This article originally provided by
The Herald-Dispatch
July 18, 2006
Campaign funds, politics -- watch out
Massey Energy's Don Blankenship made headlines again in recent weeks with his
plan to spend millions on a campaign to unseat more than 30 West Virginia
legislators.
Although Blankenship hasn't revealed his hit list yet, his
www.forthesakeofthekids.com Web page highlights the issues as lawsuit
reform, repealing the food tax, abortion notification, drunken driving
provisions and tougher penalties for sex offenders. Most suspect the targeted
legislators will be key Democrats.
Whether you agree with him or not on the issues, Blankenship's approach rubs
some of us the wrong way -- we don't like the idea of someone with a lot of
money trying to influence elections.
Well, welcome to American politics.
Blankenship, to his credit, is more forthcoming than most rich people hoping
to win your vote. He is telling us what he's going to do, and it should soon be
clear who he is trying to do it to. Most special interests are a lot sneakier
than that.
Hopefully, all of this serves as a wake-up call to voters -- pay attention.
Today, there is more information than ever available about political
contributions, and it's critical that voters inform themselves. Whether it's an
ad or letter or phone call, the smart voter asks, "Who's paying for this, and
why do they want to influence my vote?"
A fat cat's opinion is more powerful than our own only if we allow it to be.
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