A sixty-five-year impression of what our National government looks like from the street.

 “Money for nothin’ and the chicks for free!”

…..Way too much money!

My first memories of money in government started in the late 1950’s. I will never forget Dwight Eisenhower’s speech warning the Nation of the power behind the Military Industrial Complex. He saw that the number one threat to our democratic way of governance may well come from within. This threat is addressed in the oath to public and military service, in part:

 “…defend this Country from all threats, both foreign and domestic.”

 I hope this sounds very familiar to every citizen of this Nation. We constantly keep a vigilant eye toward threats from the outside. Now, it has become painfully clear that we have to be vigilant to threats from within. Unfortunately for Dwight Eisenhower, the money from the did overwhelm the system and inevitably brought us to “Citizens United”.

 In the 1960’s, dark money from the entire corporate world started strutting its stuff in public. John Kennedy doesn’t get elected without huge donation influx of corporate money. Historically corrupt politicians, like Lydon Johnson, had so many money-related I.O.U.’s that he could get whatever he wanted for his campaign war chest.; and did. Then came the major failure, Dick Nixon. He almost made it for eight years, but all his big money guys went sour on him and out the door he went.

 All the time Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon held office the massive war machine flourished and grew to staggering heights. A ton of “dark” money was turning tides at the voter’s polls. Corporations of all types were more seriously getting in the game of buying a government. The 1960’s fomented a movement of great mistrust of our National government which, by the 1970’s, created drastic reductions in the number of actual voters. Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter bubbled us into the 1980’s. We then got this actor person, Ron Reagan, to take us through most of the 1980’s. There was some serious money involved in National politics at this point. The money continued to flow as G. W. H. Bush lead us out of the 1980’s into the roaring 1990’s. The 1980’s seemed to be a wake-up call to the U.S. voters, as far as huge money donors went. Bill Clinton took the helm and all hell broke lose with big, dark money in politics; lots of it, on both sides of the aisle. Clinton’s only remarkable achievement was his leaving office after two terms with a National Budget surplus. Those that came after him blew the National budgets and deficits to hell in a hand basket.

That took care of the roaring 90’s. Y-2K came and went; nothing to see here – keep moving. G. W. Bush came down from on high aided and abetted by Daddy’s big money donors and took a seat in the White House. That seat wasn’t even warm when the Towers came down and the Pentagon was breached. And, just like that, we were involved in an endless war; one which we are still embroiled 20+ years later. That old Military/Industrial Complex once again reared its ugly head and the Federal government fell into their trap and trance. This group of self-serving corporations and individuals never went away they were simply laying low just waiting to ponce on the U.S. Treasury. The Complex was such a dreadnaught that it immediately plunged the Nation into financial crisis [along with sub-prime mortgages].

 We have elected three presidents since “W”, and money in politics has grown to epic levels with the help of “Citizens United”. Our Nation’s finances have been destroyed almost to the point of no return. If this trend goes on any longer, we will indeed be a third-world Nation. For all the men and women who have put their lives on the line for this Country, this would be the ultimate insult to our dedication to democracy.