(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

Yesterday I had 76 emails from friends who are either running for Senate or House seats in the United States, or running the campaigns for candidates for those positions. I know they’re my friends because, well, they call me Don, and their emails are personal.

“Hey Don – I just wanted to make sure you got our email last week regarding Sen. Booker’s brilliant plan to increase Social Security payments. I was reviewing the signatures and noticed we were short a few from Democrats in Florida, so I wanted to give you another chance to sign on.” Swell, I probably missed that other email.

This email was from Sarah, apparently we are on such a first name basis she no longer even uses a last name. But below her name, it becomes clearer: “CBCPAC Digital Team”…Great, I love being on a team. This one is the Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee Digital Team…we are, after all, in the era of specialization.

Sarah advised me to “Click on the ‘Sign the petition’ button”…and that took me to a six-question survey that surely doesn’t tell them much.

“Nearly 1 in 6 Americans receive Social Security benefits. Do you or someone you know benefit from this program?” I had to look no further than me…I’m sure they know I’m 72 next week!

Anyway, as soon as I submit my “survey” answers…my pre-loaded credit card form pops up…and all I have to do is click to donate $5, $10, $25, $50 or $100…with a quick follow-up: “Do you want to make that a monthly donation?”

Turns out 76 emails a day asking for money…is a slow day. Thursdays through Saturdays…I get 100 or more.

Seriously, I get daily emails from former astronaut and Sen. Mark Kelly from Arizona, Sen. Reverend Raphael Warnock from Georgia, voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams, and, oh yes, the First Lady of the United States, Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden…or as I like to call them: Mark, The Rev, Stacey and Jill.

I wish my parents could have lived to see how popular I’ve become…witnessed first hand the kind of folks that hang with me.

Senate and House races in the U.S. often cost more than what nationwide Presidential races budgeted just 20 years ago. I’m still waiting for that email that offers thanks for the donation, and tells me the coffers are full…“Go buy something for the grandkids!”

Voters should have a right to know which wealthy special interests are spending big money to influence our vote and get government to rig the political system in their favour, but with the 2022 midterm elections just seven weeks away, a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court 12 years ago continues to threaten that fundamental right…and with it democracy.

On Jan. 21, 2010, the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission struck down a prohibition on corporate independent expenditures, which has since let corporations and other outside groups spend unlimited amounts in campaigns.

So, if ever a necessary evil existed…it is the dependence of those running for office on individuals rather than special interests. Many Senators and House Members simply don’t give a crap and take money from anywhere…“Neo-Nazis for a Better World” surely they can’t be that bad…do they wear armbands?

Grassroots contributors - citizens like me - can give a maximum of $2,900. But most can’t donate that much…and really they don’t have to. Better to have a few dollars from all…enough to ensure that you’ll do your civic duty and vote…and elect the best people to do what’s in the best interests of the people.

Super PACs with noble-sounding names give not millions…but hundreds of millions of dollars every year. I tell my U.S. friends, “Canada allows $1,675…that’s Canadian…you know, enough U.S. dollars for a small family reunion dinner at Denny’s…if you’re not a heavy tipper!”

There’s so much that needs to change in the U.S. even a creative writer couldn’t make things look and sound wackier. You have a bat-shit crazy cult party…that would be Republicans…trying to end democracy…all the while smiling and hugging the flag. You have people campaigning for two years…for a two-year job…and spending enough to cure a lot of the nation’s ills.

How bad are things, really? Well, I was named an advisor and member of the Communications Committee of the Florida Democratic Party last year. There are 50 days left before Election Day…I’ve heard nothing from my fellow members or the Committee Chairman.

Damn it, that settles it…I’m sticking with my friends…Mark, Stacey, The Rev and Jill. Yeah, send the emails…and I’ll click on that “Sign the petition” button…and donate another $5.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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