Regarding Hillary Clinton

[H2O Man]

63. Great points!

I agree with you about Citizen's United's impact. I think that it fits into a larger context that is important for people to consider.

Corporations, by their very nature, have certain dynamics that come into play. Author Gerry Mander described them in his outstanding book, "In the Absence of the Sacred." One of these is the need for growth. And the biggest difference in this need is determined by if a corporation is for profit, or not-for-profit. And I realize I'm speaking in very general terms here.

Our government is actually a form of a corporation. For many years, the federal government was closer to a non-profit, than a for profit corporation. It is perhaps worth noting that, for example, in the period leading up to the Civil War, there were numerous political parties. More, the US Senate had its Golden Age, where an impressive number of outstanding minds debated important issues. Now, I'm aware of the many injustices in American society in that era, and am not attempting to pretend that they didn't exist. Rather, I'm speaking in general terms about the ability to become a more perfect union.

In the post Civil War era, generally from 1870 to 1900, the federal government became a for profit corporation. That isn't so much how much the federal government made, as how it was then spent to enrich major stock-holders. Hence, Mark Twain's wonderfully accurate description of it as the Gilded Age. Politics became a fairly even contest between two parties, both corrupt at the top. Yet the grass roots would make progress on a number of social issues.

In the post-WW2 era, the federal government/corporation would invest in creating a large middle class in America. That tended to remain true, to various extents, until the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. Then, the federal government began to again be a for profit corporation, which was primarily focused upon rewarding its major stockholders.

Our federal government will continue to be a corporate state entity, no matter who wins the presidency in 2016.The only question is if it will be for the profit of the 1% exclusively, or a non-profit that invests in the entire nation.