Mountain Poet's Journal: 2015

The 2016 Political Money Tree How Does It Grow?

Now that 19 Republicans are running for President on the GOP side (and 3 on the Democratic side), the question I asked is why are they all running? Surely each presidential hopeful must know that this many candidates will dilute the field and the number of votes. The idea that it might be some sort of weird male bonding ritual crossed my mind. But on a more serious note, I then had to consider the money behind it all, and wondered about the root system in this massive money tree.

The Koch Brothers aren't fools and once they announced spending a Billion Dollars for the 2016 Election, the back wave about politicians being bought and sold (many times, given the numbers) began to quickly swell. The Koch Brothers then wisely said they would support several candidates, which quieted this wave of complaints about too much money in politics.

So let's say more than half of the candidates who've announced to date have received Koch Brothers money (directly or indirectly). What might be the purpose or the madness behind it all?

Could it be that by expanding the size of the field with more candidates running for President than in all recorded U.S. history, each with a basket of complaints against the Clinton's and the Clinton Foundation, each with a basket of complaints against Obama and six years of his administration, that by sheer numbers alone these candidates and their complaints will get more media coverage? All without anyone being able to point their fingers directly at the Koch Brothers and other billionaires feeding the root system of this massive political tree.

After all, with this many people running for President, isn't this a sign of a healthy Democracy?

One could also say that it's comfortable in the shade of this big ole tree, especially since it's being fed with billions of dollars that don't require a million funding phone calls get made.

The bottom line being that there may be a portion of the electorate that will assume by next year that where there is this much smoke, there must be a roaring blaze running coast to coast. It may also be easier to pick one GOP Candidate when the field is so large it won't fit on the stage for a single debate.

I hope We The People ask why this so-called Clown Car is getting so crowded.

From where I sit, the roots of this Political Tree needs more careful scrutiny.

- Mountain Poet, EPA June 5, 2105