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Obama Calls for Reforms in Election Funding
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama called on Congress on Saturday to pass reforms limiting the influence of special interest groups on US elections, saying the integrity of US democracy needed to be protected.
US President Barack Obama makes a statement at the White House in Washington. Obama has called on the Congress to pass reforms limiting the influence of special interest groups on US elections, saying the integrity of US democracy needed to be protected. (AFP/File/Jim Watson) "What we are facing is no less than a potential corporate takeover of our elections," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "And what is at stake is no less than the integrity of our democracy."
The appeal came after a recent US Supreme Court ruling that gave corporations, lobbyists, other special interest groups -- foreign and domestic -- the power to spend unlimited money to influence the outcome of US elections.
The ruling meant that corporations would be allowed to run political television advertisements ahead of national and local elections without telling voters who was paying for them, said Obama.
Congress therefore needed to adopt reforms under which campaign committees would have to reveal who was funding them, and their leaders or financiers would have to claim responsibility for their ads, the president argued.
Also, the reforms will restrict foreign corporations and foreign nationals from spending money in American elections, the president said.
"This shouldn't be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue," he argued.
"This is an issue that goes to whether or not we will have a government that works for ordinary Americans - a government of, by, and for the people.
"That's why these reforms are so important. And that's why I'm going to fight to see them passed into law."
161 Comments so far
Show AllHeh. If it weren't for the corporate takeover of elections, Obama would've never been elected President.
ditto.
this headline - "potential" - gave me a good laugh!
ditto the ditto
Double ditto!
Triple the ditto.
Such thing as a quadruple ditto?!
Easy on the "dittos". Ya'll could be mistaken for "dittoheads!!!", and you certainly wouldn't want that would you?
How about instead, we just point out the subtle grin on President Fecalburger's face. Besides, President McNothing should know by now that our form of government is supposed to be a Constitutional republic rather than a democracy...or should that be demockracy?
Actually, I have an idea. Why don't we all just sit down and have a beer and discuss whatt kind of government we truly have, and have had ever since Ronnie Raygun, which under most definitions would be considered a kleptocracy. Obama will be drinking the Blue Moon while the rest of us get the Schlitz Malt Liquor BULL.
Obama's plea is a textbook example of calling 911 AFTER the house has burned to the ground.
Just as Obama started every other discussion at center-right (health care, bankster reform) he is starting this discussion at center-right by alleging that tweaking existing token regulations will be a step toward solving the problem. Whenever the discussion starts at center-right, subsequent legislation ends up far right (like health care and the bankster bill).
If Obama was concerned with REAL reform he would have advocated public campaign financing in his inaugural address on 1/20/09.
Ever heard of an FOB security system? Well, Obummer is the reason...it stamds for Fear Obama Bastard, he's a lowrent thief posing as a community activist.
Crawl back under the bridge, troll.
Most people thought that things were going to change with Barack Obama, the candidate of ‘Hope and Change’.
Everyone was apoplectic when Ralph Nader questioned whether President Obama was going to be an Uncle Sam for the Main Street or an Uncle Tom for the Wall Street.
Once in office, President Obama kept Bush’s Secretary of Defense in charge of the Military Industrial Complex and Bush’s Federal Reserve Chairman in charge of the Banking System.
Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, asked recently what difference he saw between Bush and Obama said color of their skins.
'Yes we can!' versus 'Drill, Baby, Drill'. That is the level of our political discourse.
Well, not quite. Obama also came out on the "Drill, Baby, Drill" side.
"Yes we can!"
that was a typo.
should've read:
"Yes we con!"
That would make a nice bumper sticker, or Si Se Puede My Ass!
How true , Jill and good to see you here again!
It's like Bloomberg and term limits.
Joe
Okay- Obama has done some things, like wanting to fund nuclear power, that have made me very angry... along with more...but when I reaad this, I didn't get cynical, I thought, ok, he's going to do something right... NO one beliefs it I guess... call me still naive...
