From the moment the gavel struck, we all knew that evil had been unleashed. The battle between the aristocracy of the monied corporations and western liberal democracies was officially tilted.
American Crossroads, which some have dubbed the "shadow Republican National Committee," is at the vanguard of political entities that are taking advantage of the new campaign finance landscape in the wake of January’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling that lifted restrictions on corporate cash in political advertisements.
Former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie and former Bush strategist Karl Rove were behind the formation of American Crossroads in March as "an independent, national grassroots political organization whose mission is to speak out in support of conservative issues and candidates across America, and to undertake other activities consistent with Internal Revenue Code Section 527," according to the organization’s filings with the IRS.
http://www.opensecrets.org/...
New FEC filings show that American Crossroads, the Karl Rove-backed group that is pouring money into attack ads targeting Democrats around the country, continues to be funded virtually entirely by billionaires.
http://www.salon.com/...
Rise of the oligarchy?
Where power rests with a small segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, or military control.
Worse, it is a plutocracy.
Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth.
Crossroads GPS, a spinoff of American Crossroads, calls itself a tax-exempt social-welfare organization — which means it doesn't have to disclose its donors. It's by far not the only organization to have used that legal status to such advantage.
http://www.npr.org/...
Given the weak leadership of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, former Bush White House adviser Karl Rove launched a "shadow RNC" in April called American Crossroads, vowing to spend $50 million to influence this Fall’s election. After an embarrassing first month of fundraising, Crossroads raised $8.5 million in June, "from an even split of individuals and corporations."
On Fox News today, Rove directly credited his group’s success to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which overturned the decades-old ban on corporate money in politics
http://thinkprogress.org/...
These shadowy groups, shuffling international money between accounts, are akin to organized crime and terrorists organization.
Two campaign finance watchdog organizations released a letter to the Internal Revenue Service today, requesting that it investigate whether a nonprofit advocacy group tied to Karl Rove was violating federal tax laws with its involvement in this year’s midterm elections.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...
Foreign money, from foreign dictatorships, are now shaping American politics.
According to a report issued Tuesday by the Center for American Progress, a liberal policy group in Washington, the chamber is getting "dues" payments of tens of thousands of dollars from foreign companies in countries such as Bahrain, India and Egypt, and then mingling the money with its fund to advocate for or against candidates in the midterm races.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
The only solution to prevent this is to add a new amendment to the Constitution: No corporation, limited liability entity or other corporate entity created by state or federal law or the law of another nation shall make donations of money or other things of value in connection, directly or indirectly, with a federal, state or local election.
Overturn Citizens United:
Amend the Constitution to protect America from unlimited corporate spending on our elections by overturning the Supreme Court's decision giving corporations the same First Amendment rights as people.
Fair elections now:
Pass the Fair Elections Now Act, providing public financing to candidates who are supported by small donors so they can compete with corporate-backed and self-funded candidates.
Lobbyist Reform Act:
Pass legislation to end the overwhelming influence of corporate lobbyists by: prohibiting individuals from switching from corporate lobbying to government service, or vice-versa, within a 5-year period; stopping corporate lobbyists from giving gifts and providing free travel to government officials; and posting online the attendees and content of all meetings between lobbyists and government officials.
http://www.standfordemocracy.org/...
The narrative of the 20th Century was the triumph of democracy over totalitarian rule. The struggle of the 21st Century is protecting democracy from the growing power of multinational corporations.