MEASURING CANDIDATE QUALITY….BY BUCKS RAISED? OR ARE WE MEASURING DEMOCRACY ITSELF?

A headline article in the Washington Post today excitedly reported that yet another milestone has been reached in the seemingly inexorable creep of  democratic America toward a plutocratic and oligarchic America. The Citizens United decision has produced its expected results as millions and millions of publicly untraceable dollars continue to pour into the coffers of Presidential candidates. The candidates, of course, know from whence the money comes and will shape their policies accordingly if and when elected. The 90% who barely afford to subsist on their salaries and wages can't really get into this "buy influence" game at all. So, the minority wins--not really a guiding tenet of representative democracy.

The greatest democratic experiment in the history of the world is being sorely tested on a battlefield where dollars combined with with voter apathy and stagnant incomes will weaken or eliminate what used to be championed as "one person, one vote." A key operative principals of capitalism now seems to be: everything can be bought because everything has its price.  Apparently, the Koch brothers et. al. have discovered this truth and are exploiting it with 'no holds barred' to achieve their vision of self aggrandizing democratic rule.

To be a "premier fundraiser" qualifies a candidate for what? Winning the  "money race?"

Groups backing Ted Cruz raise $31 million in a single week

GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz vaulted to the top tier of the 2016 money race Wednesday as supporters announced that super PACs backing his bid had raised $31 million in a single week.The haul — which ranks as one of the biggest fundraising surges in modern presidential-race history — served as a sudden wake-up call for the rest of the likely Republican field, particularly Jeb Bush, who until now had enjoyed his status as the premier fundraiser in the contest’s early stage.