Well no, you feel that "All men are created equal" to the rich,
all men deserve to be rich and the highest achievers deserve a
no-regulation government with a fast track to getting rich.
Your position is well taken, not logical or moral but perfectly
legal.
theinitiate, something right would be promoting clean election campaigns. Oh that's right, that's a campaign promise he broke before getting elected. Of course he wouldn't have gotten elected if the corporations hadn't picked him as their go-to guy.
This lipflap about labeling political ads and so forth won't fly. Obama is careful to choose battles he will lose so he can look good while accomplishing nothing. Now the health insurance bill was something he owed his base and don't be deluded into thinking we are his base. Like George, his base is composed of the have-mores. Actually, the have-a-lot-mores.
When the people fear their government there is tyranny,
when the government fears the people there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson
I honor your journey, theinitiate.
For the record: I was a supporter before he got elected. And then...within a month or two after that infamous day began going into shock re: the difference between what he had said he'd do...and what he was beginning to do.
Another for the record: I'm not into bashing people. Or anything else for that matter. It's about internal coherence, and extending a love vibe in every direction. However...
...I sense we're reaching a bifurcation point on this planet. Meaning everything's coming together in one super-concentrated moment...to transform, even transmute, the old systems.
I thought Obama would lead that shift in this country. No, I wasn't looking for a messiah, or someone to "save" me. But looking for someone who was guided by Spirit. Integrity. Heart.
Unfortunately, he gives every indication of a soul-less shell of a person. I don't say that lightly, btw. Not at all. But if you string together all the ways he's deceived the masses, all the ways he's directed decisions that have nothing to do with the greater good, nothing...
...and yet offers his "wisdom" and "leadership" in ways meant to project "wisdom" and "leadership"...
...all the while entrenching the old system, the old, rotting, stinking, amoral system further in place...
Well, perhaps that's why you read so many here who now simply don't believe a word the guy says. Because we've seen this deceptive "bait and switch" dance over and over again. Oh, this may end up being a crumb he tosses our way to cover his butt as his ruse becomes more recognizable to the masses.
But it's a crumb. That's all it is.
Meant to keep us "calmed down." Meant to keep us from making waves.
Meant to keep us..."in our place."
Genuine warm regards to you.
"the initiate" and "thefutureisnow," you both speak with the awareness and consciousness that have to also evolve within The People globally, which is not to say that there are not now an increasing percentage who think or "BE" at your level.
The leaders in this country, with only a few exceptions, are still the crude thinking, power- and money-embracing bunch who remind me of comic book characters who are eventually set straight by Superman or Captain Marvel or Spiderman. POW! #X$#%@ ... WHAM! !@#$%# "Oh, NO you don't, thieves and liars!!! ... POW#&##$% TAKE THAT and THAT!!! It could happen that way, but if enough people transform their own lives, we will not draw to us, be attracted to or tolerate such leaders.
Yes, transformation is coming. It has already started, but with the rigid, screwy ones hardening their irrational positions, as always happens.
This isn't going to be easy or pleasant for the vast majority of us.
The bottom line for me is when the children of this planet no longer suffer deaths from random drone bombings, starve because the land has been burnt to a crisp, get beaten, enslaved, molested, kidnapped, and sold. The bottom line for me is that we will be truly transformed when every child goes to sleep at night with a sweet smile and a gentle, contented sigh and dreams happy dreams of tomorrow.
To have that happen, each of us individually, as you both obviously have done, have to do the inner work ... and it is work, uncomfortable work sometimes ... that leads us to such qualities as integrity, honesty, fairness, inner peace, generosity, compassion, empathy, and kindness as a way of life.
Thanks, both of you, for your posts.
/cm
"Serve people. Feed people. Love people. Remember God." - Maharaj ji [Baba ji]
THIS after saying corporations are (like "Soylent Green") PEOPLE?!
Potential????
Ditto. That was my first reaction. The system is corrupt and this tweaking by Obama, although in the right direction, doesn't go far enough; nor does it address the corrupt 2 party system the Dem's and Rep's have in place that keep third parties from becoming viable contenders.
