Only you can stop corporate money in elections

Baltimore Sun ^ | 10/14/10 | Paul Loeb

[workerbee]

***SNIP***

So I'm delighted the Democrats are finally hitting back at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other Republican front groups for dumping millions of dollars of untraceable corporate contributions into the election, with the total likely to exceed $300 million. But since Democrats haven't exactly been innocent of taking special interest money in the past, we, ordinary citizens, need to be the ones driving this issue. We need to make the buying of our democracy the salient issue of the coming election and beyond, because it affects everything else that we need to change.

***SNIP***

We also need to tackle the issue beyond November. Public financing of campaigns would help immensely, using the model of $5 contributions and public matching funds that's worked wonderfully in Maine, Vermont and Arizona. This model remains legal even under the new Supreme Court rules and would reduce the corporate influence on both parties. While the Republicans are the current recipients of massive business dollars, the Democrats have also been influenced and their policies corrupted by them — as when Senators like Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln took massive dollars from health care interests, and then used the threat of joining a Republican filibuster to vastly water down the original House health care reform bill.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Democracy is "bought" when Lefties lose.

Otherwise, all is well.

[tcrlaf]

No Mention of the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in Democrat Union money, this cycle ALONE.

I can’t imagine why the “reporter” forgot to mention this, CAN YOU???

[stocksthatgoup]

Supreme Court ruling makes this settled law!!! haha

[massgopguy]

Then I would suggest that Democrats not work at or give their business to members of the Chamber of Commerce.

[circlecity]

If legislators can pass laws effecting corporations then corporations should be able to participate in the democratic process. I wonder, do the libs think freedom of the press applies to the large media corporations? If so, then why shouldn’t freedom of speech apply to corporations also?

[cripplecreek]

Looks like the union money for anti republican ads has dried up in my area. The SEIU/AFSCME ads have disappered.

[ontap]

Why would I want to deny corporations the right to defend themselves against socialist agendas!!

[a fool in paradise]

Only you can say “F*** OFF” to million dollar (and billion dollar) Marxists like Michael Moore, Bill Gates, George Soros, Oliver Stone, et al.

[a fool in paradise]

America would be a much better place by getting the lawyers out of government (and funding elections) than getting corpoations out of election funding.

[workerbee]

America would be a much better place by getting the lawyers out of government (and funding elections) than getting corpoations out of election funding.

You should be in advertising for the GOP!

[stocksthatgoup]

Please note that LeO Gerard a Canadian seems to have made donations to the Dems! Wikipedia=Leo W. Gerard (born 1947)[1] is a steelworker and a Canadian and American labor leader. He was elected president of the United Steelworkers (USW) in 2001, and is the second Canadian to head the union.[3][4] He is also a vice president of the AFL-CIO.

opensecrets...... GERARD, LEO CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP,PA 16066 STEELWORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION/PR 6/16/08 $500 Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte (D)

Is it leagal for him to make a contribution?