Money in Politics: The Bullhorn & the Muzzle

In Progress...

It is essential that we both mourn the loss, and discuss the various social, political, and even racial components to the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Gun control legislation, mental health access, political extremism, and even racial, ethnic, and religious biases can all be rightfully targeted when examining the violent acts and lost lives in that small Northeastern town. These issues are undeniably impactful in this and other violent incidences which have occurred at an increasingly alarming rate across America. So, too, we must not overlook the extent to which the erosive and increasingly undemocratic influence of money in American public policy had a clear and purposeful hand in this tragedy. The impact of money in politics to skew the national will towards a few powerful elite voices or retard the shifting sentiment of the majority when its directions threatens to erode the power of these same special interest.

Bullhorn

Citizen United (Dark Money)

Despite the losses of moneyed special interests like the Koch Brothers and Karl Rove’s GPS Crossroads… The political implications of Republican gerrymandering following the 2010 Census and the long term stifling of Democratic on gun control since the Clinton Administration shows the pernicious and often undemocratic levers of power wielded by special interests.

Muzzle

As the demographics of America shift toward a more young, more racially and ethnically diverse electorate, these wealthy interests, essentially devoid of this diversity will represent an increasing more narrow set of public policy preferences. Gun control, LGBT rights, sustainable development, and taxes on the wealthy all have growing support among ordinary Americans. While at the state level the entrenched elite pursue unpopular anti-labor positions and invasive women’s rights issues.