The New Dark Age

2 November, 2009 — Party for Socialism & Liberation

PSL Editorial

The New York City mayoral race has ripped the mask off of this country’s “democratic” system. The race has been all about money from the very start. For one, in the biggest economic crisis in decades, the Democratic and Republican parties are offering New Yorkers a choice between a former banker (William Thompson) and a billionaire (Michael Bloomberg). To make matters worse, the Campaign Finance Board systematically excluded third-party candidates from the mayoral debates who did not raise $50,000 (for the first debate) and $500,000 (for the second).

Mayor Bloomberg’s campaign has been especially disgusting. Spending arond $850,000 per day, according to the Associated Press, he is now on pace to spend between $110 and $140 million of his own money by the end of the campaign. Altogether, over the span of three elections, he will have spent $250 million—more than any politician in U.S. history has ever spent in pursuit of public office.

Bloomberg is the city’s richest man—with a net worth around $16 billion—and like the robber barons of the late 19th century, throws his money around to purchase support and endorsements. The city held two referendums supporting term limits for elected officials, but Bloomberg pulled off a shady backroom deal with the Democratic- controlled City Council to allow himself to run again.

With relentless television and radio advertisements, brochures mailed to every home in the city and non-stop “robocalls,” Bloomberg has portrayed himself as the ally of the common man and woman, fighting for affordable housing, public education and against fare hikes. With advertising, he has, quite simply, rewritten the official history of the last eight years—and somehow kept a straight face.

This race has lessons for progressives and activists across the country. Advocates for campaign finance reform are closely watching a pending Supreme Court case that could overturn a 1907 law banning direct campaign contributions from corporations to political candidates. They are right to be concerned, but the problem is much deeper.

As long as the media remains in corporate hands, there can never be a true “level playing field.” Again, the New York City mayoral election is instructive; none of the third-party candidates, including the PSL’s candidate Frances Villar, were given article-length coverage in the mainstream media. Last year, these same national outlets shut out the third-party candidates, even those who were on the ballot in 40 states.

Moreover, as long as private fundraising and spending free-for-alls remain, the capitalist class will always find a way to purchase elections. After the Watergate scandal, 65 percent of the country favored public financing for electoral campaigns and a ban on private contributions. But the regulatory apparatus that Congress set up in 1975—the Federal Election Commission—only facilitated Wall Street’s influence. In the five years after the “reform” legislation, the number of corporate Political Action Committees (expressly permitted by the FEC) increased nearly tenfold. The FEC has further served as a bulwark against third-party challengers.

Take away their Political Action Committees, and the corporations and banks will set up non-profits to funnel money to candidates. Take these away, and they will just find an alternate route. Even when there are caps on individual contributions, there is nothing to stop billionaires like Bloomberg from going on a political shopping spree.

“Democracy” under capitalism is always a sham since the big decisions are made by the unelected tiny few who control all the wealth. But the current system makes a flat out mockery of the term. We need to fight for a serious overhaul of the electoral system—providing each candidate on the ballot with a set amount to spend, equal time in the media and equal access to the debates.