For Sale By Owners

Is the country for sale to the highest bidders?  Will the next President be bought and paid for by the wealthiest Americans?  It appears that the Citizens United decision and the way the wealthy Americans are donating millions to the new Super Political Action Committee that the country is for sale to the highest bidders. Beginning with the Republican primary battle, we have experienced the way an individual can personally back a candidate and make available the necessary finances to campaign for election.  While the financial efforts of Sheldon Adelson or Foster Fries did not result in either backer’s candidate winning the Republican presidential nomination, those efforts combined with the financial antics of people like Meg Whitman or Carly Fiorina make it just a matter of time when the most spent equals the most votes.  One major problem of all of the money in today’s politics is the discouragement of participation in the political process on the part of ordinary citizens.  The country needs a new law, perhaps even a Constitutional Amendment, that would prohibit any candidate campaigning for any federal office from accepting a contribution from any individual or organization not refistered and eligible to vote for that individual.  This would eliminate all out-of-district political contributions as well as contributions from corporations, unions, or other organizations.  Elected representatives are supposed to represent a narrow group of people...either those living in their districts, states, or country... but people, not corporations, unions, or other organizations like the NRA or AARP.  There is a crying need to get money out of politics.  We have lived with the results of big spenders and these results have not served the best interests of citizens or the country.