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[pompidu]

The 1% wants you and me dead. We can’t rest for a single moment.

1% doesn't care about people, they want more money and power. They don't care if you're alive or dead, aslong as they're getting payed.

 

[Karkador]

This is horrible. $400M that could actually maybe help the sorry state of health care in this country.

 

[Slime]

1% doesn't care about people, they want more money and power. They don't care if you're alive or dead, aslong as they're getting payed.

You're right, they want you to suffer before you die, so your medical bills can line their pockets in the meantime.

 

[kirblar]

This is horrible. $400M that could actually maybe help the sorry state of health care in this country.

Warren Buffet's foundation helped fund a state-run birth control program in Colorado (over $200M) that dropped pregnancy/abortion rates by 40% - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...th-control-revolution/?utm_term=.cb8acb9b7dc9

It's disgusting that they're spending this money to destroy this for people.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Hope those scumbags end up not getting what they want.

 

[PBY]

Money will never get removed from politics because economic power should be a consideration in politics! If your state is dependent on an industry, it makes sense that your representatives would want to take those interests into account! Power has always has outsize influence on politics since the inception of it. This has never changed and will never changed because of the way people work.

Because of that, this should always be a question of degrees, not absolutes. And claiming that the GOP and Dems are "equally bad" when the Dems weren't being held hostage b\y their largest donors in '09 indicates that you might not understand the degrees! The issue is that until we can get rules holding the GOP in check, playing by them makes zero sense whatsoever because of the competitive advantage we provide them.

How do you always have the worst takes man. Geez dude. It should be a consideration?

I mean... I understand your point, but you're working towards an end that benefits no one.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Surely this is also Soros' doing

 

[kirblar]

How do you always have the worst takes man. Geez dude.

Because humanity is often terrible and flawed and solely self-intested, and rather than pretend that they aren't predatory animals with a thin veneer of civilization barely concealing the tribal barbarism underneath I attempt to acknowledge these issues and try to look for solutions within a framework that acknowledges them instead of pretending they don't exist?

 

[Rockandrollclown]

Its scary to me that this isn't even a back room deal anymore. Its brazen as fuck. System is broken as shit when this is ok.

 

[Acerac]

I mean shit how much more quid pro quo do you want? Legalised bribery on full display.

That isn't bribery, it's a concerned citizen using their right of free speech to win over their reps in an effective manner.

God I love America. No subtlety at ALL.

 

[VendettaRed07]

Please, find an example of Democrats being blackmailed by a donor threatening to withhold 400M worth of funds nationwide.

If you can, then we can talk about how this is a "both sides" problem. Until someone does, blaming "The Democrats" equally for the GOP being blackmailed by their own donor is dishonest and disingenuous.

Power will always have outsize influence. That has always been true and will always be true because of the way in which the world works. That's not to say that we can't and shouldn't do something (we absolutely can and absolutely should.) But the degree of the problem is very much not the same on both sides of the aisle.

I do wonder if the source of this push is actually part of McCain's refusal to play ball. (given that McCain/Feingold was his baby.)

I don't believe there has ever been an occasion where a high profile donor out loud held, brazenly announced they were holding a political party hostage to the tune of a half a billion dollars if they didn't vote for a specific bill. But how much influence this can have on our own representatives in the future I think can depend on us.. How much we actually say we believe this sort of this is wrong and how much pressure we are willing to put on to make sure our representatives actually oppose this sort of political culture. This isn't about me believing anything is an equivalent as much as I believe the distance between the two is not to where we need it to be in order to actually fix or change anything

I find a hard time believing the last time we had majorities in both houses that political donors did not specifically play a hand in shaping the legislation as it was. Or that, it was Joe Lieberman just being an asshole, and you know also that he and others were literally a bi-product of tristate political pay for play corruption.

If the Koch's are willing to outright do this now, it's not like they won't double down in the future regardless of who is in control. Even in the event that we do get what we want. Lets say we do win the majorities in both houses, the presidency, and everything comes together in 2020, I don't think it's conspiratorial to believe there isn't a huge chance we are unable to pass legislation we need to make up for the fuckery that has gone down now because people like these guys pulling the same tactic again pressuring vulnerable politicians up for re-election in 2018 to dick over or neuter the whole agenda.

We need to make our representives more afraid of screwing over us than screwing over their big money donors. That doesn't happen by downplaying how bad this sort of thing is or giving people a pass. It comes from relentless pressure. If we aren't willing to give it ourselves I don't see how anything changes. If unwinding pay for play doesn't come through us, were is it going to come from, exactly.