By all means...Close the barn door after the horse has been stolen.
Corrupt elections became the norm years ago...like when the SCOTUS, rather than voters, decided the outcome of an election.
I believe they should be called the "SCROTUS." Afterall, they are a bunch of nuts!
belly laugh on that one :)
Here's a link to an article by John Cory on yesterdays Reader Supported News....
Short and to the point, the best summary of the "hand basket" were in I've seen in a while.
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion/38-38/1626-john-cory-six-word-story
If we do not put an end to Corporate Personhood we really will have a corporate takeover like Kurt Vonnegut's "Hocus Pocus" for sure. I shall withhold voting for any incumbent until Corporate Personhood is most sincerely dead.
I find the feudal corporate nightmare depicted in the 1975 version of "Rollerball" to be more apt.
Unless there is a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution that states explicitly that only natural born persons are entitled to its' protections, this problem will continue.
Everyone greedy to be rich and your going to
effect an attitude adjustment by changing laws?
Are we not an Empire above all laws?
Past history, the same way it was in 1776 actually, for
democracy is the 51% top income earners owning all the
wealth and ruling all of government.
And all those paid actor presidents of ours, is not their
grasp of the obvious so astounding?
Why is he saying this now?
Joe
yeah - he shoulda saved it for his goodbye speech - like Ike's warning against the MIC.
Because the elections are coming in November. The BS never ends, but it gets more and more concentrated before the "citizen" gets to make a phony choice between the Demos and Repubs.
Besides being AIPACs whores, the whole congress, senate and WH are corporate whores too. Obama must have been living in a cave all this while I guess.
corvo:
"If it weren't for the corporate takeover of elections,
Obama would've never been elected President."
Actually no, for since 1776 we have had a make believe
government to hide a rich nobility dictatorship,
just a grand smoke screen to blind minds by burning
emotions.
umm, Truth_Light, I wasn't claiming Obama was the first corporatist president. He's far from that.
The great, silver, tongued, con man! There he goes again! The corportocracy has had control of our country for a long,long time and there is no " POTENTIAL " about it.
It seems that Obama and Congress were asleep at the switch about Corporate Takeover of Elections. It's been a fact for a few decades already. The Supreme Court decision in January, 2010, cements the deal. No one was aware of this stealthy little SCOTUS case, manipulated into being by Chief Justice Roberts? It was deliberately scheduled to begin when Congress left for vacation at the beginning of August, 2009.
Obama's words are easy to utter now to a public that is only half listening and remains so uninformed.
On Thursday, April 29, 2010, this was my response to the CD news article about Senator Schumer and Russ Feingold and others drafting legislation to restrict corporate money influence in elections.
Only 7 people, including me, responded to this article. Other articles got mega-many more posts that day. That is disturbing because the January, 2010, SCOTUS decision was the final nail in the coffin of our democratic electoral process. This was my somewhat optimistic response:
Cee Miracles April 30th, 2010 5:02 am
My take is that this is important and necessary legislation because of the terrible decision made by five corporation-embracing members of the Roberts' Supremes.
I am amazed that there have been only five responses to this article. As I write this now, mine will be the sixth or seventh.
Perhaps the meaning of this Supreme Court decision by the Roberts' FIVE in January, 2010, has not sunk in yet or is not yet understood by the general public and the majority of those who come to the Common Dreams site. By this Supreme Court decision, our electoral process was given away to the corporations, the powerful and rich and special interests.
The decision by the Supremes for no limits on corporate giving and no limits on corporate use of monies allows for the making and breaking of candidates in our electoral process. Again ... this decision handed over the power to select our leadership to the mega-corporate powerful and the mega-rich and the corporate-supported special-interest groups.
Nullified by this Supreme Court decision was the possibility of a true grassroots' People's choice of a candidate, who sincerely stands for the rights and well-being of the people. Dennis Kucinich, despite his lapse in signing the nightmare of a health care bill, is one of those for-the-people candidates as is the independent Ralph Nader, although Ralph is getting on in years. Both of these men have been blocked in various ways in their attempts to run for the presidency.
