Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:37 pm
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) obliterated the Koch plot to buy your government through unlimited campaign contributions on MSNBC today.
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Ronan Farrow asked Sen. Sanders (I-VT) about the upcoming McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
Supreme Court ruling, and got a sixty second explanation of why the Koch Brothers and right wing billionaires must be stopped.
Sanders said, “At the end of the day, you do not want a political system which is heavily dominated by wealthy individuals. That’s not what American society is supposed to be about. And Ronan, I think people have no idea, no idea, about the amount of time that members of congress in both parties, that candidates spend, all they do is raise money. They spend half their lives raising money. And you gotta go where the money is, and the money is with wealthy people. So if you are going to the wealthy to ask for campaign contributions, your political views are going to be shaped by that reality. You’re not worried about the high unemployment in this country. You’re not worried about the need to create millions of jobs. You’re not worried about the fact that we have more people living in poverty than at any time in our history. What you’re worried about are the needs of the wealthy and the powerful, so I believe very strongly that we need to junk this campaign finance situation that we’re in right now, and move to public funding of elections.”
It took Bernie Sanders exactly sixty seconds to explain why the Koch brothers must be stopped. Most Americans are upset because Republicans have used obstructionist tactics to ignore their concerns. The reason why Republicans aren’t concerned about the needs and difficulties of regular people is because they are busy catering to the interests of those who are paying for their campaigns.
The Koch plan to purchase control of the government is centered around the idea that their billions will make them more of a priority than the other 99% of the country. As long as they and other billionaires are free to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on elections, representative government will continue to be under attack.
What Sen. Sanders explained is common sense. Republicans view their job security as hinging on pleasing the Kochs and other right wing donors. The way to get a government that responds to the needs of average Americans is to get rid of the billionaires’ ability to influence elections. Take away their ability to fund campaigns, and you take away their influence.
Anyone who doesn’t understand why campaign finance matters needs to watch this interview with Sen. Sanders. The best way to make sure that the candidates voters elect put their priorities first is to take the price tag off, and make sure that their representation is not for sale.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