 

[PBY]

I don't believe there has ever been an occasion where a high profile donor out loud held, brazenly announced they were holding a political party hostage to the tune of a half a billion dollars if they didn't vote for a specific bill. But how much influence this can have on our own representatives in the future I think can depend on us.. How much we actually say we believe this sort of this is wrong and how much pressure we are willing to put on to make sure our representatives actually oppose this sort of political culture. This isn't about me believing anything is an equivalent as much as I believe the distance between the two is not to where we need it to be in order to actually fix or change anything

I find a hard time believing the last time we had majorities in both houses that political donors did not specifically play a hand in shaping the legislation as it was. Or that, it was Joe Lieberman just being an asshole, and you know also that he and others were literally a bi-product of tristate political pay for play corruption.

If the Koch's are willing to outright do this now, it's not like they won't double down in the future regardless of who is in control. Even in the event that we do get what we want. Lets say we do win the majorities in both houses, the presidency, and everything comes together in 2020, I don't think it's conspiratorial to believe there isn't a huge chance we are unable to pass legislation we need to make up for the fuckery that has gone down now because people like these guys pulling the same tactic again pressuring vulnerable politicians up for re-election in 2018 to dick over or neuter the whole agenda.

We need to make our representives more afraid of screwing over us than screwing over their big money donors. That doesn't happen by downplaying how bad this sort of thing is or giving people a pass. It comes from relentless pressure. If we aren't willing to give it ourselves I don't see how anything changes. If unwinding pay for play doesn't come through us, were is it going to come from, exactly.

Pretty much this. I find it laughable the "the good guys" are somehow immune from this.

This isn't both sides-ing an issue, its honestly assessing forces at play that shape our policy.

 

[Takuan]

If your one of those people who say "money in politics" doesn't affect politicians, your looking at proof right here to the detriment of America and the world.

100%. This should be an eye-opener for all Americans, but sadly, even those who rely on ACA to live want it repealed.

 

[kirblar]

I don't believe there has ever been an occasion where a high profile donor out loud held, brazenly announced they were holding a political party hostage to the tune of a half a billion dollars if they didn't vote for a specific bill. But how much influence this can have on our own representatives in the future I think can depend on us.. How much we actually say we believe this sort of this is wrong and how much pressure we are willing to put on to make sure our representatives actually oppose this sort of political culture. This isn't about me believing anything is an equivalent as much as I believe the distance between the two is not to where we need it to be in order to actually fix or change anything

I find a hard time believing the last time we had majorities in both houses that political donors did not specifically play a hand in shaping the legislation as it was. Or that, it was Joe Lieberman just being an asshole, and you know also that he and others were literally a bi-product of tristate political pay for play corruption.

If the Koch's are willing to outright do this now, it's not like they won't double down in the future regardless of who is in control. Even in the event that we do get what we want. Lets say we do win the majorities in both houses, the presidency, and everything comes together in 2020, I don't think it's conspiratorial to believe there isn't a huge chance we are unable to pass legislation we need to make up for the fuckery that has gone down now because people like these guys pulling the same tactic again pressuring vulnerable politicians up for re-election in 2018 to dick over or neuter the whole agenda.

We need to make our representives more afraid of screwing over us than screwing over their big money donors. That doesn't happen by downplaying how bad this sort of thing is or giving people a pass. It comes from relentless pressure. If we aren't willing to give it ourselves I don't see how anything changes. If unwinding pay for play doesn't come through us, were is it going to come from, exactly.

Part of the reason we were able to get the ACA through was because at the very start, we made invested stakeholders (insurance companies, doctors, etc.) part of the process, because they'd be directly affected.

The Public Option getting killed was a direct result of Reid and Obama not having the courage to nuke the fillibuster- they were still riding high on Obama's wave of popularity not realizing how quickly (white) voters would turn on them courtesy of the US's stupid pendulum politics. Yes, Lieberman and others were shitty, but we never should have had to deal with their shitty- it's on our leadership for allowing them to be the marginal votes in the process.

I don't think there's anything stopping them from being more brazen and I totally believe we should be putting laws in place to address it. I'm just not in favor for putting voluntary fundraising shackles on ourselves until we do just that because history has shown that we screw ourselves w/ our own self-righteousness each time we do that.

 

[andycapps]

Yeah, definitely not an oligarchy. Totally still a democracy, y'all.

 

[Acerac]

100%. This should be an eye-opener for all Americans, but sadly, even those who rely on ACA to live want it repealed.

You think that most Americans will know about this? It's no mistake that this story will receive next to no coverage.

 

[Fenderputty]

This really puts that McCaskill hit job thread into perspective. We're arguing over possible corruption over 5K donations when all of the GOP congress can be bought for 400 million in a public fashion.

 

[Brock Reiher]

They should just abandon Trump and save uh t 400mil on legal fees.

 

[PBY]

This really puts that McCaskill hit job thread into perspective. We're arguing over possible corruption over 5K donations when all of the GOP congress can be bought for 400 million in a public fashion.

I can't speak to the authors motives, but reporting on perverse incentives and conflicts doesn't constitute a "hitjob" its fucking good reporting. We NEED to know these things.


The fact that shit like this exists should make you happy that we know about McCaskill.

