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Soros Starts the Anti-Super PAC Super PAC
United Re:public / News Analysis
Published: Tuesday 17 July 2012
Getting money out by putting more in?
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. So goes the logic of Jonathan Soros, the son of billionaire liberal donor George Soros, who has launched his own super PAC aimed at diminishing the influence that groups like his have on politics:
“We openly acknowledge the irony of being a super PAC trying to address money in politics,” Soros said. “But our goal is to eventually decrease the influence of this kind of group… We don’t see any other path to real legislative change.”
Money – and lots of it – has become increasingly central for participation in democracy. So it is no surprise that the very wealthy continue to flood the airwaves with advertisements that are aimed to protect and advance their own wealth and hush the majority of Americans who cannot afford to speak.
Who knew that free speech cost so much?
This type of action underscores a major problem in a government that is meant to be by, for, and of the people. When spending millions via a super PAC is necessary to be heard, we have clearly let money dictate the legislative and democratic process. Further, it illustrates the fact that in order to participate in political free speech it is all but necessary to have millions of dollars.
Just one percent of all Americans are millionaires, compared to almost 50 percent of Congressmen who are millionaires. Is it truly a government that is representative of and accountable to the majority of a people?
With the Supreme Court’s Citizens United reasoning that money is speech and therefore cannot be limited, corporations and wealthy individuals are able to “speak” and spend as much as they want all the while drowning out other voices. You’re free to speak to your friends at a bar, but when it comes to speaking in the political process you really need a big checkbook along with a big mouth.
This speech can be anonymous, creating a dangerous dynamic that is in stark contrast to the fundamental notion that source matters when evaluating a message. The American people deserve to know the source behind the ads flooding their televisions.
Big money is speaking louder than any single person’s words. So it is that in the noble endeavor to rein in unbridled spending, we can only hope that Jonathan Soros is so successful that he works himself right out of a job.
9 comments on "Soros Starts the Anti-Super PAC Super PAC"
August 05, 2012 7:36pm
Dear Mr. Soros:
It is apparent to me that our government has deteriorated into a government of the people by the lobbyists for the wealthy corporations and persons. That is, we now have Plutocracy instead of Democracy. In an effort to correct this I have recently drafted and circulated by Signon.org a petition to be submitted to our US Congress (Senators and Representatives). Since the Amendment to our Constitution proposed therein would require two thirds vote in both the House and Senate, my petition really needs 250,000 or more signatures to be effective. I am a 78 year young grandfather that recently retired on a fixed income and so my wife and I of 56 years really do not have the resources to give the petition the circulation it deserves. Please review my petition and give serious consideration to facilitating the circulation it needs. It is as follows:
To be delivered to: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate:
We hereby petition The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate to Amend the United States Constitution to prohibit all corporations from making contributions of any kind to members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate and limit individual contributions to $100.00.
The reason the amendment is needed:
For too long we in America have been living under a Government that is run by government of the people by the lobbyists for the rich and powerful corporations. Too many of our Senators and House of Representatives are owned and controlled by Corporations and their big money. When our US Supreme Court announced that Corporations are people and money is speech, that was a strong indication that the Corporations and their big money also owned and controlled too many of our Supreme Court Justices.
The only way to cleanse our political system from the currently ongoing enormous corrupting influence is to get money out of politics. We need to free ourselves of Crony Capitalism whereby a rich and powerful few are running our government and reinstate Democratic Capitalism; that is, TRUE free market capitalism which is absolutely compatible with a true democracy. TRUE free market capitalism includes corporations and investors that assume all risks and are solely responsible for all losses as well as enjoying all profits after applicable taxes. Then once again we will have government of the people by the people and for the people. This amendment to the Constitution is necessary because of the Freedom of Speech provisions contained in the Constitution.
Click to sign: http://signon.org/sign/take-money-out-of-politics. (If necessary copy and paste the link into your browser.)
Please note Mr. Soros that it may be timely to promote this petition now because Senator Bernard Sanders’ current Senate Joint Resolution 33 currently drifting around in our Congress proposes an Amendment to our Constitution that would reverse the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. It would never fly because Justice Scalia would never reverse his position that “money is speech” and “corporations are people” and therefore corporations can contribute as much money as they wish as guaranteed by our Constitution.
