Why build a school when you can buy a senator! North Carolina race tops $100 million

The nation's most expensive Senate race in history is topping $100 million as the entire nation looks to a critical election in North Carolina. The money poured into the race reveals that elections are coming down to money and outside influencers have substantial power.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - North Carolina's Senate race is perhaps the first one to top $100 million in costs. Even now, in the last two weeks of campaigning, candidates are scrambling to solicit donations. Money from the outside, meaning from out of state and corporate donors, and donors who do not have to disclose their identity, is still pouring in.

This illustrates how fundamentally broken out political process is. Awash with special interest money, does it really matter who wins? No matter who wins, you lose.

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The race is between Democrat Kay Hagan and Republican Thom Tillis. Both advocate pretty well along their party lines, so neither candidate is exceptional in their own right. As both parties compete for control of the Senate, even lackluster races take on new importance and are inundated with money by outsiders.

The problem is that people aren't thinkers. Instead, most people make emotional decisions and those emotions are most easily influenced by media advertising. Influencers will pay millions of dollars to sway your emotions.

Whoever wins will owe debt of gratitude to their donors, giving them access to their office, and influence over their votes. The end result is that we have a Senate, (and Congress) that responds to the bidding of the wealthy donors before they consider the concerns of the people.

Unfortunately, there is no reform in sight. Most Americans, even those in government, will agree this process if flawed, but Supreme Court rulings such as the Citizens United decision, permit multi-billion dollar corporations to spend millions of dollars on political campaigns, unregulated. In effect, the decisions put Congress on the auction block.

A hundred million dollars could feed a lot of people. It could build schools, or even a hospital. It could provide income, food and housing assistance for thousands of people. It could be used to create jobs or to do any number of other, important things. Instead, that money is being used to buy air.

The airtime bought with the money is simply intended to convince you that you need to vote for one candidate or another. Beyond that, you are useless except as a taxpayer-until the next election.

Local media outlet, Charlotte Observer has a good list of the campaign's donors for both sides.

Unless you are a billionaire, or somehow deluded about the state of our democracy, every American citizen is opposed to this form of corruption. We would all prefer to be governed by wise people whose decisions are grounded in reason as opposed to profits for the wealthy class.

We accept that there will be opposing factions in government that will gain power and sometimes pass laws that we, as individuals, don't like. However, we trust that our legislators are working for us, not special interests. Unfortunately, the billionaires now own our government and our interests as people are not represented. We are only a nuisance, a means to an end. Voters are a commodity that billionaires must purchase so they can continue making record profits.

There are no bills advocating real campaign finance reform at this time.

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