More evidence money corrupts politics

If there was any doubt about influence of money in politics, it should be completely erased with the release of a taped 20-minute phone conversation between Gov. Walker of Wisconsin and a person pretending to be David Koch.

The fact that the person on the phone was not Mr. Koch is beside the point, because Gov. Walker took the call believing the person on the phone to be Mr. Koch.

You may ask why Gov. Walker, who is embroiled in a heated dispute with unions representing public employees and Senate Democrats, would take time to discuss his strategy to end collective bargaining for public workers with a person almost no one has ever heard of and who isn’t even a resident of Wisconsin.

As the old saying goes — just follow the money.

It turns out that Mr. Koch is a billionaire philanthropist and political activist who contributes heavily to the Republican party and individual candidates while remaining in the background. It is reported that Mr. Koch contributed more than $40,000 to Gov. Walker’s campaign and as much as a $1 million to the Republican Governors Association in 2010.

Members of Congress and state officials are frequently described as marionettes or pawns of corporate America, unions and special interest groups. Until now they have been faceless puppeteers pulling the strings of the marionettes and pawns in government.

But thanks to Gov. Walker, we now have a face of one of the puppeteers and it is that of Mr. Koch who through his huge campaign contributions has apparently bought access to Gov. Walker and other Republican politicians.

This is just another example of how money has corrupted politics and frozen out the voices of the average citizen. The voice of money not only speaks loud in politics, it drowns out just about everything else.

Victor Darst

West Dundee