Just how does one finance a successful run for the White House in 2008? This is a question which remains to be fully answered. But solid information about how to finance a run for the nomination is available now at Open Secrets on the web (see link below).
Already, the amount of money spent on this primary season is higher than any nomination race up to 2004. Just where does all this money come from -- hundreds of millions of dollars of it? More importantly, where does all this money go? We know a substantial portion of it goes to gigantic media conglomerates, who essentially own our media broadcasting system, a system we are supposed to own.
This gets back to an earlier headline here: Impeaching the Media. For it is clear we have a political/media regime in this country with PR flacks operating right in the White House. And, sadly, the same machine operates in the nominating process. Why are so many debates hosted by the media? The media are supposed to "cover" the debates, not sponsor them.
Perhaps this is the deeper meaning of the success of Barack Obama with his mantra of change. People want not only change in the White House. They surely want an end to government by experts, by PR hacks, by spinmeisters, by lying and conniving thieves. And they want an end to self-important pundits who dare to divine the will of the people even before the people have spoken.
So change is possible, but only if we get much more interested in the machinery of politics so wealthy voices are prevented from speaking with an unduly loud voice. Let us put the tiger back in its cage. And if it refuses to go, let us demand an end to "corporate personhood", that legal flim-flammery which grants unto fictitious entities the rights of persons under the Constitution.
A new day can indeed be at hand. But only if we teach one another and learn from one another. And as the old union song has it: "You've got to organize." And organize. And organize.
Have a good time organizing.
http://www.opensecrets.org/
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