On 2006-05-03, Matt Barrow wrote:
When there is "legislation to be bough", there's something wrong. After all,
as previously put, they may be 50,000 strong, but that's one small towns
vote.

Generally, in today's climate, you need to spend quite a lot of money to
actually be electable. It's just a fact of life. The companies that
sponsor politicians want something for their money. While it's certainly
true that not every politician has sold out, there is a notable minority
that have sold out - and propose legislation on behalf of their
corporate masters. While it's a minority, the rest of the democratic
process that a bill must go through can certainly get rid of the most
egregious cases.

If this is left to grow unchecked (and thanks to voter apathy, there is
a danger of this) there is a danger you end up with the sort of
democracy that Britain had in the 1700s. If I remember right, some
people in Boston got upset about that and threw their tea in the
harbour. It might be harder this time around though - small arms don't
do all that well against tanks, F-16s and laser guided bombs.

Maybe because those 50,000 are trying to buy their own legislation and the
pols and bureaucrats are more than happy to play both sides. In such cases,
the bureaucrats are the only, and always, the winners.

And democracy gets subverted.

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