Please Note: I realize this diary is something of a statement of the obvious, but it's to make a point.
"Follow the money", Deep Throat told Bob Woodward. Why are Democrats so impotent? Why is it that even with a supermajority in the Congress, Democrats couldn't pass healthcare reform?
We all know about Max Baucus not even giving single payer so much as a mention and how he has coincidentally received millions in campaign donations from the health insurance industry. What about the rest of Congress?
I took a quick look on OpenSecrets.org to see which PACs were considered the top donors for "Democratic/Liberal" causes. Oddly enough, the top PAC was called Blue Dog PAC.
According to USA Today:
The Blue Dog's political action committee has collected $1.1 million in the first six months of the year -- more than any other political action committee, according to CQ. (Subscription required.) Nearly 54% came from the energy, financial services and health care industries, according to an analysis by the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity. That's up from 45% in 2004.
Here's another quote from the CQ article:
The PAC's money came largely from other political committees -- it reported $1.3 million in receipts through Nov. 30, $1.2 million of which came from PACs. The majority of donors to the Blue Dog PAC were trade association and corporate political committees, many of which have also given thousands of dollars to Blue Dog members individually.
Okay. Not exactly liberal, but I can see where the Blue Dogs would be getting a lot of money from corporate America due to their conservative leanings and efforts to derail health reform.
What about the next PAC in line - the New Democrat Coalition, which boasts such progressive members as Joe Sestak and Debbie Wasserman Schultz?
How do they describe themselves?:
NewDems have built a reputation as effective leaders on the critical issues of technology policy, economic growth, security and personal responsibility. Intent on modernizing both the Democratic party and the country, New Democrats support policies to expand economic growth and ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to benefit; a fiscally responsible and efficient government; a secure home front; and a robust foreign policy that includes trade, constructive U.S. leadership throughout the world, and a modern and strong military.
I pulled up a list of their donors and picked one at random - The Alpine Group. Alpine Group's own web site boast that "Alpine Group's list of 13 climate clients includes Ford, BP American, BNSF Railway, 3M, Duke Energy and NRG Energy." Uh-huh.
What does this all mean? Should we be shocked to find that corporate money has seeped into every crevice of politics? Of course not. What it means to me is that we need to turn the vigilance-meter up to 11.
- If we want a Democratic Party whose members are not rendered impotent from the company they keep and the donations they accept, then we must hold their feet to the fire, let them know we are watching who they are accepting money from and question them on the impact this will have on their votes. Incumbents need to show proof.
- We need to question any self-identified "Democratic", "Liberal" or "Progressive" PACs as to who they are accepting donations from and why we should believe they are truly following their stated mission.
- We need to demand that PACs run by groups like Labor and other "Democrat Friendly" justify who they donate money to. Giving money to a candidate simply because they are a Democrat, or because they are the incumbent or worse yet, because the "powers that be" favor their re-election must be put to a stop!
Consider this a call to action, progressives. Until we start watching candidates AND donors, this will continue. Just being a Democrat isn't enough anymore!