Letters to the Editor for Monday, February 8, 2010

High court ruling imperils democracy
The Supreme Court has decided that corporations have the same rights as individuals when it comes to making donations to politicians. Is there anyone who does not think this means corporations now have the power to buy elections outright?

The Carter Center refuses to certify Third World elections as free and fair if all candidates do not have the same financial funding. This can only be achieved through public financing of campaigns. Isn’t it time we, a nation founded on the ideal of free and fair elections, stop turning a blind eye to this travesty of justice? Isn’t it time we demand free and fair elections in our own country?

Is there anyone reading this who, during every election season, does not find himself thinking of how sick and tired they are of political commercials, and yearning for Election Day and the end of the ads? We all feel that way, and it’s only going to get worse now that the Supreme Court has said that corporations can spend freely in support of whichever politicians they want.

It’s time to demand true campaign finance reform. If you’re sick of the endless, mindless, information-less, dishonest and inflammatory political advertising that has characterized all recent campaigns, write to your congressmen today. Seriously. It’ll only take a moment. Pick up pen and paper and write Rep. Tom Perriello. Tell him you demand true campaign finance reform. Tell him you support public campaign financing which allows every candidate the same opportunity to present their qualifications and positions to concerned voters. Do it today.
LIB ELDER
Pamplin

Short memory
Mike Nuckles’ Feb. 1 letter to the editor about our two-party system being broken attracted my attention because I believe it is.

I appreciated his reminder of the roles Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton played in the formation of our country. I thought the rest of the letter was going to be as enlightening, but then Mr. Nuckles launched into a diatribe against Democrats and I saw the letter for what it was — an indictment of the Democratic Party.

Does Mr. Nuckles have such short memory that he cannot recall the Republicans in Congress meeting behind closed doors during the Bush administration while the Democrats complained they did not have a place at the table? As he complains about uncontrolled spending, does he not remember that it was George Bush who pushed through an unfunded prescription plan attached to Medicare, which caused a significant part of the deficit President Barack Obama inherited? Does he not remember that it was the Republicans who lowered taxes and increased spending during the first eight years of this century, not only eliminating a budget surplus but creating over a trillion dollar deficit?

I think our political system is broken, and one of the factors that led to this breakdown is our ability to see the faults of our opponents while ignoring our own.
WALTER R. SMITH
Lynchburg