"Don't think Wild West. Think Lord of the Flies." - Rachel on unlimited corporate campaign spending

[highplainsdem]

Great story just now -- try to catch the rerun if there is one, or the online video. She started with the corrupt Texas campaign finance system and how Rick Perry and his largest donors have exploited it, and explained how that is just a preview of what Citizens United will do to the entire country.

She mentioned Bob Perry, the Houston home builder who's Rick Perry's largest donor (no relation despite the same last name), and then Rick Perry's second-biggest donor, who got permission to build a radioactive waste dump near groundwater, with regulations bent and experts' warnings ignored just for his company. I've posted topics about those, will add the links later.

Editing to add the link to my compilation topic on Rick Perry, which has information on home builder Bob Perry in the OP:

About Rick Perry: Cronyism, Corruption, Cracked Ideas and Cracked Foundations (links)

And the link to the DU topic I posted about the LA Times story on Perry donors including Harold Simmons, the Dallas billionaire who got permission for a low-level radioactive waste dump:

Gov. Rick Perry's big donors fare well in Texas

[Taverner]

1. So when do we kill Piggy?

:P

[WinkyDink]

6. WE are Piggy.

[Cleita]

2. The thing that bothered me when she said that was

that many won't know what the "Lord of the Flies" reference is about. Rachel is way above the average low information voters' heads.

[cyberswede]

5. I wouldn't worry

1. I bet most Rachel viewers aren't low-information voters.

2. If a viewer didn't immediately get the reference, I bet they Googled it right away, and are now in the know. :)

That was a great segment - really said a lot about Perry, and also the sad state of campaign finance in this country.

[On the Road]

3. I Think the Wild West is Not Necessarily a Bad Comparison

provided the corporations are cast in the role of the rich, ruthless rancher who controls the town.

[highplainsdem]

4. Link to video of the story at MSNBC:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#44294922