Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Freedom of speech? "Liberty to Lie" is more like it.
Froomkin alerts us of an analysis that concludes that secret donations in the Presidential campaign (don't be shocked) are being heavily focused on misinformation, not on spreading facts. Whether or not you think that a billionaire has an inherent right to shout far louder than others, and to do it anonymously without anyone having the opportunity to question whether or not you have a vested interest in your positions, surely you don't think it's right that they have the opportunity to fly from accountability.
Accountability matters, or you wouldn't have seen the corporate flight from ALEC after its role in the stand your ground laws was put on display. Witness the flight of advertisers from Rush Limbaugh after his horrible diatribes on Sandra Fluke. Corporations want to avoid these associations, but they still want to reap the rewards. (Not sure if you remember the big questions over the heavy donations which News Corp had made to the Republican Governors Association? And how their purpose wasn't immediately apparent? But considered in the light of redistricting, their value was clear? Remember?)
And in that vein, you all know how much I love my visits to Vermont. Every time I hear Bernie Sanders, I feel like I have yet another reason to move there. (I presume they all speak like they're from Brooklyn. No?)
