September 4, 2000 Features Never Mind the Bollocks BY BILL BOISVERT Here's the new Republican Party The Battle of Philadelphia BY DAVE LINDORFF Working It BY DAVID MOBERG Will unions go all out for Gore? Black Radicals Regroup BY SALIM MUWAKKIL Detroit hosts the Black Radical Congress. Mad Sheep Scare BY TERRY J. ALLEN Farmers, scientists and the USDA square off in Vermont. News Cleaning Up BY HANS JOHNSON Missouri, Oregon consider campaign finance initiatives. Star Strike BY BEN WINTERS Actors demand a better deal. Renegade or Redeemer? BY STEVE ELLNER Hugo Chavez leads Venezuela into a new era. The New Front BY KARI LYDERSEN American anti-abortion groups crusade in Ireland. Profile BY TED KLEINE Johnny Lira is in their corner. Views Editorial BY DAVID MOBERG Big money problems. Appall-O-Meter BY DAVID FUTRELLE A Terry Laban Cartoon Dialogue: The Balkans More Conspiracy Theories? BY EDWARD S. HERMAN A Humanitarian Crusade BY DIANA JOHNSTONE Culture A Man for All Seasons BY HOWARD ZINN Francis Wheen's Marx: A Life. Interstate Rambler BY PHILIP CONNORS On the road with Larry McMurty. England's Dreaming BY JOHN GHAZVINIAN History falls off the back of a lorry. Under the Influence BY JASON SHOLL Sadie Plant writes on drugs. Vanishing Act BY JOSHUA ROTHKOPF Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man. Presidential Dance Parties BY GREG SMITHSIMON

Big Money Problems By David Moberg Billionaires For Bush (Or Gore) - a clever spoof launched by United for a Fair Economy at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia - concisely nailed the upshot of our campaign finance system: Big Money United Will Never Be Defeated. The money certainly has been rolling in for the Republicans, just as one might expect of a political party devoted to eliminating the estate tax. By early August contributions totaled a record $93 million for Bush, $155 million to the Republican Party, and even more to all the individual and group campaign committees. "Retired," mainly a euphemism for what used to be called "the idle rich," constituted the top "industry" contributing to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. But the story playing out two weeks later at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles is much the same. Lawyers topped the list of industries among contributors to the Democrats (the party had raised $113 million and Gore $52 million at the beginning of August). But securities and investment, real estate and insurance were among the top half-dozen industries contributing to both parties. The Democrats tapped more from the entertainment and computer industries than the Republicans, but many corporations contributed equally big bucks to sponsor both conventions - including AT&T, General Motors, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. There is at least one major difference between the parties: Unions were among the Democrats' major contributors, but they gave very little to Republicans. Yet unions still have accounted for only about 10 percent of the Democratic Party's money. That's one reason why the Democrats are a weak version of a working-class party - even though if Gore wins this fall, he may receive nearly one-third of his votes from union households (see Working It,). Money distorts politics, magnifying a million-fold the agenda of the rich, at least until the Supreme Court decision equating money and speech is overturned. It also narrows the spectrum of political choices and reduces the level of citizen participation in government. Ultimately, money's influence undermines democracy and deprives average citizens of power over their lives. The corrupting force of money in politics is gradually gaining traction with the public, as indicated in Bill Bradley and John McCain's presidential primary campaigns, but even more so by the growing support for state initiatives for clean elections (see Cleaning Up). But the question of campaign finance reform was banished from the Republican Convention. The Democratic platform at least pledges support for the McCain-Feingold legislation and "publicly guaranteed TV time for debates and advocacy by candidates," but Gore's proposal to raise private funds for a "Democracy Endowment" to finance elections is a wimpy and pointless alternative to public financing. Reducing the power of money in politics is an essential step toward revitalizing democracy, but it is not enough. The winner-take-all electoral system greatly reduces Americans' political choices, pushing candidates relentlessly toward the center. The country would benefit greatly by adopting systems of proportional representation, and the interest in new parties and independents, from Perot to Buchanan to Nader, suggests that many Americans of different political outlooks might rally to a new system that guarantees a voice for divergent and minority views. Campaign and election reforms are needed not just to create a formally fairer democratic system, but also to shift the balance of power to citizens who are now socially weak and alienated. It is not simply the cleanliness of elections that's at stake. It is a question of whether citizens, especially the working-class majority, have the power through government to shape their own lives. It is ultimately a choice between democracy, or rule by the people, and our growing trend toward plutocracy, or rule by the rich. David Moberg is a senior editor of In These Times. TOP HOME SUBSCRIBE MAIL   In These Times © 2000 Vol. 24, No. 20

Election 2000 Coverage Never Mind the Bollocks BY BILL BOISVERT Here's the new Republican Party September 4 , 2000 The Battle of Philadelphia BY DAVE LINDORFF September 4 , 2000 Working It BY DAVID MOBERG Will unions go all out for Gore? September 4 , 2000 Editorial BY DAVID MOBERG Big money problems. September 4 , 2000 Cleaning Up BY HANS JOHNSON Missouri, Oregon consider campaign finance initiatives September 4 , 2000 Why I'm Voting for Nader ... BY ROBERT McCHESNEY August 21, 2000 ... And Why I'm Not BY JAMES WEINSTEIN August 21, 2000 Dumped BY JEFFREY ST. CLAIR August 7, 2000 Bush's dirty politics turn an Texas town into a sewer. An Environmental President BY GUY SAPERSTEIN August 7, 2000 Three's Company BY JOHN NICHOLS July 10, 2000 Third parties strategize for the November elections. Editorial BY JOEL BLEIFUSS June 12, 2000 Memo to third parties: Face Reality. Marching On BY DAVE LINDORFF June 12, 2000 Unity 2000 plans to disrupt this summer's GOP convention Party Palace BY NATHANIEL HELLER May 1, 2000 George W. Bush's lucrative sleepovers Stupid Tuesday BY HANS JOHNSON April 17, 2000 After Super Tuesday, progressives mull over missed opportunities What Women Want BY DAVID MOBERG April 17, 2000 Working women's votes could seal Al Gore's fate. But is he listening to them? David vs. Goliath BY KARI LYDERSEN April 17, 2000 Socialist presidential candidate David McReynolds How to Deal with Gore BY JEFFREY ST. CLAIR and LOIS GIBBS April 17, 2000 Love him or leave him? Ralph Really Runs BY DOUG IRELAND April 3, 2000 Nader kicks off his second bid for president Editorial March 20, 2000 Flub watch. On the Fence BY MATTHEW KNOESTER March 20, 2000 Human rights or big oil for Al Gore? The First Stone BY JOEL BLEIFUSS March 6, 2000 Vanishing voters. Gush vs. Bore BY DOUG IRELAND March 6, 2000 Free Ride BY PAT MURPHY March 6, 2000 Meet the real John McCain. Cash and Carry BY JEFFREY ST. CLAIR March 6, 2000 George W. Bush's environmental menace. Fair Weather Friends BY JUAN GONZALEZ March 6, 2000 Candidates court the Latino vote. More Marketplace Medicine BY DAVID MOBERG March 6, 2000 Neither Democrats' health plan will fix the system. New Labor, Old Politics BY DAVID MOBERG November 14, 1999 Bradley Courts the Black Vote BY SALIM MUWAKKIL October 31, 1999 Changing Primary Colors BY DAVID DYSSEGAARD KALLICK June 13, 1999 The Great Right Hope BY RUSSELL CONTRERAS Who is George W. Bush? May 30, 1999 Money Money Money! BY NEIL SWANSON Al Gore and Bill Bradley go one-on-one. May 30, 1999