The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Is No Democracy At All)
The best things in life are priceless. Or at least they should be.
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Is No Democracy At All)
by C.A. Matthews
I believe most Americans understand that the United States is not a democracy or even qualifies as a representative democracy. The US is, in fact, an oligarchy, which means politicians work for their big money donors and not for the people.
The Princeton Study proved that no matter how hard average voters try to influence their elected representatives—try to make them vote for or sponsor a bill that would benefit ordinary people and not billionaires—the result will be the same. Whatever corporations and the super rich folks who own them want, they’ll get. To put it plainly, “Screw the needs of ordinary Americans!”
I came across an example this week that illustrates the American oligarchy in action. I will make a few suggestions on how we can fight back against their tactics, but feel free to come up with some actions of your own. Please write them in the comments below because sharing knowledge is power. Thank you.
From a recent Jill Stein for President campaign email:
On Thursday June 27th, the FEC [Federal Elections Commission] informed us that our campaign had qualified for primary matching funds. Then minutes later, FEC told us the Treasury department will withhold our payments to give priority to general election funding–just in case the Democratic and Republican candidates decide they want it.
Let me explain why that’s so outrageous:
In 2022, there was over $420 million available for public funding in the Presidential Election Campaign, thanks to taxpayers who check the box on their income tax forms to contribute $3 to the cause.
On March 22, 2024, Congress raided the Presidential Election Campaign Fund for $375m. This was well after we posted that “qualifying for public matching funds will be a game-changer for our campaign.” According to the FEC, there is now about $17 million left in the fund.
Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen –a Biden appointee–is now using this manufactured shortfall to withhold matching funds for qualified primary election candidates to “prioritize” hypothetical general election candidates.
The only candidates who could claim general election funds under the rules are the Democrat Biden and the Republican Trump. But claiming public funds would limit these billion-dollar campaigns to spending the $17 million in available public funding, and foregoing all private donations.
In other words: there’s no way that Biden or Trump will use public funds, and everyone knows it, but the Biden administration is using that “possibility” to withhold the matching funds we qualified for until two weeks after the Democratic nominating convention, long after we need the money for our ballot drives.
It’s a huge tribute to our campaign that the Democrats are declaring all-out war on democracy to stop us, with their army of lawyers to sue us off the ballot, their job postings for campaign infiltrators and spies, and now their assault on public funding.
They are terrified that we're on a roll to challenge empire, oligarchy, and genocide in this election.
More details were provided by Jill Stein’s Campaign Manager, Jason Call. From Jason’s X feed:
The duopoly is going all out to deny third party voices this year. The Stein campaign has qualified for Federal Matching Funds, but Congress robbed the fund and Treasury is refusing to pay us $270,000. It is unconscionable and unprecedented.
What are Federal Matching Funds? When you file your taxes each year, you’re asked, “Do you want $3 to go to the Presidential Matching Fund?” It is essentially a fund reserved to help campaigns be more competitive against the flood of big money interests.
Before presidential campaigns became billion dollar affairs, both duopoly candidates used to use the fund, which matches individual donor contributions up to $250. To qualify, a campaign must raise $5000 from 20 states, with each donor’s contribution only counting up to $250.
Once that threshold is reached, the fund matches that $100k, and also matches all other donors up to $250 retroactively and for the remainder of the primary. General election matching funds are also available. But the use of these matching funds comes with limits.
To use the matching funds, a general election campaign would have to limit overall spending to $123.5 million and not take any other private donations So the major parties do not use these funds, in fact haven’t used them since 2008 because they’d rather use the billions corporations give.
The Jill Stein is the only campaign that has met the threshold for this funding. And while the FEC has said we qualify for the match–a payment of $270k at this point –we are being denied that payment
But this year, Congress robbed the fund (and if you are a taxpayer and have checked that $3 box, you should be righteously pissed off about this misappropriation). And the Treasury is saying “Sorry, we don’t have the money, we might need it for the general.”
It’s a laughable justification. But understand this is a political hit. Congress appropriated that money right when we were messaging that we were about to hit the threshold. The Treasury is a politicized department with Janet Yellen as chair.
The FEC is not the responsible party here. They qualified us, said we were good to go. This is coming from higher up, politically motivated to shut down our traction. And it has. It has stifled our momentum. This, [along with] the bullshit lawsuits to keep us off the ballot.
The Green Party takes no corporate money. We are following the rules. And the playground bullies are continuing to rig the system for the war machine and other corporate interests. This is not democracy. It is not justice.
I hope you see where and how American “democracy” is being bought out in order to support the oligarchy or billionaires. A political appointee, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, has prevented another government agency that is funded by tax payers’ contributions, the Federal Elections Commission or FEC, from fulfilling its obligations to give promised matching funds to the Jill Stein for President Campaign.
By allowing Congress to raid the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, Secretary Yellen has committed a serious crime against the voters, election interference. After all, many voters check the “Give $3 to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund?” box on their tax forms. Did you check that box and then tell Congress that it was okay to raid the fund without your permission? I’ll assume you did not. Your wishes as an average American voter were not even considered. The Princeton Study is proven correct once again.
