, then one might deduce that what makes the dates important is that they represent what the candidates as elected officials could do for their constituents.

Au contraire, it’s essentially the opposite. These “end of the calendar quarter” dates are all about what citizens (including citizen-corporations, which exist, according to the Supreme Court) can do for the politicians, not the other way around.

There was a time when the only numbers that really counted in an election were votes on Election Day. Things have changed dramatically in recent years, and now there’s a new game in town with competitive scoring ….. “Dialing for dollars.” The question is how much money can a candidate raise in a given period of time. The assumption is that if a candidate is able to raise a lot of money, (a) he or she is well-liked by the public, at least that portion of the public that is “of means.,” and (b) he or she is a viable candidate, because money is the mother’s milk of campaigns. No serious candidate would enter a contest without seeking the greatest amount of money.

The most recent quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011. Some people were planning big New Year’s Eve bashes. Others were nervous about the date they had with “someone special;” they didn’t want to let him or her down. Some were at home alone, perhaps sad because they didn’t have a social event. Others were home, which was exactly where they wanted to be, preferring a quiet evening of reading and perhaps television.

None of this kept politicians from continuing their onslaught of appeals for more money. They had to reach their goal for the quarter. They could only do it with “your help.”

I received nine requests on Dec. 31, no less than three from the President of the United States or one of his surrogates. I don’t know how I resisted giving. I’m supposed to feel the “fierce urgency of now” because, as things stand now, he’s going to enter the 2012 presidential race with merely one billion dollars.

My favorite request was the one directly from him with a subject line of “Hey,”

Friend —

About the deadline tonight: It matters.

If you can, please give $150:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Midnight

To 2012,

Barack

My political inbox for the last week of 2011 looked as follow.

Underneath the headings are content that range from desperate calls for action to heavy guilt trips to sweet requests from the candidates’ mothers. No matter how hard they try, there’s nothing subtle about what they’re doing. They’re shilling for money.

I recognize that candidates require financial resources in order to run campaigns. But this is serious business and many candidates have made a sport of it.

And what do they do with their winnings? Many of them take the cash and transfer them to the pockets of the makers of sleazy negative ads. The American public says that it abhors negative commercials, but people continue to donate money, which, in large part, is used for that purpose. What’s more, they often believe the messages in the negative ads, meaning that they are drawn to a candidate who has raised money to be just plain nasty.

The system is broken; it will not be fixed until we have public financing with clear limits on both how much candidates can spend and for what purposes. We’re a long way from that, particularly with today’s Supreme Court and Congress. So, like others who are interested in politics, I may well be donating to various campaigns. Let me suggest two criteria for donating:

1. The candidate really needs it; they are not swimming in money.

2. The money will not be used for negative ads or other forms of distortion.

My ideal contribution will go to a low-profile progressive who needs to inform the public of his or her candidacy. He or she will run a clean campaign, and hopefully the public will see the contrast between him or her and his or her likely opponent. For better or for worse, I probably won’t be giving much in the near future. When the end of each calendar quarter comes, I’ll be both frustrated and amused. I won’t be persuaded.

The post Four days that really make our political system ugly appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Famed progressive author, teacher and activist Howard Zinn died suddenly on January 27, 2010. To celebrate Zinn’s life and legacy, Boston University initiatied a new lecture series in his honor. On October 29, 2010, Bill Moyers gave the inaugural lecture of the Howard Zinn Lecture Series at Boston University. He spoke for 74 minutes and then took questions for almost another hour. This riveting “must view,” progressive lecture is available online, at Boston University’s website, and the full text can be read at Alternet.

Moyers warns that we are in denial about the loss of our democracy, which began with Ronald Reagan and was cemented with the Citizen’s United Supreme Court decision. He calls for ordinary Americans to fight back against the collusion of government and corporations—which he defines as government by oligarchy—by getting involved with progressive political organizations.

An extended quote from his speech:

The Gilded Age returned with a vengeance in our time. It slipped in quietly at first, back in the early 1980s, when Ronald Reagan began a “massive decades-long transfer of national wealth to the rich.” As Roger Hodge makes clear, under Bill Clinton the transfer was even more dramatic, as the top 10 percent captured an ever-growing share of national income. The trend continued under George W. Bush – those huge tax cuts for the rich, remember, which are now about to be extended because both parties have been bought off by the wealthy – and by 2007 the wealthiest 10% of Americans were taking in 50% of the national income. Today, a fraction of people at the top today earn more than the bottom 120 million Americans.

