PORTUGUESE TIMES - New Bedford, Mass.

PSICONOTAS

• Manuel S. Leal

Who received the largest special interests' money offerings?

In the United States, as in any other advanced society, money is necessary
to run for political office. Without the means to seek help from supporters,
the government would belong only to special interests, the very rich and the
extremely powerful. It is important that citizens counterbalance the
influence of rich and influential corporations with their contributions,
however small, to guarantee that government remains by the people and for
the people.
Elections are an indispensable tool defining the democratic process. The
people who lived in Florida at the time of the last presidential election
know how votes are important. It is said that thousands of citizens were
denied the right to vote, some because the polls were closed earlier without
prior notice. The police for some other phony reasons prevented others,
apparently Afro-Americans for the most part, to reach the booths. Many
observers expressed their outrage against this blunt and illegal suppression
of the basic right of Americans. No less a recognized tower of moral
integrity than former Senator George Mitchell of Maine protested in behalf
of those who felt betrayed. Many hinted that the sum total of voter
irregularities in Florida was intended to ensure that a candidate whom the
people supported, Al Gore to be specific, would be deprived of a victory. In
Florida, almost four years ago, we witnessed one of the most serious and
contemptuous manipulations of the electoral process in the history of the
United States. The result, as the United States Supreme Court intervened in
one of its most unlucky and regrettable days, however legal the case may
have been, placed the presidency in the hands of a candidate who did not
receive the majority of votes. In the legal argument that ensued, some
authorities in jurisprudence believed the Federal Government meddled again,
unnecessarily, in the powers reserved for the States by the Constitution.
It may be correct to say that Mr. Bush is the President of the United Sates
by appointment rather by election. While the cause of such a fiasco that
raised questions in the World as to how democratic is the political process
in this country has not yet been corrected, Mr. Bush went on to accumulate
the richest electoral chest of any of his predecessors. Enron, the company
that precipitated the California energy crises and through outright
pilfering by its top officers deprived thousands of employees and small
investors of their retirement income, was one of his highest contributors.
It has been noted in the media and in statements issued by some of Mr.
Bush¹s political opponents that his domestic policies catered for the very
well-off segment of our population and large corporations.
The first Republican dirty bomb of this year's campaign against Senator John
Kerry suggests that it will be as soiled as the last one against
Vice-President Al Gore. To be sure, Kerry has received money from
corporations and other contributors. But to his credit, his statements have
been clear in terms of where he stands in relation to special interests. His
campaign is characterized by a critical focus on issues that are meaningful
to most Americans. He spoke against the "Benedict Arnold CEOs" who are
taking overseas thousands of jobs, while insiders in the Bush administration
call this a healthy phenomenon in the global economy.
John Kerry voted in the Senate for the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Most jobs lost to overseas companies during this Bush presidency, however,
went to India, Pakistan, China, South Korea, and the like. Closer to home,
the North American Free Trade Agreement in time will be the hemispheric
response to the world¹s emerging economic blocks such as the European Union.
The growing economies of Mexico and Canada, which also lost thousands of
jobs to those countries, are a necessary component of America¹s posturing to
continue our leadership well into the 21st century and beyond. President
Clinton protected it and he never waived in his support for the American
worker.
Kerry pointed an accusatory finger at the tax cut that benefited the most
affluent in our society. The President, on the other hand, advocates making
it a permanent feature of what may be seen as a transfer of more wealth from
the middle class to the upper income brackets of our society. Then the
Massachusetts Senator contrasts such a give-away with the lack of medical
insurance that affects more than 40 million Americans. When the Federal
Government threatens to make illegal the purchase of medicines sold in
Canada for a fraction of the price paid by Seniors in the United States,
Kerry questions the practices of the rich drug manufacturers in this country
that subsidize foreign markets with exorbitant prices charged the American
people.
George Bush in his campaign already assumed that Kerry will be the winner in
the Democratic primary, as democrats themselves predict it while protracting
a debate which has determined pretty much who may triumph over President
Bush. The first salvo of Republican ads thrown in the internet to bypass the
need for accountability by the President charged Kerry with being a pawn of
special interests.
This allegation may be at best a cynical way of looking at reality and at
worse a belittling assessment of our collective judgment ability. In the
last few months, the price of energy in our country has gone up about 40
percent. Gasoline prices at the pump continue to rise. The price for natural
gas at the consumers' end also went up without a logical market related
explanation. The trend brings Enron to our mind again. This is the sector of
the economy from which the Bush campaign coffers have received the awesome
some of 3.2 million dollars. In the history of the United States, no
politician has amassed so much money from big business contributions as Mr.
Bush did it to this day.
In a rebuttal to the Republican insinuation that Kerry has a close
relationship with special interests, his camp put out astonishing figures
about the extent of big business money in the Bush wealthy campaign chest.
Drug companies have contributed with almost 1.5 million dollars. To
highlight it in the context of the administration's proponents of
outsourcing to foreign countries, bank and investment firms gave Mr. Bush
the hefty sum of 8 million dollars.
Kerry retaliation left little doubt as to who is playing duty tricks in this
campaign. The contributions he has received from special interests are a
speck of sand compared to Mr. Bush's well loaded war chest. Kerry's response
left no doubt about the comparison. He stated in his webpage that President
Bush received in one single year more money than he did in his lifetime.

Psych1940@yahoo.com

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