Charlie McGrath, Contributing Writer

Activist Post

Can someone please explain how on earth after nearly 4 years of Main Street misery, countless dollars being spent to “rescue,” and an economy that has been gutted by a group of Institutions who to date have cost the tax payers of this nation billions in direct bailouts and trillions in debt, now on the books as sovereign debt, are these institutions not only still “too big,” but are about to once again buy ultimate influence in our “election” process?

Institutions such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citibank, and Bank of America spent millions pre-crisis buying influence. In a free market system, some, if not all, of these companies would not exist after leading the country to the brink, yet here they are, ready to contribute to those who will make sure their elite systemic nature remains the status quo.

Consider the fact that the GOP presidential candidate of choice, Mitt Romney’s, top contributor list reads like a who’s who of the bailed-out class, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase comprising 5 of the top 10, giving well over a million dollars already; and it is only January (See here)!

If you think this is only a red team phenomenon, think again. President Obama received over a million dollars from Goldman Sachs, and just under a million each from JP Morgan and Citigroup for his run in ‘08 (See here). The too bigs love to hedge their bets. Unfortunately, as they hedge we lose. What a stark contrast we see when we look at the top 3 contributors to the Ron Paul campaign — members of the Army, Air Force, and Navy (See here). I think that says it all.

Unfortunately for Ron Paul and the rest of us, having the support of people who are sick of corruption, or people who actually fight and die for this country, is not enough at this point to win. It seems the mainstream media, along with the Republicans and Democrats, despise the idea of a candidate who wants to return to the Constitution, who wants to stop prosecuting endless wars around the planet, and who actually wants to fix a system that would allow the bailed-out to turn around and buy the next election, arguably with the very bailout money that saved them and shackled the nation with the consequences of their bad bets. But who cares what kind of exotic deals are done, because in the end the surefire practice of betting on D.C. with massive contributions will always turn out a winner for Wall Street and a loser for Main Street.

If you are not mad, if you are not in the streets with true Tea Party members, or true Occupy members, then it is time to wake up and realize your republic has been sold to the highest bidder. Whatever nifty bumper sticker slogan these bought-and-paid-for politicians come up with is meaningless. The truth is they will represent those with the most, and stick those with the least with the bill.

Charlie McGrath is the founder of Wide Awake News, an excellent resource for analysis about the economy and world events.