It's started — Carpet-bombing congressional races

It began with a test — MN Forward dumping $150,000 got from Target, Best Buy, et al., into the Minnesota governor's race. Then News Corp gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. And now it's started in earnest. Perfectly legal collection groups funneling totally anonymous money — in potentially unlimited amounts — to take out Congressmen and Senators they don't like.

That's Pete DeFazio's situation in Oregon. He represents Eugene, a liberal bastion in a state that includes large chunks that are culturally similar to Idaho. Note DeFazio's description of his opponent at 10:40 in the clip — "a corporate shill ... living on Social Security ... on a survivalist compound in a corner of my district." More about Art Robinson here, including his ties to Christian Reconstructionism.

The segment says it all:



Who knows who Robinson's financiers are? Given his ties to Christian Reconstructionism, it could be west coast billionaire fanatic Howard Ahmandson, one of the biggies behind Prop 8. Kindred spirits find each other. Or any of perhaps dozens of crazed right-wing billionaires, now poised to rule our electoral-season airwaves. If money is speech, big money is carpet-bombing.

Imagine the possibilities, drowning election after election in endless propaganda. If you have profits in the billions to throw around, or a mega-billion estate that daddy just handed you as he died, you could take out, say, 10 unfriendlies per election cycle for about $30–50 million per cycle. It's a target-rich environment; the rewards would be huge; the money well spent. And after five or ten cycles of this, only in the propaganda would the country look the same as before.

Thank you, Mr. Roberts. You served your masters well. I vote you straight to Satan's mouth for this betrayal.

GP