Naming Rights and Financial Contributions

Some Republicans I know are Republicans because they are loyal to the only political party they have ever been members of.  They can’t conceive of not being Republicans.  A few others have realized that they are disenchanted with the direction of the party and they have made a partial step away from it by claiming to be independents.  The same things can be said for numerous Democrats.  It’s like growing up in a religious denomination and being told that every other denomination is wrong; it’s scary to think that the group you are a member of might not be all that righteous.

In truth, what appears to be happening is that certain factions within groups have ascended to dominance while the other members have languished in their complacency.  The attitudes of society have overtaken the idealism's of the groups we thought we knew because we grew up in them.  One reason for this is that there are professional people who are paid to devise ways to make these groups more effective political tools.  Those professional manipulators have expanded their abilities at an accelerating rate with the assistance of technology and money.  The more willing these individuals are to “sell out” their own group’s core ideology for the sake of other agendas, the more money they can attract.  While you were sleeping, your religion and/or your political party changed into a tool for people with money that want to be powerful.

In western South Dakota, there are lots of good people that have belonged to one political party all of their lives.  They are good neighbors, good citizens, and the kind of people that you would like to have watching your back for you when times get tough.  They sort of shake their heads when they learn that T. Denny Sanford makes another large contribution to help fund some organization and, in appreciation, that organization changes its name to include Mr. Sanford’s name.  It seems harmless enough and it isn’t as though T. Denny invented the practice.

On January 21, 2010, the US Supreme Court assisted the manipulators with the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.  The Supreme Court decision appears to be confirming what has been happening slowly for a long time and at a much faster rate during the last eleven years.  Money trumps everything else, if you have enough of it.  If things weren’t lopsided enough already, one group is looking to make it more so.  This group wants to eliminate the continuing restriction against direct political contributions by corporations.  Perhaps the Republican and Democrat parties are in for name changes in the near future; judging by their actions they are already sold out to or beholding to their moneyed and corporate contributors.