So you ask "why it matters" that Hillary regularly has fund-raising dinners for thousands of $$$? [View all]

[Bonobo]

You say "It costs money to run for president!" You ask "Why does it matter where the money comes from!"

I'm not a very good poster. I am certain many could do a MUCH better job than me, but I will try. Please bear with me.

It is wrong, it matters, because it underscores and reinforces the very, very wrong and harmful impression AND reality that access to our leaders (and with that access, influence) can only be attained (or unequally attained) through the use of wealth. In other words, you want to have an influence, you want to be heard? Pony up the cash.

It is quite literally the corollary to Citizens United in that is says implicitly that $$$ = free speech.

OK, but what else? Well... let's see. It means that Hillary actually only rubs elbows with the kind of people that CAN pony up that money. The elite of the elite. You think those people are paying that money simply because they like canapés? No. They expect something. And they will get it.

For the rest of us, we can send in out $5, our $10 dollars. But it is not a voice. It is a plea. A cry in the dark.

Until we start rejecting money from our elections system, we will NEVER have a shot at what a democracy means. This is a case where symbolism matters, where putting your money where your mouth is matters. No, you can NOT wine and dine exclusively with the elite in the Hamptons, and hold private conversations with all your important patrons and then think that eating a hot dog or an In-N-Out burger at a photo op balances it out. It doesn't except on the most cynical level of "optics" or appearances.

We are SICK of this shit and we are voting for a change to this Roman Empire, toga-wearing elitist bullshit. Fuck the bread and fuck the circuses. We may not have money but we know when we are being screwed.