My personal love for politics is being rekindled once again, not because I’m more active, but because I have something to complain about. It’s like being in middle school, sitting down with some Marx and giving half-assed critiques of capitalism in a Che Guevara T-shirt for the first time all over again; I was angry and poorly-informed, but no one else knew what the hell they were talking about either – that or they didn’t give a fuck.
And now everyone is even angrier. There are those on the “left” who claim a right-wing conspiracy is slowly but surely dumbing down politics on a national scale, and those on the right who have honed their patriotism to a keen edge, skimming the Constitution daily with enough time to get the kids to school.
Even though my personal political views may have softened and I no longer hold figures like Emma Goldman in such high regard, the face-palming I’ve been privileged enough to partake in in recent months has slapped enough sense into me that I feel I can tell when something is straight-up stupid and bad for democracy. So with apologies to Ron Johnson, I propose this: successful business practices, or their involvement in the political realm, do not necessarily make for sound government.
On the heels of the United States’ Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that ruled that independent political broadcasts could not be limited in funding by the federal government, Republicans in Congress did their damnedest to ensure that, at least by their way of thinking, Washington cannot limit the free speech of individuals or corporations. More recently, President Barack Obama has begun to take a more active stance against what he sees to be undue influence by business in the affairs of government.
While Obama’s assertions of Big Business’s influence bringing this country back to the days of lobbyists writing law may, to the average person at least, not be an entirely grounded fear, the marked lack of transparency we’re experiencing does not bode well for the future of our country and at least a somewhat accurate representation of the will of the people.
Democrats have been attempting to counter this power now held by corporations by pushing their DISCLOSE Act, which would in essence overturn the decision made by the high court. Republicans now claim this legislation would not only silence the input of business, but pave the way for the free reign of unions to freely and opaquely contribute to their adversaries’ campaigns.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has deemed this a partisan bill and claims Democrats are more concerned with helping themselves in the upcoming elections than focusing on more pressing issues facing Americans. True, job creation and getting some results from measures set to fix our economy are important issues, but when this focus comes at the expense of nearly a century of cooperation across the aisle to limit the influence of private enterprise in the affairs of government, his proclamation merely shows that he’s not doing his job.
It’s all lovely political theater, but after the first week of the election season, many are questioning whether the seats are really as good as that guy in the parking lot said they’d be. It comes down to Democrats calling out Republicans for being in bed with corporations, then heading home to their own third party mistresses. Here’s an idea for both sides: be honest, get to work and quit fucking the American people.
Jake Begun ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism.
