from AlterNet:
Millionaire Spends Big Bucks Defeating DA Who Investigated Sexual Abuse at His Shady Nursing HomePosted by Joshua Holland on @ 10:10 am
An enormous amount of attention has been paid to the impact that unlimited corporate spending will have — is having — on our political system. But what about our judicial system? District attorneys are elected, as are judges in many jurisdictions.
Alan Grayson painted the clearest picture of what the Citizens United decision looks like in the real world when he said — and I’m paraphrasing — ‘a lobbyist can now walk into my office and say, ‘I’ve got 2 million dollars to spend in the final weeks of this race. I can spend it for you, or for your opponent — the choice is yours.’ Now that’s real power.’
There are laws preventing a person with deep pockets who’s involved in a criminal investigation from making such an overt threat to a DA. But the same message could be delivered more subtly. And DAs and judges often seek higher elected office. So a shady business with lots of cash on hand could promise to invest heavily against an elected District Attorney in every race he or she might take on in the future. That would be a threat with some weight, and it means we could see the purchase of not only political influence, but also “prosecutorial discretion” — and DAs have lots of it — as a result of the Citzens United ruling.
We’re getting a peek at what that looks like in Kentucky, as a deep-pocketed right-wing businessman and major funder of Karl Rove’s American Crossroads super-PAC is investing heavily to kill the senate campaign of District Attorney Jack Conway, a Democrat who’s investigated his shady nursing home. ...........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/10/28/millionaire-spends-big-bucks-defeating-da-whos-investigating-his-sleazy-business/
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