Politics

If this, op-ed by Paul Krugman, doesn’t get you even a little frustrated, I hate to say it but you are likely way too far out of touch. Good read–time to start making our representatives work again.

Just a personal note, how can so many Congressional members that have spent their careers in DC criticize Washington politics so much, as if, they have no hand in making the Washington Politics so bad. Excuse me, but if you are elected to work as a congressional rep in Washington, shouldn’t you be doing some work rather than telling your constituency that Washington is not working–if it’s not working than find a way to make it work, that’s why you have a job people, not just because you were groomed to be in your role…Apathy, is the enemy and I am beginning to fear it’s starting to win.

The truth is that given the state of American politics, the way the Senate works is no longer consistent with a functioning government. Senators themselves should recognize this fact and push through changes in those rules, including eliminating or at least limiting the filibuster. This is something they could and should do, by majority vote, on the first day of the next Senate session.

via Op-Ed Columnist – America Is Not Yet Lost – NYTimes.com.

Not only has the Supreme Court ruling to uncap corporate campaign financing opened the door to fully subsidized political representation (I hope they will at least do it NASCAR style and have all the sponsors stickers on their clothes) but apparently corporations can actually run for office–in consideration of the ruling that affords corporations all the same rights as individual citizens of the U.S., good show…

Murray Hill announced yesterday that it would be filing to run in the Republican primary for the opportunity to challenge Van Hollen come November. Yes, “it” will be running — because “it” is a corporation, more specifically, Murray Hill Inc., a progressive PR firm.

“Until now,” it said in a statement, “corporate interests had to rely on campaign contributions and influence peddling to achieve their goals in Washington. But thanks to an enlightened Supreme Court, now we can eliminate the middle-man and run for office ourselves.

”The firm is of course referring to last week's Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC, which found that campaign finance restrictions on corporations infringed upon the First Amendment. As SCOTUSBlog has written, the ruling also seems to allow newly empowered “corporate persons” to share in the rights afforded all Americans. So Murray Hill is doing just that.

In a statement, Campaign Manager William Klein promised an aggressive, historic campaign that “puts people second,” or even third.

via Van Hollen May Face Well-Funded Opposition – DCist.