Democracy Spring protesters march to the U.S. Capitol. Photo Mark Wilson / AFP
Everyone in the country is aware of the influence of 'money in politics' and how it has destroyed every concept of democracy in this country where corporate dominance is the absolute rule. Even members of congress are complaining about how hard they have to work to raise money or lose their seat in the senate or the house.
"The time is so consumed with raising money now, these campaigns..." Harkin is not the only senator to point this out. Last year another liberal stalwart, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), memorably told Alex Blumberg of NPR's Planet Money that Americans "would be shocked—not surprised, but shocked—if they knew how much time a United States senator spends raising money." He added, "And how much time we spend talking about raising money, and thinking about raising money, and planning to raise money."
Effects of Citizens United are an explosion in independent political spending ensued in the decision’s aftermath, as this chart from the Center for Responsive Politics illustrates:
And yet, peaceful protest against this loss of democracy and the incorporation of 'legal criminal activity' into our political system is met with massive arrests. Police arrested a record number of protesters - about 500, including Lady Liberty - at the US Capitol during a Democracy Spring sit-in against big and dark money in politics.
One can only imagine what the police would have done had the protesters been racial minorities.
Organized by a coalition of progressive groups, the Democracy Spring campaign is demanding "a Congress that will take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in our politics, and ensure free and fair elections in which every American has an equal voice.”
The mood of the protesters, some of whom had marched 150 miles from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, was celebratory, with people calmly lining up to be handcuffed as others chanted, "This House is your House."
The arrests stopped when police ran out of buses and places to put protesters; activist Van Jones helpfully suggested they be put in the Senate and House, which offer "400+ chairs criminals have been sitting in for a while now." (ouch... that's the truth !!!)
From Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks, “They can arrest us today and they can arrest us tomorrow...They can’t arrest the whole country.”
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