According to FEC rules, if there is money in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund for the general election (that is, the November election as opposed to the primary elections that happen in the spring and summer) then candidates are only allow to take FEC matching funds if they promise to take only the FEC public funds. To do so would limit billion-dollar+ campaigns like those of Biden’s and Trump’s. They would have to share that measly $17 mil and give up all the billions of dollars in PAC (Political Action Committee) money and “dark money” they receive from huge donations deposited into their “Super PACs”.
A Super PAC is sort of like a huge plastic Easter egg full of cash that is inside another egg filled with cash that is inside another egg full of cash that is inside yet another egg full of cash... and so on. There’s so much money in a Super PAC and so many layers of shells to hide it all that you can’t even imagine where it all comes from—and that’s the point. The money is successfully hidden away from the public eye. Candidates of the uniparty/duopoly such as Biden and Trump have access to these untold riches of dark money (thanks in part to the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling), but only if they don’t settle for the measly pocket change provided by the FEC in public funding.
The vast sums of money in a Super PAC comes from billionaire donors, other PACs, and corporations. (Money can also come from foreign concerns usually via apparently American front organizations, as in the case of AIPAC.) Your minuscule $50 donation to Biden or Trump isn’t necessary. Thanks, but you’re not the type of people the uniparty candidates really need. Corporations are their people, and they qualify as such according to the Citizens United ruling.
Corporations are often lump together into lobbying groups who donate to PACs such as “Big Pharma” or “Big Oil”. One of the biggest lobbying groups is made up of corporations that make military vehicles, planes, ships, armaments, and bombs. They are known by the acronym “MIC” or the military-industrial complex. President Eisenhower first warned us about them in his farewell address back in 1960.
When you come to realize just how powerful and wealthy the MIC is, it’s understandable why candidates such as Biden and Trump support endless bloodshed and genocide. Think about it. Has the US ever not been actively involved in a war, proxy war, “CIA or military intervention” or “police action” in your lifetime? In your parents’ lifetimes?
In your grandparents’ lifetimes?
The US is currently arming the Israelis in their genocidal assault of Gaza, now in its tenth month with over 186,000 dead, mostly women and children. The US is arming the corrupt Zelensky regime in its proxy war against Russia, now at two and half years and counting and many thousands dead. Now consider how candidates who accept billions of dollars of donations from the MIC have to support endless wars in order to make their MIC donors happy or else they’ll be out of a job.
Selling arms and related things is a huge commercial enterprise. Why would any country buy arms if there aren’t any military conflicts or genocides happening? It’s up to the US government to drum up wars—and business!
How dare a grassroots campaign from the Green Party threaten the MIC’s throne—I mean, their ownership of the White House—I mean, their presidency—uh, the presidency! The root of the crimes is that the oligarchy, the billionaires who run Big Pharma, Big Oil, the military-industrial complex, etc., “suggested” to the Biden administration to tell Treasury Secretary Yellen to commit election interference by keeping the $270,000 in FEC matching funds away from White House challenger Jill Stein.
Why are these MIC/Super PAC donors so terrified of Jill Stein that they’d pressure the current administration to break the law? Perhaps it’s because Dr. Stein has said as president she would do away with the current corrupt electoral system and institute publicly funded elections such as those in the UK. All candidates—no matter their party affiliation—would have an equal footing then because they’d have an equal amount of money to spend on campaigning. American voters would actually have a chance of hearing different platforms and voting for other than “blue or red” candidates.
Added bonus: Jill Stein has promised she would shrink the massive, bloated military budget and shut down the 700+ military bases worldwide. But less war equals less profits for the MIC. Yes, these Daddy Warbucks are that scared of what she represents as a pro-peace/anti-genocide candidate.
Americans would win in other ways as well. Without the billions of dollars of campaign donations flowing from the PACs/Super PACs, the viewing public wouldn’t be subjected to months and months of those horrible, dirt-slinging political ads on TV and the internet ever again. Hooray!
So, how do we fight back against these crimes against American voters and tax payers? First of all, Congress and the Treasury must be held accountable for their actions in blocking FEC funds to qualified campaigns such as Jill Stein’s and spending FEC money they weren’t entitled to spend. Visit in person, call, email, text or write to Secretary Janet Yellen and express your displeasure with her criminal election interference. Don’t forget to write a letter to the editor and share it with all your online contacts to expose her crimes to a wider audience, too.
Do the same with your elected representatives as well. Let them know that when you checked that $3 box for the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, that’s what you wanted that $3 used for. Not for whatever they wanted to spend it on—it’s for what the tax payers asked to have it spent on. We are their bosses, after all.
