Editorial #224 Treason and Blackmail
Huge monetary figures are casually tossed around regarding loans owed, disaster relief, campaign funding, influencing peddling, foreign involvement in elections or our national debt.
In the 1960 our national debt was only $286 billion equal to about $2 ½ trillion today. The number seems trivial compared to numbers proposed for pandemic spending which is larger than our entire national debt when John Kennedy was president. Like Everett Dirkson said: “It is a million here and a million there and sooner or later it adds up to real money.”
All this money comes out of our pockets, intended to improve our country in some way. Contributions to political campaigns are hopefully given to make the world a better place. It is easy for a candidate to raise money for a campaign, if the candidate seems to have something to offer. When large corporations gives huge amounts of money to anyone, they are expecting something in return.
Treason and blackmail always involved large amounts of money. The huge amounts from Silicon Valley and other Fortune 500 companies are immediately suspect. These funds are for future favors, unlike small individual contribution who truly want a candidate who believes in and lives by our core values and the golden rule. The difference with these large contribution is their giving is closer to treason or blackmail when compared to a private citizen wanting an honest qualified candidate for office.
With the latest revelations regarding pandemic relief or politicians involved in business deals, the amount of cash needed to move the needle of influence is enormous. It has come to the point where no amount of money is too much. It has become an arms race with winning the only thing that matters, regardless if it compromises our security, the sustainability of our constitutional republic or economic standing in the world. It is closer to treason or blackmail rather than being a case of free speech or supporting a candidate that lives by and believes in our core values and our Constitution.
The scary part is this is the only way political parties know how to engage in campaign activity and is standard procedure. Political operatives have become amoral with no conscience or a sense of right and wrong. This is the result of political correctness, taking God out of our schools and teaching our next generation they have a sense of entitlement where they think nothing of spending the family jewels to party.
It has become acceptable to be on the slippery slope of situational ethics, retribution mentality and the re-characterizing of the reprehensible. There is nothing out of bounds any more. An entire political party celebrates the aborting a baby after it is born or insist that those who come to this country illegally should be counted in the census and allowed to vote or high jacking pandemic relief funding to subsidize poorly run state that mismanaged their citizen’s money.
This has all happened gradually, numbing of our sense of right and wrong. The seriousness of the words like treason and blackmail are no longer understood, taking an aura of acceptance.
There is never something for nothing. There is no free lunch. If it looks too good to be true, it is, and the thinking that large campaign war chests are a sign of a winning campaign, remember that someone is expecting something in return for giving all that money and that money will be coming out of your pocket.
This is Keith Kube wishing you the best in making the world a better place.
Keith has a regular commentary on WJAG 780 radio at 7:40 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Check his website www.keithkube.com for past editorials.