"The influence of economic power culminates by turning the electoral process into a political game of marked cards, an odious pantomime that turns the voter into a puppet, crumbling in one blow citizenship and democracy," said Justice Rosa Weber in voting to strike down the financing.Too bad the decision was handed down here, and not here.
Yes, that sensible Supreme Court was in the Southern Hemisphere, South America. Sorry to get your hopes up, but, well, if a country as corrupt as Brazil can move in this direction, the United States of America should be ashamed.
Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday banned corporate contributions to political campaigns and parties, a hot issue as investigators in the nation's biggest corruption scandal say such financing was used by businesses to win lucrative contracts with state-run oil company Petrobras.Oh, Brazil also launched a single-payer National Health Service -- the Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) -- in 1985.The court ruled 8-3 to block such campaign financing — which in the most recent presidential elections represented well over 90 percent of the funding for leading candidates and eventual presidents.
Brazil's bar association brought the case to the top court, which first took it up in 2013 but saw a conservative justice block a final vote until now.
Of course, Brazil will still probably suffer from endemic corruption in many, many areas -- and, to be honest, I'd still rather be treated in a corporate U.S. hospital than a Brazilian public hospital. But, let's be honest, when messy emerging countries continue to move in the right direction, and the powerful, super-rich United States of America in the wrong direction -- in terms of both aspirational thinking and concrete policy achievements -- we really have a lot about which we should be ashamed -- and deeply concerned.
Perhaps we should choose a Democratic nominee who has said overturning Citizens United would be a litmus test for Supreme Court nominees?