Impeaching Trump needs to be the first battle in a war against American corruption

[applegrove]

Impeaching Trump needs to be the first battle in a war against American corruption

Linette Lopez at Business Insider

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-impeachment-is-first-step-to-ending-american-corruption-2019-10?utm_source=reddit.com

"SNIP.....

At the core of this is the need to recognize that the Supreme Court's Citizens United decisionwas and is an abject failure. The decision has hurt our country in ways unimaginable. And giving corporations and powerful individuals even more power to influence politics hasn't just dirtied our politics, it has stunted US economic growth as well.

By way of example I'll offer the US healthcare industry, which has gotten fat and rich off of the complacency and legal corruption that Citizens United helped to unleash.

During the financial crisis healthcare was the only sector that experienced price inflation, and costs continue to rise unchecked. There are tons of people to blame for this — the drug companies who see no problem jacking up the prices of medicine; the insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers who've created perverse incentives for their businesses; and rent-seeking businesses like the dialysis company DaVita, which stands accused of being part of a good old-fashioned kickback scheme. And of course, there's the opioid crisis.

.......

Democrats and a few Republicans listened as experts outlined ways to control costs that seemed fairly simple but are actually impossible given our current system in which money from pharmaceutical companies talks louder than any congressional expert witness.

......SNIP"

[Mister Ed]

1. Yes. Trump is a manifestation of the disease, but not the disease itself.

When Trump is gone, the disease will remain, and must be dealt with.

One important step would be an immediate return of the Fairness Doctrine, to end the monopoly of right-wing hate radio over the rural airwaves.

Another priority would be passing into law a bill like HR1, the clean-government package passed by the Democratic-majority House when it was seated this year.

Undoing Citizens United with a constitutional amendment to the effect that corporations are not people would be a heavy but necessary task.

And so much more. Corruption never sleeps, and neither must the efforts to keep it at bay.

[BigmanPigman]

2. Do you know why Obama didn't change the Fairness

Doctrine when he had a Dem House? I don't recall the reason.

[Mister Ed]

3. Good queston indeed. I wish I unerstood the answer.

With my curiosity piqued, I did a little internet searching. The best I could find was articles from 2008 - 2009 saying that he just didn't think the Fairness Doctrine was a good idea.

That was the period in his presidency when he most seemed to believe he was dealing with reasonable and patriotic opponents whom he could work with in a spirit of bipartisanship to get things done. Maybe he didn't want to antagonize them.

If so, it may seem to him, in retrospect, to be a great mistake.

[BigmanPigman]

4. I know he wanted to reach across the aisle for 8 years,

only to have the GOP bite his hand so that could be the reason. I do recall reading an article from early 2017 and he told the journalist that until we get Fux Ruse out of all the bars, etc across the country it will be an uphill battle for Dems to gain much more support.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. we also need an FCC working for the people, not media giants

Break up the media conglomerates so more than a handful of messages can get through.