" Black Gold " not only seriously corrodes the political ecology of the United States and damages the government's national governance capabilities, but also amplifies the already serious social injustice and ethnic conflicts. The picture shows thousands of people from all over the United States holding a rally near the Capitol in Washington, protesting a series of social problems such as deep-rooted racial discrimination in the United States and the resulting economic injustice. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie
The 2022 US midterm election is approaching, and "black gold" is constantly pouring into the American political arena. Recently, the British website of "Hotel 4 Guardian " revealed that in the past two years, through a series of opaque transactions, American billionaire and 90-year-old electronics manufacturing giant Barry Seid donated the largest "black gold" known in the United States in history to the "Federalists Society", a conservative political group hosted by Leonard Leo, a Republican Republican , with a total amount of up to US$1.6 billion.
What is "black gold"? How does "black gold" affect all aspects of American politics and society? The various chaos under " Money Politics " unveiled the hypocritical veil of " American democracy " and the true face of American institutional corruption.
campaign fund restrictions are ineffective, and elections with opaque sources, non-disclosure uses, and unrestricted amounts are full of chaos
"To win the campaign, two things are needed. The first is money, and the second I don't remember." More than 100 years ago, campaign expert Mark Hannah helped William McKinley win the US presidential election twice . When he talked about his successful experience, he did not hesitate to reveal the secret of the long-standing "money politics" in the United States.
In elections of all sizes in the United States, candidates need to "burn money" to enhance their "presence", including advertising, hiring staff, printing promotional materials, holding campaigns in various places, and even cracking down on competitors, etc. To support huge campaign spending, finding a "funding owner" is the top priority for the candidates.
From the early days of the founding of the United States to the 1970s, individuals could independently decide the amount of donations to candidates in federal elections, and institutional loopholes also allowed candidates to not publicly run for donations. In 1971, the US Congress passed the Federal Campaign Act, which restricted donations, advertising costs in campaigns, and allowed the establishment of the " Political Action Committee ". Businesses or unions can make political donations to federal candidates by registering a political action committee to raise campaign funds.
In 1972, the " Watergate Incident " broke out, and then a series of illegal donations and power-for-money transactions scandals surfaced. The "funding owner" caused public dissatisfaction by excessively affecting and manipulating elections through donations. In order to curb the erosion of democracy by "money politics", in 1974, the US Congress revised the Federal Campaign Act to further restrict campaign spending and political donations. The law stipulates that in elections (including primary and general elections), individuals and organizations shall not contribute more than US$1,000 to each candidate, and the total donation to the Political Action Committee shall not exceed US$5,000; individuals shall not contribute more than US$25,000 to candidates, political parties and political action committees each year.
"The Federal Campaign Act and the amendment in 1974 were only the first step of attempt, and then it was challenged by forces from all parties, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the law's implementation." Zhang Tengjun, assistant researcher at the Institute of the American Studies of the China Academy of International Studies, told reporters.
Opposition from both parties in the United States followed one after another, and many lawmakers believed that the Federal Campaign Act and its amendments violated the "freedom of speech" and "legal procedure" in the Constitution. Ultimately, in 1976, the Supreme Court repealed the federal campaign law restricting the expenditure on congressional campaign expenses.
In the next few decades, although the United States issued the "Both Party Campaign Reform Act", the restrictions on campaign funds were in vain. The power of money is increasingly prevailing, and there are chaos in "black gold" with opaque sources, undisclosed uses, and unlimited amounts.
At the end of 2007, the US nonprofit organization "United Citizens" promoted and tried to play a video criticizing candidate Hillary Clinton.However, the Bipartisan Election Reform Law stipulates that enterprises or trade unions shall not fund election-related or slander candidates within 60 days before the general election or within 30 days of the primary election. In order to avoid sanctions, the "United Citizen" sued the Federal Election Commission to court, saying that the provision is unconstitutional.
After losing the initial trial in the district court, the case was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court. In January 2010, the Supreme Court ruled 5:4, overturning the provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act to restrict independent spending and campaign propaganda by enterprises or trade unions. This ruling opened the "Pandora's Box" for political donations - since then, as long as companies and groups do not directly give money to candidates, they can use money to support elections without limits as long as they do not give money directly to candidates, but instead use funds to support candidates. Secret funds, including foreign funds, can flow into American politics without restrictions.
"This ruling directly led to a large number of 'super political action committees' and non-profit political organizations." Zhang Tengjun said that the Supreme Court's ruling was actually a legal "green light" for these enterprises and social organizations, and relevant interest groups can exert more secret influence on the election by contributing "black gold".
