They’re terrified of Bernie Sanders: Fox News, Hillary surrogates and Wall Street get extra-nervous [View all]

[n2doc]

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling established what the SCOTUS Blog refers to as “the personhood of corporations.” As a result of equating corporations with people (allowing unlimited donations to PACs), some voters feel the need to compromise their value system in order to win the White House. The game is rigged and ideals become a liability when billions of dollars are at stake; better to jettison cherished principles in the short run and win the presidency in the long run. After all,$2.5 billion doesn’t grow on trees and money trumps sincerity in today’s political climate.

Also, Yahoo News writes that Donald Trump “donated to Clinton’s Senate campaign as well as the Clinton Foundation,” so while poll-driven candidates for president joust over issues only Congress can resolve, mainstream Democrats and Republicans are united under Citizens United.

Income inequality in America is the highest it’s been since 1928, yet Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill wants you to know that some people are just ”too liberal” and “extreme” to be president. Many Americans still aren’t comfortable with confronting Wall Street greed, even if the 2008 financial crisis cost the United States over $12.8 trillion, 2.6 million jobs, and resulted in a Washington Post headline titled “U.S. Forces Nine Major Banks To Accept Partial Nationalization.” According to the Levi Economics Institute, the 2008 financial crisis resulted in “a Federal Reserve bailout commitment in excess of $29 trillion.”

McCaskill and other Democrats should ask Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner about socialism before accusing others of being too extreme.

The phrase “too far left” is used not only by Fox News to frighten voters, but also by Democrats convinced that any candidate willing to break up the banks is doomed in a general election. Like Senator McCaskill warns, America just isn’t ready for a “Democratic-Socialist,” even if the six largest American banks have assets equaling 60 percent of U.S. GDP. We’ve been taught to fear the influence of large campaign donations, and while standing up to the “billionaire class” is nice, pragmatism is paramount since corporations now have the same freedom of speech in elections as the average American.

more

http://www.salon.com/2015/07/13/theyre_terrified_of_bernie_sanders_fox_news_hillary_surrogates_and_wall_street_get_extra_nervous/