You will hear it said, “Come on, this is the way the world works.” No, it’s the way the world is made to work. This vast inequality is not the result of Adam Smith’s invisible hand; it did not just happen; it was no accident. As Hodge drives home, it is the result of a long series of policy decisions “about industry and trade, taxation and military spending, by flesh-and-blood humans sitting in concrete-and-steel buildings.” And those policy decisions were paid for by the less than one percent who participate in our capitalist democracy political contributions. Over the past 30 years, with the complicity of Republicans and Democrats alike, the plutocrats, or plutonomists (choose your own poison) have used their vastly increased wealth to assure that government does their bidding. Remember that grateful Citigroup reference to “market-friendly governments” on the side of plutonomy? We had a story down in Texas for that sort of thing; the dealer in a poker game says to the dealer, Now play the cards fairly, Reuben; I know what I dealt you.” (To see just how our system was rigged by the financial, political, and university elites, run, don’t walk, to the theatre nearest you showing Charles Ferguson’s new film, “Inside Job.” Take a handkerchief because you’ll weep for the republic.)

Looking back, it all seems so clear that we wonder how we could have ignored the warning signs at the time. One of the few journalists who did see it coming – Thomas Edsall of the Washington Post – reported that “business refined its ability to act as a class, submerging competitive instincts in favor of joint, cooperative action in the legislative arena.” Big business political action committees flooded the political arena with a deluge of dollars. They funded think tanks that churned out study after study with results skewed to their ideology and interests. And their political allies in the conservative movement cleverly built alliances with the religious right – Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority and Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition – who zealously waged a cultural holy war that camouflaged the economic assault on working people and the middle class.

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan also tried to warn us. He said President Reagan’s real strategy was to force the government to cut domestic social programs by fostering federal deficits of historic dimensions. Senator Moynihan was gone before the financial catastrophe on George W. Bush’s watch that could paradoxically yet fulfill Reagan’s dream. The plutocrats who soaked up all the money now say the deficits require putting Social Security and other public services on the chopping block. You might think that Mr. Bush today would regret having invaded Iraq on false pretences at a cost of more than a trillion dollars and counting, but no, just last week he said that his biggest regret was his failure to privatize Social Security. With over l00 Republicans of the House having signed a pledge to do just that when the new Congress convenes, Mr. Bush’s vision may yet be realized.

Daniel Altman also saw what was coming. In his book Neoconomy he described a place without taxes or a social safety net, where rich and poor live in different financial worlds. “It’s coming to America,” he wrote. Most likely he would not have been surprised recently when firefighters in rural Tennessee would let a home burn to the ground because the homeowner hadn’t paid a $75 fee. 
That’s what is coming to America.

***

Here we are now, on the verge of the biggest commercial transaction in the history of American elections. Once again the plutocracy is buying off the system. Nearly $4 billion is being spent on the congressional races that will be decided next week, including multi millions coming from independent tax-exempt organizations that can collect unlimited amounts without revealing the sources. The organization Public Citizen reports that just 10 groups are responsible for the bulk of the spending by independent groups: “A tiny number of organizations, relying on a tiny number of corporate and fat cat contributors, are spending most of the money on the vicious attack ads dominating the airwaves” – those are the words of Public Citizen’s president, Robert Wiessman. The Federal Election Commission says that two years ago 97% of groups paying for election ads disclosed the names of their donors. This year it’s only 32%.

Socrates again: To remember a thing, you must first name it. We’re talking about slush funds. Donors are laundering their cash through front groups with high-falutin’ names like American Crossroads. That’s one of the two slush funds controlled by Karl Rove in his ambition to revive the era of the robber barons. Promise me you won’t laugh when I tell you that although Rove and the powerful Washington lobbyist who is his accomplice described the first organization as “grassroots”, 97% of its initial contributions came from four billionaires. Yes: The grass grows mighty high when the roots are fertilized with gold.

The post Celebrate, but think about what’s really happening to US democracy appeared first on Occasional Planet.