"Black Gold" continues to pour into the election, seriously weakening the government's ability to solve existing problems after taking office
According to US media reports, Barry Seid was once the boss of a large American manufacturing company. In 2021, he invested the huge amount of funds obtained from the sale of his company's shares into the "Federalist Society" in a very complicated way. " New York Times " said that the donation, totaling $1.6 billion, may be "the largest political donation in American history", and the "Federalists Association" who received this huge sum will gain a huge advantage in future election competition and political struggles.
"The real problem with this political donation case is that such a huge amount of money should not affect elections, legislation, judicial nominations and public policies in a secret way." The Guardian pointed out that the public should not rely on the media to reveal the basic facts about the financial situation of the campaign that anyone should have obtained freely, which are now hidden behind anonymous, shell companies and dark political groups.
How much does it cost to be the president of the United States? In the 1860 US election, the Republican Party spent $100,000 to elect Abraham Lincoln as the sixteenth president of the United States. Now, the cost of the US presidential election is increasing exponentially - in 2004, the election fee for the US Republican and the Democratic presidential candidates reached $700 million. In 2008, this figure quickly increased to $1 billion, and in 2012 it was $2 billion. In 2016, the U.S. election, including presidential and congressional elections, costed a total of $6.6 billion. In 2020, the US non-partisan organization Responsive Politics Center estimated that the U.S. election cost nearly $14 billion, reaching a record high.
Zhang Tengjun said that the rising US campaign spending is closely related to the increasing campaign donations.
Since the 2010 ruling on the "Joint Citizens v. Federal Election Commission" opened the floodgates of political donations, the "Black Gold Group" has become more unscrupulous. According to the Guardian, in 2020 alone, more than $1 billion in black gold flooded into the US elections to provide funds for the "super political action committee", advertising blitz, door-knocking canvassing, etc. As the 2022 midterm elections approach, things are getting worse. The Senate, both the Democratic and Republican parties and the important "Super Political Action Committee" in the House of Representatives have been funded by anonymous "Black Gold Group" that does not require disclosure of their donors.
"Black Gold" entry will undoubtedly have an impact on the candidate's behavior, the actions of the party and the decisions of the government.
"The US president's campaign system emphasizes 'reward on merit'. After the president takes office, he will provide political rewards based on the contribution of political donors, such as the identity of diplomats abroad, entering the government to engage in public office, or participating in the governance process directly or indirectly, etc. This is actually a public reward." Zhang Tengjun told reporters.The "exchange" of
closely links American politics with the interests of the "black gold group", essentially reflecting the demands of the "financial owner" behind the scenes. "Many of the promises made by the candidates are in response to the demands of the 'black gold group'. After each government comes to power, especially the new president, the so-called 'three fires of new officials taking office' is largely for the 'financial owners' behind the scenes. This makes them often issue a series of executive orders that oppose or revoke the corresponding policies of the original president, which damages the continuity of the US policy."
Such repeated policy tendencies not only directly affect the implementation of the US policy, but also neglect the areas that urgently need reform that the American people are concerned about. "Politics has become a money game for the few oligarchs in the United States, and the final election result is actually the product of transactions between various interest groups. This essentially weakens the ability of the next administration to target the solution to existing problems in the United States after it comes to power." Zhang Tengjun said.
"Black Gold Politics" amplifies the already serious social injustice and ethnic conflicts, tearing the entire American society
While seriously corroding the US political ecology and damaging the government's national governance capabilities, "Black Gold" also amplifies the already very serious social injustice and ethnic conflicts, tearing the entire American society apart.
Gun violence has plagued the United States for many years. According to CNN , at least 12 shootings occurred in New York City from August 26 to 28, killing many people. According to statistics from the non-profit organization "Bring Gun Safety to Every Town", between 2016 and 2020, more than 110 Americans were shot and killed every day, more than 200 were injured, and an average of more than 40,000 people died every year. The United States has become the most serious gun violence in the world.
Faced with the serious deterioration of social security, the US government has never been able to take effective measures on gun control. The reason is the "black gold interest chain" behind it. As the "boss" in the anti-gun control interest group, the influence of the National Rifle Association, which has more than 5 million members and a large amount of funds, has penetrated deeply into all levels and aspects of US electoral politics. Interest groups such as the National Rifle Association have been lobbying politicians to provide a large amount of political donations , hindering the legislation related to gun control, and have not made important progress in gun control legislation. On the other hand, as the social security situation deteriorates, vulnerable groups are more willing to own guns, the people with different opinions are constantly increasing, and the degree of social division is further increasing.
