Charles & David Koch, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson & other billionaire reactionaries hijacked democracy by funneling dark money to right wing politicians. Billionaires bought a Congress that will sabotage government policies that otherwise would help level the playing field. Chief Justice John Roberts vetoed laws that required campaign contributors to at least identify themselves. Citizens United v FEC & McCutcheon v FEC spell the end of limits on campaign contributions. Republicans serve one purpose in Congress and in State legislatures. Republicans want only to protect the wealth of billionaires. Government Services require taxes. Republicans want to shrink government to lower taxes. Republicans took over the U.S. House in 2011. Republicans wasted three years in passing fifty separate bills to repeal, defund or cripple the Affordable Care Act. The democratically controlled U.S. Senate passed an Immigration Reform Bill with bipartisan support in June 2013. House Speaker John Boehner will not bring the Senate Immigration Bill to a vote in the House, because the Tea Party base fears the Senate Bill would pass in the House with the vote of some Republicans. The Republican Party is an exclusive, mainly white, club that fears and rejects minorities. Republicans could not accept the election of Barack Obama in 2008. In 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau dropped a bombshell that caused Republicans to adopt a new strategy. Starting in 2011, the majority of babies born in the U.S. will be to minority families. Demographics spell the end of Republican rule in the U.S. The election of 2010 gave Republicans one last chance to hold power. Republicans used their control of the U.S. House and 30 state legislatures to gerrymander election districts. After President Obama was elected, Republicans passed laws in 30 states to suppress minority votes. By tightening voter ID rules, Republicans plan to reduce the number of progressive votes. Republicans generally do better when fewer votes are cast. The next step is for republicans to capture the Senate and the White House. Hillary Clinton is the strongest candidate for the Democrats in 2016. Trey Goudy (R-SC) will Chair the House Select Committee on the Investigation of the sack of the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The sole purpose of the Hearings will be to discredit President Obama and convince Hillary Clinton that she should not run for president in 2016. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has spent 3 years conducting useless investigations. The most recent are the hearings on the IRS review of Tea Part applications for tax exemption under IRS code section 501(c)(4). After President Obama's election in 2008, Tea Party groups sprouted like mushrooms after a rain. Tea Partiers tried to accomplish the impossible. Tea Partiers sought tax exemption for organizations that had one mission. The mission was to oppose President Obama's policies. The law was certain. As passed, 501(c)(4) tax exemption was limited to social welfare groups, with no politicking allowed. The IRS made an extra legal ruling in 1969 that tax exemption was available if the primary purpose was social welfare. The IRS has a duty to investigate the mission statement to determine if the activity is primarily for social welfare. The IRS investigated all Tea Party groups because the name suggested political activity. The scandal is not that the IRS investigated Tea Party groups. The scandal is that Tea Party groups applied for tax exemption to oppose President Obama. The American People can choose an entirely new House of Representatives and one third of the Senate every two years. Progressives who feel that off year elections, such as 2014, are not important, should recall what happened in 2010. Republicans took control in 2010, and gerrymandered election districts to maintain control in the House and in 30 states legislatures. To stop gerrymandering and vote suppression, You must Vot
About the Author: Paul Covell is a graduate of Boston Latin School, Boston College & Boston College Law School. Paul Covell served in the U. S Army as a radio operator in the Third Infantry Division, 10th Engineer Battalion in Bamberg, Germany Paul Covell has a law practice in St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands; was formerly admitted to practice in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington, D.C; and is admitted now in California (inactive) and in the U. S. Virgin Islands. Paul Covell is author of G.O.P. War On U.S.; The Hail Mary; and D'Souza's Delusion.