All your questions can be answered in just one word: CAPITALISM. It has ruined this nation and I believe it is ruining other nations where it is spreading. Either we abolish capitalism and replace it with a truly egalitarian system or we get stuck with more of the same.

I'm not a Blagojevich fan, but it was obvious from the get-go that his prosecution was undertaken not because of his "crimes", such as they were, but because he's a gift to the prosecutorial mindset.

Blago comes across as an insouciant sleazeball bozo-- ideal qualities for a political scapegoat and an easy Feather in the Cap for an ambitious prosecutor like Fitzgerald. The difference between a Blago and an Obama is that Blago is unable or unwilling to Play It Straight.

IMO, the jury only convicted on a single count to throw a bone to the prosecution, and cover their own asses from public criticism. As with most of our "terrorist" trials, they'll re-try him as many times as it takes to save face.

Otherwise... forget it, Donna, it's Capitalism. Money talks, principles walk.

"Could we explain how money works in this political process to any other sane society?"

No. It's blatantly duplicitous. So how can Americans rationalize this state of affairs to themselves? Simple. It's an American value (dream) that individualism, hard work and creativity leads to riches, entitlement and privileges.

Thus, the rich believe they are the elite and this entitles them to control and manage our social fabric to define acceptable conduct and that society bestows upon them privileges of speech, of moral righteousness (thereby rationalizing wars and "targeted killings" [murder]) and of their chosen charitable acts.

Of course, the rich, whose wealth tends to continue from one generation to another and tends to concentrate over time, are oblivious to the fact that their wealth has come from other people in one way or another and that they owe these people. (To be fair, some wealthy people understand this, like Andrew Carnegie. But today that seems to be out of fashion. Moral decay maybe.)

I've had similar questions on this subject. And while we're at it, can we question why Xe (formerly Blackwater) can get away with all they have? And why does Wells Fargo get a measly fine for laundering drug money- but no one serves any prison time like you or I would if we were caught merely possessing illegal drugs. Plus, I bet their CEOs didn't have to take a drug test to get their jobs.

Propaganda is to Capitalism (inverted totalitarianism) what violence is to classic Totalitarianism. We are a nation awash in myths, lies and propaganda. The people are overworked and undereducated (and paid). They are overfed, distracted, docile and have low self-esteem- many are plumb stupid.

The confines of the legitimate (according to the MSM) political discourse in this country ranges from theocratic totalitarian fascism (R's)on the one hand to a modern sort of noblesse oblige on the other (D's). And only a small segment of the electorate has even the barest grasp of the economic, social and political forces sufficient to carry on a political discourse without parroting the talking points of their favorite tv or radio pundit.

Oh sure the right has its Ron Pauls and the left has its Kuciniches, but rest assured those people will never be allowed to exercise real power. As my favorite poly sci professor used to say, "This isn't a two-party system, there's just one party: the Capitalist Party."

If you are inclined to wonder why it is that our political situation (and our social situation for that matter) has become so perverse, so corrupt, so pathetically absurd- the answer is that it is always so in the twilight days of an empire. So hold on to your hats folks, because this empire is global and its fall is going to be a bumpy ride.

Donna,

Hello, again!

I wasn't aware of Rick Scott's background - haven't paid much attention to the Fla. race, I must admit, but your points made me sit up and take notice. How many other politicians, i wonder, have a background in sleazy healthcare corps? I new about Frist ....

VOTE POOR.

Money in elections leads to name recognition.

Vote for the person you've never heard of.

How bad could it be?

Unusually cogent article by Donna Smith raising a point (the inherent hypocrisy of buying versus selling in politics) I should have noticed but somehow had escaped me.

Thanks, Donna. Sounds like your health is improving!

-30-

Forgive me but, corporation...corruption, I keep getting the two mixed up!
When I was a kid I remember people kept telling us that too much of anything is not good for you, too much food/obesity, too much alcohol/liver damage/drunk driving, too much sex/STD's, so why is an excess of money OK with this society?
Probably because no matter what we have been told we are a people of excess, a bloodthirsty, grasping and ungracious people!

I'm waiting for the day when a Corporation will be tried in court, convicted, and then executed.

It is time for corporate 'persons' to run for office. A corporation which was incorporated in the U.S.A. at least 35 years ago and which has been headquartered in the U.S.A. for at least 14 years should be able to get on the ballot for the office of President of the United States. IBM versus GE in the fall of 2012?

I think people are disconnected from reality, and they don't care.

Most people are voting reflexively. It is a habit like going to the Mall or driving to work. They aren't sure why they are doing it, but they believe it is a social good.

People are Zombies.

Corruption drives the process, and the people behind the political dysfunction know exactly what is going on and how to manipulate it.

The republic is over. If you vote, you support the corrupt government and ratify it.

BTW, it is pretty easy to find out about who get what from whom by going to sites like:

http://www.opensecrets.org/

Good Grief.

The corporate person-hood that is materialized in front of us becomes these corporate leaders who spend their personal fortunes to get political office. Why does it become so personally valuable for them to hold office? After all they continually tell us how parasitic, derivative and unessential government is to our own welfare. Certainly politicians believe it too, Democrats and Republicans fall all over themselves to tell us what a friend they are to business and express absolute confidence that if we can just give the rich enough advantages in their self interest they will create the needed jobs etc. But maybe, just maybe, with chronic high unemployment that patter is wearing a little thin. A few of us are beginning to think that if government took the resources from them and applied it toward the general welfare that the government could do just as good a job of promoting the general welfare and even creating jobs as leaving these tasks to the noblesse oblige of the rich. Perhaps the Carly's of the world are growing a little uneasy. Maybe it's job security- I mean wealth security that motivates them to enter public life. What better way to quell such subversive ideas than to gain direct control of government and assure such attempts like progressive taxation never see the light of day. Sure, it is possible to buy politicians and achieve a state of virtual fascism but it is probably cheaper and more effective to just take over the offices directly. Carly-the ostensible Senator from California, Carly, the real Senator from HP and their cohorts. Hey the public doesn't seem to mind. The corporate world still has more legitimacy than the workings of government.

Donna Smith, as usual, does an outstanding job-- well done.

AD

Excellent article. Corporatism rules. It's all around us. We wear their logos, patronize their establishments, and do everything the corporation needs. We--the human body politic--are the hosts of the corporate parasite. It infests our policies, churning profits for military industrialists. Our spending has become a funnel of contracts exchanged for campaign contributions. Meanwhile the tapeworm devours good honest transaction and seeds ever higher taxes and a weakening dollar, all for war--the ultimate tool of control.

I guess to kid yourself that the people are still in control you must be heavily medicated. The corporate personhood label is simply a legal excuse to continue to plunder our nation, destroy its environment, and steal from workers and their families to give more to the already rich.

Now those who profit from all this misery need to be held accountable. One method is through un-electing Establishment players and incumbents. Vote them out! Now to do that, you'll need to actually vote--participate--unlike Whitman. The two party system is just replacing twiddleedee with twiddleedum, but it's a start. If enough people get educated and participate (apathy is a weapon that benefits the corporate state), real change can come.