Above: John Nichols, at the podium, and Robert McChesney visited Olympia earlier this week to discuss their latest book, "Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media-Election Complex is Destroying America," at The Evergreen State College.
By Janine Unsoeld
Citing the influence money has in politics and the demise of
true journalism, authors Robert McChesney and John Nichols fired up the crowd
and lit fires under butts talking earlier this week about their new book, Dollarocracy:
How the Money and Media-Election Complex is Destroying America, at The
Evergreen State College.
McChesney, a graduate of The Evergreen State College, was
introduced by his former professor, Tom Rainey, who called McChesney a socially
committed student and scholarly hellraiser.
About 100 were in attendance,
including 40 students from an Evergreen class called Political Economy of
Public Education.
Providing multiple history lessons from the Founding Fathers
and the writing of the U.S. Constitution right up to the current City of
Seattle city council race between Socialist Kshama Sawant, who recently won the
election over incumbent Robert Conlin, both speakers provided a hard hitting,
keen analysis of the influence money has on American media and politics.
McChesney said he and Nichols came up with the idea for
their latest book when a 2012 Princeton study of democracy and the federal
government showed that the bottom 90% of people’s values and concerns were not
acknowledged. The book’s introduction by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont)
says that nothing can pass Congress that is opposed by Wall Street.
McChesney noted that even Jimmy Carter, speaking in Germany
in July when he thought he was speaking off the record, said America today is
no longer a functioning democracy.
“Half the population is now considered to be at poverty
level or low-income…we’re back to where we were in the 1920’s” said McChesney.
Citing a loss of 20,000 journalists since 2009, Nichols, a
journalist and correspondent for The Nation, asserted that the ones that remain
pretend they’re covering the news.
In reference to television ads passing as news, Nichols
said, “The standard of news media now is whether the (advertising) check
clears…As journalism disappears, it tries to do it on the cheap, talking about
Michelle Obama’s work against obesity issues, talking about Ted Cruz….(but)
there’s a grassroots activism - 16 states have petitioned to overturn Citizen
United - and yet you aren’t told about it. It’s real, it’s happening, and you
need to be a part of it…we’re at the tipping point.”
Move to Amend is a
non-partisan coalition of over 300,000 individuals and organizations whose goal
it is to amend the US Constitution to end corporate rule and get big money out of
politics by overturning the U.S. Supreme court decision in Citizens United
vs. Federal Election Commission.
The
proposed amendment would overturn court decisions that granted corporations the
status of "personhood" which allows unlimited corporate campaign
spending.
Nichols said that Washington State is the number one example
of Dollarocracy and that their paperback version of Dollarocracy will feature
Washington State, the GMO issue and the Grocery Association’s $23 million
dollar contribution toward the demise of I-522 - the result of when
corporations enter into politics.
“....Their profits were threatened by the reality of
labeling. They succeeded in their effort to confuse people so much that people
voted against it. That’s Dollarocracy in play. That’s not how it’s supposed to
be….”
Nichols asserted that our Founding Fathers did not intend
for the Constitution to be a static document. It was amended ten times in the
first four years.
“Journalism is so fair and balanced, it treats a lie just
like the truth!” exclaimed Nichols, “If we do not acknowledge what’s happening
today, that will be our future. Amend the Constitution. Let’s eliminate the
Electoral College….Can we do it?”
In closing, Nichols told a story:
In closing, Nichols told a story:
“There’s a girl, seven or eight years old, and she’s walking
up some steps. She’s going to work in a mill – she’s not going to school. Her
fingers are small, tiny, and good at changing bobbins….sometimes the machines
would start up while she was changing the bobbins, and take her finger or hand.
And that was OK back then, because if that happened, she could go work in a
clothing factory. Jews, Christians, Muslims, all working together. She would go
to work on the 10th floor of the factory, and, sometimes, a fire
would break out. They’d run to the door, but it was locked shut to prevent
workers from sneaking a bathroom break…and they’d either burn alive or jump out
the windows….
In the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York, they
chose to jump. As mothers came to pick their daughters up off the sidewalks,
their grief turned to anger. Women were not allowed to vote then….Over a 10
year period, women organized, and reforms took place. They amended the
Constitution three times: to vote, to elect the Senate, and enact taxing and
regulatory reforms to tell people they can’t lock the doors at factories, they
can’t employ children. Child labor laws were enacted, unions began….
"We are in a similar moment today. Are you the equals
of your grandmothers? Your grandfathers?....Five hundred cities have enacted
resolutions to amend the Constitution. If you don’t engage now, you’ll be on
the sidelines of democracy….”
The Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory fire of March 25, 1911 killed 123 women and 23 men. The youngest victims were 14 years old.
Move To Amend Efforts in Washington State
The
movement to amend the Constitution is active in the South Sound area. Mike
Savoca, of the Olympia Move to Amend group was present at McChesney’s and
Nichols’ presentation.
“We
testified last February before the legislature in favor of a bill, HR 4001 and
SR 8002, in favor of a 28th Amendment and were successful in the House but the
bill was killed in committee by the Senate Governmental Operations chair, Pam
Roach,” said Savoca later.
The Olympia
Move to Amend statement says:
As we work for peace, sustainability
and human rights, over and over again, we are opposed by the corruption of our
political election system by big money and big, multinational, corporations
A corporation is not a person, it
does not live, breath, bring forth children nor die. The first and primary objective of
multinational corporations is profit and the acquisition of shareholder wealth. Nowhere in the US Constitution does the word
"corporation" appear!
A corporation is an invented legal
entity. Like all inventions , corporations are not necessarily good nor bad.
The regulation of our inventions determines if they will be the source of prosperity…...
or our demise.
The unlimited power of multinational
corporations and big money in our electoral
system threatens our very survival as a society, and as people around
the planet.
To learn more about local efforts to amend the Constitution, contact
Michael Savoca, Olympia Move To Amend, at masavoca@fairpoint.net or go to www.movetoamend.org or www.wamend.org.