We know that in our on-going and present electoral sham, candidates have to bow and scrape to get major corporate money to run at all because of major monies required now for super-expensive paid media advertising, especially on television networks and cable television. Any candidate also needs major monies for all of the other expenses required of a nationwide presidential campaign.
The terms of the law proposed by Senators Schumer, Feingold et al, and supported by President Obama are very, very important to maintain some fairness to our electoral process.
I have not been happy ... in fact, I've been horrified ... at the AIPAC influence and other influences by foreign governments and the toadying to Israel in both houses of Congress which overwhelmingly passed resolutions that no matter what Israel does to the Palestinians and other peoples of other nations, the United States is four-square behind them in the interests of Israel's alleged "self-defense."
But in this instance, there seems to be a little light at the end of this electoral tunnel. Thus I disagree with the first three knee-jerk responses on this message board vilifying those proposing this legislation to curb corporate influence and mega-rich powers of banks and financial institutions.
Both Feingold and Schumer have been good Senators in working for their constituencies in many important areas.
I am surprised that they are introducing this legislation, but it is an indication that they are honoring their respective senatorial oaths to defend the Constitution and the country's democractic process, instead of giving both of those things away by not responding to the Supreme Court's decision to do just that.
By these Senators and other legislators creating and drafting this legislation in response to the Supreme Court's decision, the concept of Checks and Balances becomes alive and well, at least for this issue.
So let's find out more, and based on what we learn, hopefully we will be encouraged that a few members of Congress have stepped up to the plate to protect The People's interests.
This is an enormously significant issue that is about the making or breaking of our whole process of electing our leadership. Decision by The People or Decision by Corporations?
Of course, Unions will have to affix their names to ads too, according to the proposed legislation, but currently the Unions are not all that powerful, given the outsourcing and relocation of our major manufacturing and the consequent reduction of our union and non-union labor force.
So let us follow this all closely and evaluate carefully what is being proposed and the intent and conduct of the proposers. And maybe and hopefully, there will be a little good news for a change.
For now, at least, based on what I've just read in this article, all of the above is my take.
/cm
+++++++++++
P.S. Today with Obama's remarks on this issue, I really think that We're Over as the U.S. of A., land of liberty, freedom and DEMOCRACY, and WE ARE a Corporate Kleptocracy already ... Mussolini style. But there's an enormous amount of talk, talk, talk ... the window-dressing behind which is sell-out after sell-out after sell-out to those "Human" corporations who were AWARDED unlimited "Free Speech/$-giving-using to make or break candidates. We'll see.
CM, the reason so few commented on the article you reference must be due in part to the shock factor and sense of resignation, as you now reveal. The "Citizens United" (v. real citizens) case left many in utter disbelief that the neocon takeover appears complete: all three branches of govt and the fourth estate, MSM.
But, even though it is hard to see now, SCOTUS decision may in fact be an indication that the old system is "going critical". Folowing the glaring leveraged-credit collapse (soon to reenact V 2.0) and looming military debacles, they have at last exposed a "fundamental flaw in [their] worldview" (in Greenspan's words) and are trying desperately to shore up the levees with overt criminal acts, including all branches of govt, regulators, treasury, DOJ, and even the private criminal banking cartel known as the 'Federal' Reserve (Central) Bank. I think this may really reveal more a sense of desperation than of true power, and ultimately it may be the necessary course of events needed to truly transform our corrupt political system---death before rebirth---toward a new stage of evolution.
Well stated...and I agree.
Key word: desperate.
I sense we're on the final leg of a gigantic "purge" that has to happen in order to start anew.
And we all know: The closer we get to the finish line, the stronger the resistance from forces that don't want to see us cross it.
No doubt more bumps ahead. Hold on.
And remember: It won't last forever.