The problem, of course, is that we're unable to process nuance and degrees in 2017.

 

[Mr. Poolman]

Uh, I don't know about the US, but on my country that would be called Corruption/Bribery and is actually penalized with jail.

 

[VariantX]

It's not even a donation, its a fucking buisness investment, they're going to get all that cash right back and then some from a dozen sources if they can get what they want. All on the backs of the poor. They could do far more long term good with that money for everyone but their own perspective is warped.

 

[TheContact]

This should be illegal. It’s a bribe. It’s blackmail.

 

[Hesemonni]

Sooooooo, will this get Collins, Murkowski and McCain in line?

Mccain will probably vote for it, but what about Collins and Murkowski?

 

[WaterAstro]

People should be protesting this above everything else.

 

[kirblar]

Sooooooo, will this get Collins, Murkowski and McCain in line?

Mccain will probably vote for it, but what about Collins and Murkowski?

Murkowski got primaried by a far right Tea Party type and voted into congress on the back of D/I/Moderate R votes. She's not beholden to them. Same w/ Collins, who can do basically whatever she wants in her state. If she went I, her voters would follow.

McCain's history w/ campaign finance reform might be part of what's at play here.

 

[Usobuko]

Democracy, Meritocracy are all great concept in nature except for folks executing them.

 

[Fenderputty]

I can't speak to the authors motives, but reporting on perverse incentives and conflicts doesn't constitute a "hitjob" its fucking good reporting. We NEED to know these things.


The fact that shit like this exists should make you happy that we know about McCaskill.

The problem, of course, is that we're unable to process nuance and degrees in 2017.

Nah it was a hit job. A bad one at that. She received a donation. That's the smoke and nothing more. There was no evidence that the donation mattered in anyway. Thread got plenty of uber libs upset at a moderate though. Which was the point.

Here we have 400M being used as a bargaining chip for the entire Republican Party. They're not even hiding their intentions. If you want my money you better vote this way. It's so brazen yet nobody gives a fuck. THe people on the right pretended they did during the elections. Trump was even shitting on the Koch and those who took their money if you remember correctly.

Meanwhile we quibble over nothing.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I mean, let's be honest, this country was founded by rich white men who wrote into law that only rich white men like themselves could vote (which somehow led to only rich white men holding all elected positions). We've slowly expanded our definition of "equal" to include other groups, like blacks or women or people who can't afford a poll tax, but we've never gotten rid of the fundamental nature of our country; America exists for the benefit of rich white men. Seeing it laid bare in such a brazen way should shock no one. Rich white men are the whiniest shitheads in history. They aren't happy until they have everything and everyone else is begging for scraps at their feet.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

I mean, let's be honest, this country was founded by rich white men who wrote into law that only rich white men like themselves could vote (which somehow led to only rich white men holding all elected positions). We've slowly expanded our definition of "equal" to include other groups, like blacks or women or people who can't afford a poll tax, but we've never gotten rid of the fundamental nature of our country; America exists for the benefit of rich white men. Seeing it laid bare in such a brazen way should shock no one. Rich white men are the whiniest shitheads in history. They aren't happy until they have everything and everyone else is begging for scraps at their feet.

The true irony of course being that they aren't even happy then. The Koch brothers are probably miserable regardless of their money and influence.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

"If you want the money you better kill those poors"

This. Holy shit are these fuckers evil.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

1% doesn't care about people, they want more money and power. They don't care if you're alive or dead, aslong as they're getting payed.

Dead wrong. They also don't want any competition.

 

[Ithil]

Wow, how democratic.

 

[Diablos]

Well this explains a lot

Thanks Cirizens United

 

[Muppet of a Man]

Wow, how democratic.

Thanks Citizens United. You've successfully destroyed any remaining semblance of a democracy.

Edit: beaten by a post.

 

[gutter_trash]

The US replaced King George for the guilded 1% like Koch bros.


I think the US would have been better off if it never gained independence from Great Britain.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Legalised corruption

 

[Morgan Blackhand]

 

[LegendofJoe]

How dare the government tax job creators to pay for healthcare for the poor. Don't they realize how many poor people are out there to be exploited? Why waste money paying to keep them healthy when you can just import more people from abroad? /s

It's sick isn't it? But that is their reasoning - real life Scrooges in action.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

This is the only real trickle down economics.

 

[nelsonroyale]

This coruption at its ugliest. The Kochs should have been sentenced to life in prison a long time ago for their anti-democratic actions.

Is this a joke post? Did you seriously just post that article to make a point? Holy shit. This is why Trump won.

Trumps victory is hardly out of context...Its sits within a general collapse of centrist politics that is pretty ubiquitous throughout the Western world and beyond. There is a much bigger narrative out there, that comes out of de-industrialisation, the Economic Crisis, etc...But by all means, embrace a simplistic view of reality. That might actually bring you closer to many of Trumps supporters.