The April 2 ruling by the “GOP Supremes” on the U.S. Supreme Court that “regulating the limits on big money contributions to candidates and campaigns violates the constitutional freedom of speech rights of the extremely wealthy” will be the final death blow to democracy. Their decision opens the fast track to plutocracy. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines plutocracy as “government by the richest people.” The “GOP Supremes” are telling us that we can have all the free speech that we can afford to buy. I, as a retired person with moderate income, will be able to buy far less speech than the billionaires who are pulling the strings of our Supreme Court.
We should not confuse campaign contributions with freedom of speech but as a gift to a candidate with the expectation of a return on that investment. I think I just defined a bribe. We need to reform the entire election system to get the money out of our elections.I believe that from this day forward the GOP should be known as the Good Old Plutocrats.
David Seesholtz
Vancouver
