Re: The Mid-Terms Results Thread
Nobody ever thinks they've been swayed by a political ad, but there's definitive proof that they work, so your argument doesn't really hold water. The problem with trusting billionaires is that most of them spend their life trying to get richer. Their interests don't lie in making the country a better place for the average American. Their interests lie in shifting public policy to benefit themselves, regardless of how many average americans are harmed in the process.
I don't have a problem with the existence of lobbyists, it's the fact that the big three I mentioned - special interests, bureaucrats and billionaires - have our politicians on leashes. Either you aren't paying attention and thus do not accept this to be true, or you prefer we have a system where our representatives have no incentive to do the right thing.
The truth of the matter was that the Republicans could run the best political ads in the world, but if we were growing at an average rate of 3% per year and Obama didn't and approval rate in the law 40's, we wouldn't be talking about a Republican wave election. I mean, in my home state, the reason Grimes lost has nothing to do with the millions that came in. The election changed when she didn't have an answer for if she voted for Obama. All the money does do, it nationalize elections that might otherwise be local. But in today's age, you can't escape the larger narratives at play.
Back to the billionaire thing, keep in mind that I wasn't referring to hedge brokers like Warren Buffet. The reason most people become billionaires is they come up with some awesome new idea that ends up creating lots of jobs, bringing in lots of new revenue, and generally making people's lives batter. You see, more billionaires don't get rich because their first thought is "to make more money", sure that's what they like, but let's face it, if that's all it took, well I doubt you and I would be having this discussion right now. The truth of the matter is that all people are trying to do one thing: find a need and fill it. Once you do that, the money will roll in, as well as prosperity for us all. Even with the hedge brokers like Warren Buffet, you're still talking about people with deep pockets that can invest in new ideas and industries much more efficiently than the federal government can, simply because they can react quicker and be more adaptable. In other words, they can fill those needs, before the government can even think of them
As far as their influence in politics, again the reason they have this much money is generally speaking they've made a lot of smart decisions. I mean if it was easy to be a billionaire, You have some exceptions of course like with everything, but overall, these are business leaders who know their stuff. Lastly on this point, the money raised on both sides is pretty even without favoring one party or the other. Hell if the Right has the Kochs, the Left has Soros and Buffet... that evens things out a lot wouldn't you say?
My solution to all of this is term limits. In my experience, the only politician with a spine is one that isn't running for re-election. And it has the side effect of also solving your special interest thing because well, no money to be gained eh?
Awwwww.... the NYT is now reporting that the poor President is "irritated" with the results. Darn ole voters.
