Al Gore: US democracy has been hacked

[Judi Lynn]

Al Gore: US democracy has been hacked

Former VP tells Andrew Marr Show the internet provides a means to rekindle democracy and purge it of corporate influence

Matthew Weaver
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 3 February 2013 09.11 EST

US democracy has been "hacked" by big business and needs to be reclaimed using the power of the internet to hold politicians to account, according to former US vice-president Al Gore.

Offering a blunt assessment of the extent to which private companies influence decision-making in the US, he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "American politics has fallen into a state of disrepair," in an interview to mark the publication of his new book, The Future.

Gore added: "It can be fixed, but we need to recognise that our democracy has been hacked … It has been taken over … and is being operated for purposes other than those for which it was intended."

In the interview, Gore alluded to a 2010 US supreme court decision that banned restrictions on political donations by corporations in the name of free speech.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/03/al-gore-us-democracy-hacked

[wakemewhenitsover]

1. Good call, President Gore.

[lunasun]

2. I still wonder many 'what ifs' if he had rightly become POTUS

His book is titled The Future and that is where we have to concentrate our thoughts & energy .
But I have to admit I often think of 2000.
Would 911 even have happened ?
He was a soldier -would Iraq have been invaded?
Would our oil situation have gone green by now?
Pollution and economy questions .
Technology use
He was the one in charge of balancing the $$$ and left Bush with a surplus and wanted to use the large surplus to strengthen SS and Medicare!! .....well that money I guess just couldn't go to average Joes when the was a military industry hungry for the $$!!

One of many reasons the election was screwed and each taxpayer is in debt to pay for the wars and unstable benefits down the line as they age imo

What would be the future if that had been the past?

For those who are not fans or think he is a hypocrite -really? Bush was better for 8 yrs???
Gore is not perfect but again I always think of what could have been

My thoughts are always that it would have been a whole lot better than what happened during his robbed tenure that is for sure!!

But that is all in the past and I am glad to see his new book is titled The Future.
That is what all of us as a nation have to look to now and work on

But will it happen ??
......He agreed that US politics has become more divisive, saying: "Certainly the level of partisanship and vitriol has been growing. And I think it is directly connected to the influence of big money – anonymous contributors, corporations pretending to be people and pursuing their business plans in the guise of politics and encouraging many politicians to say things and do things that would not have been seen in the best interests of the public in years past.".......

[rhett o rick]

3. The internet might provide the means to rekindle democracy but

the internet can easily controlled by corporations. Dont throw away your printing press.

[Myrina]

5. ^ this

Yes.

[Uncle Joe]

4. I'm looking forward to reading "The Future" by Al Gore.

I've always thought he was a visionary, in some ways ahead of his time.

Thanks for the thread, Judi Lynn.

[JoKandice]

6. Al You Got Cheated And Were All Paying For It Still