Written by OligarchyNot   

Why are our elected “representatives” willing to trade long-term natural resource security for short-term gain that will benefit no one except corporations, and then only for a brief period of time, relatively speaking? Why are they willing to taint our water supply and infect the earth with toxic chemicals? What is wrong with these people – do they not breathe air or drink water? If those companies carrying out fracking for oil/gas were forced to pay for all the damage they do to the earth, the water, the air, private property and the health of people exposed to the results of fracking, there might not even be enough short-term gain to make it worth it to continue fracking.

This is what happens when we allow money to infect and corrupt politics. Politicians spend at least half their time working to raise money for their political parties instead of doing the business of the American people. And when they do actually work on passing legislation, it is always with the interests of the business world in mind. Why do you think the Republicans are so vehement about repealing the Affordable Care Act? Because it forces large businesses to provide health insurance for their employees – the ACA will actually save the government money and reduce the deficit, regardless of what Republicans say to the contrary.

We can’t continue to run our government this way. I am sick of the political parties’ taking up so much of legislators’ time raising money for their respective parties so that they can continue to have longer and longer election cycles. Can’t people see that this in itself has become a big business – a business that has nothing to do with running our government? Then, once the election is over, they continue to exert influence over how our representatives vote on legislation, using all the money that’s been collected to pressure representatives with the threat of supporting their opponent for re-election. It’s not enough that they demand upwards of half elected representatives’ time being used to raise money for their parties, they also blackmail our representatives into voting against what’s in their constituents’ best interest.

I will not pretend that both parties are equally in the pocket of big business. The Republican Party makes no bones about what they are any more – a party that represents the interests of big business to the detriment of the People. But both parties have been infected by the influence of moneyed interests because they need the money to win elections that last almost as long as the entire term they will serve. One thing our last presidential election revealed, though, was that money alone doesn’t win elections and that when enough people get involved and go to the voting booth, the power of the People dwarfs the power of money. It’s just too bad that the political parties demand adherence to their own agendas once someone has been elected, over and above representatives’ oath to uphold the constitution and to the detriment of their constituents. In doing so, the political parties are subverting democracy.