What, you weren’t invited to the Fenway Park bash for Rhode Island’s Democratic Congressman James Langevin on August 25? It must have been a mistake, or it got lost in the mail, right? Or maybe not, if you don’t have [or wouldn’t want to give] the minimum $1,500 campaign contribution that would have bought you a seat.

But, at least, now you know about it. And you can find out about lots and lots of other similar events at Party Time, which documents the political party circuit, one invitation at a time.

The site is a service of the Sunlight Foundation, which says:

From the early hours of the morning until late in the evening, politicians are partying. Party Time can help you find out who is partying, where and when.

Using the site’s Partyfinder, you can search by beneficiary, host, venue name, entertainment type and other lawmakers whose names are mentioned in the invitation. Clicking on your search results takes you directly to the actual invitation. A search on AT&T as host, for example, yields a July 20^th party for Rep. Roger Wicker [R-MS], where a $500 individual contribution would have gotten you “Beers and Burgers.” Or, if you’re a football fan, you can attend a fundraiser for Sen. Mike Crapo [R-ID] at FedEx field, where Boise State plays Virginia Tech on Sept. 6, and where the price of admission to the party, for an individual, is a donation of $2,400.

What’s the point? Party Time gives outsiders an insider’s look at the way money flows in political campaigns.

You can view the array of invitations that go out by the dozens over fax lines and emails and through snail mail to lobbyists, Political Action Committee [PAC] representatives and others around Washington, DC and beyond,” explains Nancy Watzman, Party Time’s director.

You can see who is hosting these parties, how much money it costs to go, where and when the party is and what people are going to be doing there. These invitations provide a treasure trove of information for citizen journalists, activists and others who are interested in following how money flows to congressional candidates. You can use these as starting points to connect dots of the relationships between lobbyists, congressional candidates, issues being lobbied and campaign money received. You can also add to our party wealth by sending along any invitations you have come across, or commenting on a particular fundraising event.

Party Time posts invitations that it receives from “reputable anonymous sources,” says the website. “These documents are posted here as a public service in the interest of creating more transparency about the relationships between lobbyists and lawmakers.”

Now, how can you wangle an invite to that Redskins vs. Cowboys game on Sept. 12, benefiting Rep. John Larson [D-CT]? Easy. Get out your checkbook and put a couple of zeros after the numbers 2 and 5.

The post Revealed: the political party circuit appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Among the ranks of the Tea Baggers, there have to be some who honestly are seeking accountability for the money that we send to Washington in taxes.  We liberals also want our money spent wisely.

As a progressive, I feel that I was doubly cheated last night.  I don’t need to run through the litany of problems facing the country, but when it comes to dealing with them, President Barack Obama and Senator Claire McCaskill were nowhere to be found.  In fact they were making things worse.

President Obama was the guest of honor at a $2,400 a plate dinner at the downtown Renaissance Hotel in St. Louis for Claire McCaskill.  Now we’re not talking about 2010; she’s not up for re-election this November; we’re talking about 2012.

An honest Tea Bagger would ask of a government employee to spend his or her time focused on his or her job.  Barack Obama has a day job; it’s called being president of the United States.  Claire McCaskill has a day job; it’s called being a U.S. Senator.  They’re both hard workers, but their efforts to make our society more fair and just are undermined when they play a game that only includes rich people.  Who else can pay $2,400 for dinner, or to try to buy influence?  Their promises to stand up for all Americans ring hollow when they are indulging in excess for an elite few.

We are not alone in calling for restraint in fund-raising, but additionally we are questioning the value of the expenditures of the money that is raised.  The Occasional Planet seeks to play a role in elevating our political dialogue.  When the money goes to buy bumper stickers, buttons, and yard signs to promote the candidate; we learn nothing.  When commercials are sometimes negative and always simplistic, we learn nothing.

On a positive note, there must have been hundreds of St. Louisans who were invited to the gala and chose not to go.  Imagine if Barack Obama or Claire McCaskill gave a fund-raiser and no one came.  Thanks to all of you who strengthened our political system by refusing the invitation.  You probably had time to relax, be with family and/or friends, enjoy a good book or even TV show …. all for free!  You win, but all of us lose from the gathering at the Renaissance.  Today’s another day, Mr. President and Madam Senator. I will be glad to know you’re back trying to do what we elected you to do.

The post A progressive supporting the Tea Baggers appeared first on Occasional Planet.