The best thing that could happen for America would be Wall Street divesting from the Democratic Party. The party would no longer be owned by the corporate oligarchy. America would finally have an opposition party, a party to fight the billionaire class and represent the working class.
I hear many of you screaming, “But we have the Socialists, the Greens…” We have a two party system. Until that changes, third parties do nothing more than provide a place for a protest vote. I support major reforms to our political system, and maybe if the Democratic Party were no longer owned by corporations it could be a vehicle to implement those reforms. We need a Pro-Democracy movement in America, and Wall Street surrendering the Democratic Party back to the people would be a great first step.
If we could be sure that political contributions were just individuals or organizations giving money to candidates they support, then private financing of our political candidates could be a good thing. However, we know that most of the money that flows into a candidate’s coffers are nothing more than bribes. For example, Citibank board members likely hate some of the positions that many of the candidates they donate to advocate. They are not donating to help candidates get elected – let’s say Chuck Schumer, they know he will win – they are buying influence. They want a seat at the table, and they want the power to extort support for an issue that benefits them. Their bribery should be illegal.
According to a recent report by Reuters, “Big Wall Street banks are so upset with U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren’s call for them to be broken up that some have discussed withholding campaign donations to Senate Democrats in symbolic protest, sources familiar with the discussions said.” “Symbolic protest?” Sounds like extortion to me – but hey, they have already been shown to be above the law, so they have nothing to worry about.