MY TURN By Bill Donald

Corporations are pushing political factionalism for their own gain As a liberal Democrat, I am much in the minority in Sussex County. Nevertheless, I’ve mostly enjoyed the friendly banter with my Republican friends. But current developments on the political scene cause me to appeal to all who are sympathetic toward the Republican Party. I must admit that the election defeat of the neo-conservatives in the party led me to hope that more moderate Republican voices might regain control. No such luck. The party has drifted to the extreme right. But the real danger is even greater. What follows are some basic civil principles and current facts: The new Tea Party movement has been characterized by individuals carrying signs that defame and slander our country’s leaders and consistently call for the government to get out of our lives, a common libertarian cause. Many on the right call for less government, echoing their icon, Ronald Reagan, who said that government “isn’t the solution, government is the problem.” Tea Party protesters supporting this view wear T-shirts labeled “Patriot.” I beg to differ with them and with Mr. Reagan. Those of us old enough to have taken civics courses know that the gift of the USA to the world is the creation of a representative government “of, by and for the people.” It is a principle that we must embrace if we are to remain free Americans. As our direct representatives, the government is, in fact, us. Nevertheless, many see the government as divorced from true public concern because of lobbyists and money interests who influence too many of our representatives. Among these are the corporate sponsors of this right wing movement. Our founders argued against the establishment of corporations because they might not be accountable. President Eisenhower and others issued warnings about the “military-industrial complex” and other extremes of corporate control. But these warnings were ignored and we now have corporate robber barons who have nearly destroyed our economy, are responsible for our current recession and who use their money to encourage right-wing groups to keep the government at bay so that they can continue to take risks with our nation’s future. One of these is Koch Industries, an oil and gas firm and America’s second largest privately held corporation that owns such labels as Northern Tissue, Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Vanity Fair napkins. Taking in $100 billion per year in sales, they use their money to push for deregulation of most industries and the privatization or elimination of government functions. They founded and funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP), which in turn founded the Tea Party movement. Through AFP and the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank that they also fund, they seek to advance corporate interests. They funded false “research’ to try to combat worldwide scientific conclusions about global warming, literally putting their profits ahead of the health and future of our planet. Now our Supreme Court’s conservative majority has given corporate interests the unlimited right to use their money to smother the people’s interests in favor of their own. What our founders feared is becoming reality. Please realize that if you support the “less government” view, you are supporting control of our lives by the corporate robber barons. There is no third choice. A decision for “less government” is simultaneously a decision for more corporate control of our lives. You don’t get one without the other. And who is it that supports our representative government as a supporter of Main Street and who wish to impose needed controls on Wall Street? It is the most liberal side of the Democratic Party. It isn’t the Republican “Party of No,” nor its conservative, “blue dawg” Democratic friends. It is the very people that corporate funds and support have encouraged the political right to crucify in the media: President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, etc. Despite what these robber barons want you to think, do not be afraid of national, government-regulated health care. It will not make us into a socialist country. Instead, see what we get when the robber barons are in charge: California’s Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield has just announced a 39 percent increase in premiums. They refuse to be accountable, and they have to answer to no one. Other health insurance companies are raising premiums all over the country. Your choice is simple: support your country, which is your government, and you are a patriot. Oppose your government, which is your country, and you are a traitor, giving your life over, by default, to the corporate robber barons. Bill Donald is a resident of the Glenwood section of Vernon Township.