Democracy, Washington Style

I want to ask you a question or two about your blind faith in government, but we need some background before I ask. While surfing the web, I stumbled on an article at World News Trust. This article, written by Joshua Frank, explains how Aaron Dixon, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in Washington State, was allegedly seduced with money to drop out of running. The article explains:

Allegedly it all started with a phone call from Mark Wilson, the former antiwar challenger to Maria Cantwell, who dropped out of the Democratic Primary halfway through the campaign to take a lofty post within the Cantwell camp. After agreeing to take the position, Wilson told a reporter that the amount of money he would be making was "confidential," but several people familiar with the campaign say similar positions pay upwards of $8,000 a month. Apparently even antiwar positions have a price tag attached.

 

Unless you are Aaron Dixon, that is.

 

As Dixon tells it, "Mark [Wilson] called and basically told me that a lot of people have a lot of money within the Cantwell campaign, and he said that they could put on a fundraiser for Central House that would 'blow my mind.' He called a week later and basically told me the same thing. I didn't bite, ending this war is too important." [Note: Dixon founded Central House, a not-for-profit organization that works to provide housing for young homeless adults, where he is still acting director.]

Instead of running a legitimate race, Maria Cantwell's campaign staff decided that it would rather guarantee a win by buying up all the competition rather than allowing their fate to be decided by the will of the people.

 

And now to the questions I wanted to ask: Can anyone look me in the eye and tell me with a straight face and true sincerity that the democratic process in this country has not been totally corrupted by power and money? With the revelation of antics such as these, who's interests are really being served by Maria Cantwell other than hers and those who are buying her way back into power? Remember, he who pays the piper calls the tune.