July 17, 2012 9:34pm
Good for George Soros! Moveon is the greatest!
July 24, 2012 2:44pm
To be delivered to: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
We hereby petition The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate to Amend the United States Constitution to prohibit all corporations from making contributions of any kind to members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate and limit individual contributions to $100.00.
This Amendment is necessary because:
For too long we in America have been living under a Government that is run by government of the people by the lobbyists for the rich and powerful corporations. Too many of our Senate and House of Representatives are owned and controlled by Corporations and their big money. When our US Supreme Court announced that Corporations are people, that was a strong indication that the Corporations and their big money also owned and controlled too many of our Supreme Court Justices.
The only way to cleanse our political system from the currently ongoing enormous corrupting influence is to get money out of politics. We need to free ourselves of Crony Capitalism whereby a rich and powerful few are running our government and reinstate Democratic Capitalism; that is, TRUE free market capitalism which is absolutely compatible with a true democracy. TRUE free market capitalism includes corporations and investors that assume all risks and are solely responsible for all losses as well as enjoying all profits after applicable taxes. Then once again we will have government of the people by the people and for the people. This amendment to the Constitution is necessary because of the Freedom of Speech provisions contained in the Constitution.
Click on or copy and paste into your browser - http://signon.org/sign/take-money-out-of-politics.
July 17, 2012 5:55pm
The best use for this superPac to end all super pacs would be to create ads that focus the viewers attention on . . . the sheer number of ads they're being bombarded with (in those key toss-up states). Then ask: "Who's paying for all those adds? Your neighbors? Or corporations and interest groups? And if they're paying, there must be something they want. Are you willing to be manipulated?? Show corporations and billionaires that democracy can't be bought. Ignore all political ads. Better still, vote the other way."
Only by making the ads themselves a symbol for the corruption of the system can we defang them. Then let the Koch Bros spend all they want. Doing so only proves the point.
July 17, 2012 6:53pm
Please sign at: http://signon.org/sign/take-money-out-of-politics. When enough sign we will force approval of the necessary Amendment needed to take the only source of power away from the rich and powerful persons and corporations. We can level the playing field in favor of the majority of our people. Click on http://signon.org/sign/take-money-out-of-politics or copy and paste into your browser.
July 17, 2012 3:12pm
It would seem that this ruling, that corporations are people, and that money is speech, did a lot more than just drown out our voices! Money being speech in our completely unequal world is more like being in a tiny swimming pool when a giant elephant does a cannon ball into the water besides you! You get blown completely out of the pool by the giant waves, if not just crushed to the bottom. With money as speech, there is no room left for most of us within their very expensive political process. The top 400 richest people have more of a right to speak politically, or any other way, than the bottom 150 million poor people. To call America a democracy with this kind of political regimen in place is totally absurd and verges on the definition of insanity instead! It proves, beyond any doubt, that democracy has been 'drowned in that proverbial bathtub' already! The newspapers were paid to not print the news that We, the People, had been 'thrown out with the bathwater'!
July 17, 2012 3:28pm
When enough sign at http://signon.org/sign/take-money-out-of-politics we will force approval of the necessary Amendment needed to take the only source of power away from the rich and powerful persons and corporations. We can level the playing field in favor of the majority of our people. Talk to any attorney and I believe that because of what our US Supreme Court did citing free speech, the only way to put a stop to the massive financial lobbying is to amend the US Constitution. Please click on or copy and paste into your browser: http://signon.org/sign/take-money-out-of-politics.
July 17, 2012 2:54pm
The central and coordinated message should be "PLUTOCRACY NO - DEMOCRACY YES!" And all should sign at: http://signon.org/sign/take-money-out-of-politics. When enough sign we will force approval of the necessary Amendment needed to take the only source of power away from the rich and powerful persons and corporations. We can level the playing field in favor of the majority of our people. We can reinstate government of the people by the people and for the people and put an end to our current government of the people by the lobbyists for the rich and powerful persons and corporations. Please see: http://signon.org/sign/take-money-out-of-politics. If necessary copy the link and paste it into your browser.
July 17, 2012 12:58pm
soro launched moveon and other super pac years ago