Doug Terpstra says: "...ultimately it may be the necessary course of events needed to truly transform our corrupt political system---death before rebirth---toward a new stage of evolution." See post I just added in reply above to the "theinitiate" and "thefutureisnow."
You are absolutely right. The necessary course of events to truly transform include those "hot fires" on the red-hot anvil that burn the crude ore, which is taking a pounding from an iron hammer. Soon the pure gold is released and becomes a shining stream.
Pain, suffering ... the "hot fires" that come from complacency that everything is just fine the way it is and blindly accepting the unacceptable ... or being stuck in anomie and the gray state of inertia, but ...
It's wake-up time, that's for sure. And "the necessary course of events" with their often shocking and devastating outcomes are no accident. They are meant to move us along. It'll be a while yet, with a lot of trauma along the way, but an adventure that needs flexible, creative, venturous souls, which despite our fears we will likely become.
Old ways, old thinking that served us for a time have to be examined. Keeping the good; discarding what no longer works or serves. Not easy these little to large deaths from our letting go and growing, but rebirth is exhilarating and eventually is a time that leads to celebration and the peaceful rightness we feel in our heart of hearts which allows us to CO-CREATE new forms, new models, a whole new paradigm for the common good of all people and all things and our planet.
What an opportunity is before us! ... with a User-friendly Universe ready to respond ... with a "Whew. At last, little earthlings, you're getting it!"
/cm
Cee....appreciate your comments. Obama is really confusing me! He speaks out of both sides of his mouth. This article indicates he is quite aware of the Corporate takeover of our so called Democracy....yet, he also said a few days ago that our Supreme Court was too "liberal!!!" WTF?!!! Which way is he going? Does he think no one is really paying attention?
What a cynical pervert Obama is. The man who has bent over backwards for corporations in everything so far as president, war, health care, banking, you name it, is now all of sudden exposing them? MY GOD!
As a candidate he took money from several corporations, even filled his cabinet with several corporate criminals. What scum.
triple ditto!
better poker face that W.
Same town, different gangster, almost...
This statement by President Obama is part of the overall rebranding effort of the President and his corporate allies. His statement presupposes that there has been no corporate takeover of US elections, that we have a democracy with integrity (under him no less), and that he is a champion of the corporate donors and entities he serves. Let's not be fooled by the corporate, militarist in the White House, and the totalitarian, corporate, plutocracy he, the corporate Dems and the corporate Repubs, and their allies run. This is a bait and switch psyop tactic.
How would we recognize a genuine opposition to corporate rule? Easy. The earnest pursuit of a modern, non-corrupt democracy: public financing of all elections, a ban on private money during elections, a majority-based constitutional amending article (like Montana's), a recall capacity by vote to remove federal officials (like many states have), provision for initiative and referenda, and true multi-party legislatures such as Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway and many other countries have. (See the story of New Zealand's transformation from a two-party system to MMP for a good example.)
President Obama wants to PRESERVE the corrupt, corporate, totalitarian plutocracy we have, not transform it, while posing as a progressive reformer, just to trick and demobilize the majority progressive base. Let us not be fooled.
Well said Earthian! The CIA eliminates foreign leaders that are a potential threat to their hegemony and they will do the same to any American leader that is a genuine threat to their wealth and power. Obomba is no Kennedy,MLK or Wellstone. He is the consummate con man and a puppet of the MIC posing as an anti-corportist. If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today he would be disgusted with Barry.
Thanks. On a PBS show, Tavis Smiley Report, Cornel West compared MLK and President (roughly) this way: Obama is the smiling, friendly, attractive, face of empire. King was the smiling, friendly, attractive face of what empire destroyed. One was a prophet. The other is a politician.
Progressives need to judge who the President based on the policies he supports and the decisions he makes, not on our wishes for him. We are not the Nobel Committee.
I must add that I don't think Kennedy was any MLK or Wellstone either. Read JFK's no longer secret memo of his "peace" plan for Vietnam. It was all about selfish US plans to dominate and eliminate the threat of a good example of an alternative economic system.