My guest today is Kevin Zeese, of VotersForPeace.US and ProsperityAgenda.US. Welcome to OpEdNews, Kevin. You just posted Can Anyone Stop Rove's Crime Against Democracy While it is in Progress? at the Huffington Post. What's our buddy Karl Rove up to these days?
Thanks, Joan, for asking. We are witnessing a democracy theft right before our eyes and the Department of Justice, Federal Election Commission and Internal Revenue Service are doing nothing to stop it, even though each agency could. Karl Rove is leading this effort. Political operatives, like Rove, are misusing the tax laws to create organizations that allow for anonymous and unlimited donations from corporations and the super-rich in order to determine the outcome of the mid-term elections in violation of election and tax laws. See American Crossroads Watch.
Organizations are being set up under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code to manipulate the outcome of the mid-term elections. A 501(c)(4) is a lobbying organization, not allowed to spend most of its time on electioneering. These new organizations are spending massively on advertising for and against candidates, developing data bases of voters, creating messages for candidates and planning get out the vote drives. These activities make them "political committees" that should obey election laws, including making the names of donors public.
This is the first election after the Citizens United decision, which granted corporations the right to spend as much as they want to influence elections. Corporations are hiding behind anonymous contributions through groups like American Crossroads, among others, so that voters do not know they are the source of the advertising campaigns. This prevents voters from knowing that industries like the oil, weapons, health insurance and other big business interests are fighting for their profits despite it undermining the U.S. economy and ensuring that the necessities of the people are not met.
The obvious question arises, Kevin: why aren't the DOJ, FEC and IRS doing anything to stop this democracy-thwarting activity? Why wouldn't they?
Answering that requires some guess work and some explanation. The FEC was designed not to do anything. They have six commissioners, three Democrats and three Republicans. (Even though nearly half of all Americans consider themselves independents there are no independents or third party representatives.) The FEC is designed not to do anything. The IRS is not designed for aggressive enforcement until after the crime has been committed. They will not get reports on what these 501 (c)(4) organizations are doing until next Spring. And, those reports will be pretty inadequate. So, they are also not set up to enforce. The DOJ could take lots of steps now, and maybe they are quietly doing something, but if they are there is no evidence of it.
We have an election integrity coalition, Protect Our Elections, and we have been pushing the DOJ and FEC to act.
- We have requested the Department of Justice investigate the "shadow RNC", American Crossroads. In a letter on behalf of the coalition, I suggest formation of a campaign finance task force that investigates these groups (it is not only Rove's group but the Chamber of Commerce and others), sets up a tip line to encourage information on violations of law, requires preservation of records and monitors their activities.
- In a letter on behalf of the Protect Our Elections coalition, StopTheChamber project I urged the FBI and DOJ to conduct an investigation of their CEO Tom Donohue and the Chamber based on a letter we received from a purported Chamber insider who compares Tom Donohue to Jack Abramoff, Michael Scanlon and Bernie Maddoff, alleges fraud, campaign finance violations and financial impropriety.
- We have also urged the Federal Elections Commission to find that these 501 (c)(4) groups are doing the work of a political party and issue an opinion that applies campaign finance limits to their actions.
- We have gotten the grassroots involved asking them to write the DOJ to investigate American Crossroads and similar groups and to write their legislators urging an investigation. Thousands have responded. (Click the underlined above to write DOJ and legislators.)
We are looking at what other actions we can take to stop this democracy crime in progress. As you know, I'm not supporter of the Democrats, I don't like either party and vote for neither of the corporate, pro-empire parties, but you also know I have been a long-term democracy activist. I've worked on ending paperless voting for nearly a decade, and support other reforms like Instant Runoff Voting, reducing barriers for independent and third party candidates for ballot access and inclusion in debates. I see the actions in this elections by the corporations through operatives like Rove, to be a crime against democracy that need to be stopped.
Corporate power by concentrated capital interests is the root cause of many of the challenges we face in the United States, whether it is health care dominated by market insurance, the finance system controlled by Wall Street and the Fed, the inability to respond to climate change due to status quo energy profiteers or our politics being corrupted by two corporate parties. The actions Rove and other business interest front group operatives are taking is masking corporate power and needs to be unveiled so the public knows they are being manipulated. They just want to elect crony capitalists who will funnel then tax dollars through corporate welfare. The peoples necessities for health care and the creation of a new economy for the 21st Century will not be met until corporate power -- the oligarchy of America -- is ended. That is what this election battle is about.
You've stated the case quite eloquently, Kevin. Anything you'd like to add?
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