We need to stop corporate control of politics

Welcome to the Season of Political Smear Campaigns where high-priced, prime-time smear ads spew tabloid-style drama, fear mongering, disinformation, and blame. This toxic concoction yeastily brews discontent and divisiveness. These annoying interlopers look cheap, but are placed in expensive media spots by "Friends of An Opponent" or "Patriots for Our Democracy" - organizations that hide the real megabuck donors. Ads like this disturb the political conversations that should be happening and replace them with anger, angst and sensationalism.

Democracy runs on free speech, where individual citizens engage in an endless dialogue whose results show up at the polls and again in legislative decisions. However, in the last 30 years, the dynamic has shifted way from individuals exercising person-to-person influence to corporate influencers exercising financial influence. In 1997, the Supreme Court decision Citizens United vs FEC opened the floodgates of corporate monies flowing to political campaigns.

So, of course, the new "constituent base" for politicians is the corporation - not us individual citizens. One outcome of this shift appears to the ubiquitous, but apparently effective smear campaign.

We need to reaffirm to all our leaders that political influence and speech are rights of individuals; that politicians need to listen to all citizens. In fact, 80 percent of liberal, conservative, and moderate citizens say the decision Citizens United v. FEC should be overturned.

We need to pass a 28th Amendment to overturn that Supreme Court decision and level the playing field so that politicians of all economic strata may participate in the political dialogue. Tell your legislators that you want to see a return to individual influence as the political coin of the day and an end corporate sponsored smear campaigns.

Tell them that you support the 28th Amendment and want them to support it, too.

Sharon L. Gander

​Downers Grover