But there are still other criminals who need calling out. The Democratic and Republican Parties are also guilty since they have done nothing to decry this crime of election interference by Secretary Yellen and Congress. They thrive on Super PAC billions and might have themselves put Yellen and Congress up to it. President Biden appointed Janet Yellen to her post as Treasury Secretary, so as her boss he is responsible for her actions. Don’t forget to write, call, text, or even protest outside the White House to get his attention.
As noted above, this wasn’t the first dirty trick the duopolists of the blue faction have pulled on the Green Party and the Jill Stein campaign, and unfortunately, it won’t be their last.
Candidates who take Super PAC money find it difficult pulling together an honest campaign. Those who accept billions of dollars find it difficult to act like honest candidates with spotless track records who work hard to earn your vote. They only seem capable of handicapping the competition via fraud, dirty tricks, and mudslinging. It’s like they’re afraid of real democracy, the kind that money can’t buy.
But then, what would you expect from a pawn of the oligarchy?
If you’re able, help out Jill Stein’s campaign with a donation to make up for the missing FEC funds they were expecting: https://www.jillstein2024.com/donate
Related Articles and Other Interesting Links
Princeton Study: Congress Literally Doesn't Care What You Think https://act.represent.us/sign/problempoll-fba/
Jill Stein 2024 Explained- Who is Jill Stein? What are the policies of Jill Stein of the Green Party youtu.be/9ziwTDDcaVI?si=762dTkZFmiEL8z0K
Biden’s “Democracy” Defense Ignores Un-Democratic Way He Became the Nominee https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-democracy-defense-ignores-un-democratic-way-he-became-the-nominee/
Joe Biden Declares He's Done The "Goodest job, I know I can do!" https://mark192.substack.com/p/cartoon-joe-biden-declares-hes-done
Revealed: America’s secret special forces flights to Israel from UK base on Cyprus https://www.declassifieduk.org/revealed-americas-secret-special-forces-flights-to-israel-from-uk-base-on-cyprus/
Horror Beyond Comprehension: Gaza Death Toll Realistically Assessed At 186,000, But Could Be As High As 600,000 https://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2024/07/11/horror-beyond-comprehension-gaza-death-toll-realistically-assessed-at-186000-but-could-be-as-high-as-600000/
Israeli airstrikes massacre hundreds across Gaza over the weekend https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/07/15/awwb-j15.html
States and companies must end arms transfers to Israel immediately or risk responsibility for human rights violations: UN experts https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/06/states-and-companies-must-end-arms-transfers-israel-immediately-or-risk
Nonstop News Stories Proving Palestine Supporters Right About Everything https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/nonstop-news-stories-proving-palestine
The Old Evil https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-old-evil
Pro-Israel Group Censoring Social Media Led by Former Israeli Intelligence Officers https://www.leefang.com/p/pro-israel-group-censoring-social
Delta Airlines Forces Passenger to Remove T-Shirt in Anti-Palestine Move https://truthout.org/articles/delta-airlines-forces-passenger-to-remove-t-shirt-in-anti-palestine-move/
Similar to Biden, NATO Is Aged and Unfit for Leadership https://medeabenjamin.substack.com/p/similar-to-biden-nato-is-aged-and
Big Oil is doing way better under Biden than under Trump https://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-oil-is-doing-way-better-under-biden-than-under-trump-142434637.html
Former US Diplomat: This is why I quit the Biden administration youtu.be/92A_pHlHwEs?si=9j9HnRPBoxlaG3z3
The Mainstream Worldview Is A Mass-Produced Artificial Psychosis https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-mainstream-worldview-is-a-mass
Companies Profiting from the Gaza Genocide https://afsc.org/gaza-genocide-companies
The Truth Lover's Prayer https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-truth-lovers-prayer
AOC Loses Endorsement youtu.be/VqvqQGENmaA?si=yXb0-gcgXP2sETyq
Is The US a Police State? youtu.be/Gl_fgvH1BDA?si=79yomtJ6swTW4L-M
Attack on Trump reopens a chilling chapter in American politics https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/14/politics/trump-shooting-politics-analysis/index.html
Billionaires Rally to Endorse Trump After Assassination Attempt https://truthout.org/articles/billionaires-rally-to-endorse-trump-after-assassination-attempt/
‘Project 2025’ Is Just ‘Project 1981’ https://popularresistance.org/project-2025-is-just-project-1981/
Jill Stein’s comments on the recent Trump shooting https://twitter.com/impattipolitics/status/1812901549573607515
The more you learn about how the US government actually works, compared to how they claim it works, the more you want to tear it all down and start from scratch. The Jill Stein campaign is just the beginning of this "house cleaning" movement. We need to support all alternative parties and their candidates and let the billionaires and their flunkies in politics know that their money doesn't "talk" anymore.
It’s disgusting what’s going on.
But it’s a long time that the “Dems” have been working against democracy quite openly. In both actions such as their rigging primary elections ( that’s what the fake “Russiagate” was about) but also even their blatant refusal to defend the voting rights of minorities in America from the GOP’s infamous Crosscheck program which began over a decade ago.
They need to be voted out of office for good.