Dear Editor,

People advise me to forget about politics, that it is an exercise in futility. Since the latest U.S. Supreme Court ruling which opened the door for corporations to dominate the political arena, I am inclined to agree that politics will soon be futile.

Money is destroying our democracy. We need to address the problem but those who write the checks keep on buying the results that they want at our expense and to our chagrin. We cannot remain a self-governing democracy as long as money makes reform, which might save us, impossible.

Nothing in this country seems to work correctly anymore. The courts make counterintuitive decisions, our jobs have gone to foreign countries, our borders are being overrun, we have no feeling of security and the America, that we fought for and believed in, no longer exists. The only thing that does seem to be working is the wealth machine that rewards those who game the system: banks that are too big to fail, insurance companies (AIG), Wall Street Insiders, lobbyists and congresspersons beholding to them.

Fair trials in our courts are already hard to get and now corporations will be able to pour as much money into elections of judges as they need to get the results they desire. (I’d like to say more but the newspapers word limit does not permit enough space).

What has happened to us? According to a prominent political scientist, “it is the increasing cohabitation of State and corporate power.” That’s why I believe the Supreme Court decision portends ruin. Five of our justices have, in one fell swoop, wiped away a hundred years of precedence and made a leap toward legitimizing the corporate takeover of our democracy.

The flood of money that already dominates our political arena will soon become a tsunami and most of it will be done in secret. Already there are lobbying firms finding ways for corporations to pass unlimited amounts of money through trade organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, directly into elections. They will be able to support or oppose (with dirty tricks) any candidate right up to Election Day while keeping a low profile to prevent public scrutiny and unwanted press coverage. It will be like the “Silent but Deadly” passing of gas that engulfs you before you know it happened and it will stink just as badly!

Wayne Salter Suburbs of Perkins