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This is a posthumous Fog column.
Biddable Politicians It seems as if we've gone down a on-way street in our U.S. political process... ...in our "democracy"... ...and the end of the road isn't pretty. You can't really blame today's politicians... ...they are just playing the political game by the rules that have been established... ...and like most games... ...not playing by the rules means that you're quickly out of the game. The rules say that a politician can't get elected to a major office without an infusion of money from big business.. ...the same big business that demands an equal or greater return on their campaign fund investments. The goal of the game, of course, is profit... ...which might be okay if it weren't at the expense of the general welfare. And so corporate welfare takes priority over the general welfare. But there's a problem... ...or there would be if money couldn't fix that too. In a democracy the people vote for their leaders. So, before they vote, big business has to somehow convince voters... ...that they aren't really voting for things like short-term business profits... ...to line the pockets of the CEOs...* ...but they are voting for what's in their best interests of both them and their country. So, with the help of hundreds of millions of dollars in glitzy, superficial, misleading—if not down-right dishonest— campaign ads... ...they divert attention from the real issues... ...to emotional issues... ...issues that will stir them to get out and vote for the candidates that... ...will support the goals of big business. End of game... ...winners and losers declared!
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