After the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, rich people, privileged people and "hard-related people" in the United States can receive priority testing and better medical treatment, while many lower-level groups in society have had to give up necessary treatment due to sky-high treatment costs. In the early stages of the outbreak, the infection rate and mortality rate of African Americans were significantly higher, and when the United States began to release vaccines on a large scale, the vaccination rate of this group was significantly behind. With the world's most advanced medical equipment and technology, the United States has become the country with the largest number of new coronary pneumonia infections and deaths in the world.
bloody data reveals the serious inequality in American society. According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, the poverty rate in the United States was 11.4% in 2020, while the poverty rate of Africans reached 19.5% and the poverty rate of Hispanics reached 17%. University of Southern California and Princeton showed that the COVID-19 epidemic reduced the average life expectancy of Americans by 1.13 years, among which the average life expectancy of African and Hispanics decreased by 2.1 years and 3.05 years. Relatively speaking, the average life expectancy of whites decreased by 0.68 years. The deep-rooted racist "virus" in the United States is spreading together with the new coronavirus, anti-Asian hate crimes are frequent, discrimination against the Muslim community has continued, the racial persecution of indigenous people is still continuing, the racial economic gap continues, and racial inequality is becoming increasingly intensified. The deep-seated reason for such injustice is that the US government and political parties have been manipulated and captured by interest groups for a long time and are unable to formulate and implement tax, industry and social security policies that promote social fairness. MIT Political commentator and social activist Norm Chomsky said that there is a positive correlation between the influence of Americans on policy making and their wealth level, with about 70% of Americans having no impact on policy making. "They are at a disadvantage in terms of income level, wealth, etc., which is equivalent to being deprived of the right to participate in politics."
"When it takes $14 billion to elect a president, you will think, what kind of democracy is this. Americans cannot talk to members of Congress unless they pay and can bring business benefits. In Washington, it is difficult for ordinary people to get attention. You need money, you need to lobby, and the US government is completely corrupt." said Hollywood famous director Oliver Stone .
"Black gold politics" is just one of the manifestations of the institutional corruption in the United States
"In response to the issue of campaign fund reform, in fact, members of the Democratic and Republican parties have proposed corresponding bills, but they have never been effective. So far, no law or system has clearly prohibited 'black gold'." Zhang Tengjun told reporters.
In the judicial field of the United States, the "Black Gold Group" has influenced some justices by supporting the nomination activities of the Supreme Court. "Some justices are more conservative about the issue of restricting campaign spending, believing that any social organization or individual has the right to make political donations or political activities, and the 'Black Gold Group' intends to promote these justices to enter the US court system."
Currently, there are 6 conservative justices and 3 liberal justices in the U.S. Supreme Court . This pattern is a very important "political legacy" of former US President Trump . In Zhang Tengjun's view, as the Federal Supreme Court shows a serious trend of conservatism, it will be more difficult to receive strict supervision of campaign funds. "The 'Black Gold Group' promotes their demands from the source of the system - in the legislative system, it subsidizes relevant members of Congress; in politics, it subsidizes candidates for election for the US president; in the judicial field, it supports the Supreme Court and judges of the District Court, etc., and supports these people to enter the US system and achieve their goals."
Countless facts show that the United States is not the "beacon of democracy" and "a model of the rule of law" that it claims to be. On the contrary, its national governance mechanism has serious institutional flaws. The institutional corruption in the United States has reached a shocking level.
"Black gold politics" is just one of the manifestations of institutional corruption in the United States. "Although the US electoral system is a democratic election on the surface, and it is 'everyone has a vote', in fact, only a few people can influence the election results, whether it is a presidential election or a congressional election. This electoral system itself is also a prominent manifestation of the institutional corruption in the United States." Zhang Tengjun said.
The essential reason for these phenomena is that there are endogenous flaws in institutional design of the US national governance system. "At the beginning of the founding of the United States, its institutional designers belonged to the wealthy elite class. They largely reflected the thinking of elite rule, and intended to avoid the greater influence of ordinary American civilians on the country. It is inevitable that the democracy of the most people will be reflected," said Zhang Tengjun.
In 2011, American people took to the streets and launched the "Occupy Wall Street" movement to accuse economic inequality; in 2020, the "Black Lives Matter" movement triggered by the death of black people in the United States burned all over the United States. Faced with the institutional corruption in the United States, the American people have been fighting, but the results are not satisfactory. Wertheimer, chairman of the American non-profit organization "21st Century Democracy", pointed out that political money has occupied the "central position" of American democracy. Under this influence, the rights of ordinary Americans have been deprived of, and social stubborn diseases have never been cured.
"black gold politics" that spends money like the earth, unscrupulous lobbying groups, and "political and business revolving doors" that can enter and exit freely... After more than 200 years of operation, the drawbacks of the US system have become increasingly prominent, and various domestic conflicts are becoming increasingly fierce. As former US President Carter lamented, "American democracy is dead, replaced by oligarchy." The United States is sliding to the dangerous brink of systemic failure.
Source: China Discipline Inspection and Supervision News
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