There's a lot of money pouring into the GOP treasury, and probably a lot more not pouring in there but still being used to support Republican candidates. How's that possible? Thank you, Supreme Court. In addition to what the Republican Party is garnering in contributions--and for which it must identify itself in political advertisements and identify its source in its periodic fundraising reports--there's likely to be much more coming in from SuperPacs, private and corporate ads, and non-GOP-directly financed materials.
These additional financial resources do not have to be identified, and the Republican Party does not have to acknowledge knowing anything about them, and certainly does not have to indicate approval. Thus, these other financial resources can be used to spew venom and lies and more lies, and the GOP can just sit back and watch the intended muddling of fact and falsehood.
A potentially horrible example has appeared, and has apparently become popular, among the more conservative regions of our country. Dinesh D'Souza (president of King's College in New York, and long-time conservative political and financial author), and Gerald Molen (known for his work on "Schindler's List" and "Jurassic Park") have collaborated on a pseudo-documentary (my term) describing their views of what life will be like if Obama is re-elected.
The title: "2016." After a small premiere in mid-July in Houston, the film recently was appearing in nearly 1,100 theaters around the nation, but mainly in southern states. It grossed over $6 million in its first month of release. It has seemed to resonate among the more gullible (my view) and less rational (my view) of our fellow and sister Americans.
I don't have a clue how lasting its effect may be. But it is representative of the kinds of materials that can now be dumped with impunity, on a possibly-unsuspecting public, by those who have the financial resources without the accountability.
We should also be concerned about the Voter Registration Suppression Drives that several Republican governors and Republican-controlled state legislatures are developing. It may already be too late for court action to stop these movements completely, and especially to reverse them in states where they may have already been approved (though I believe a Texas court has overturned the recent Texas suppression decision). It is clear, however, that such laws and procedures are aimed at reducing minority participation in the election.
I can't even begin to express my concern at the possibility that these drives might succeed just enough to turn the election results toward the GOP. I am counting on Americans to wake up to what the Republican party is doing, so that Obama will be re-elected; the Democrats will retain control of the Senate, and perhaps even increase its majority; and the voters will reverse the 2010 Republican victory with a resounding Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.
If the Democratic nominees and party faithful can get the message out, I still see Obama winning big in November. That can change of course: money, and lies, and innuendoes--and Voter Suppression drives-- might work their Dementor-like spells, sucking the soul out of the country. We cannot afford another four years, much less eight years, of a dubya-doppelganger administration. /RPW
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