The campaign finance system here in
the US is very loosey goosey.
But one thing that generally has
been difficult to do fully out in
the open and legally is to have
foreign money directly
influencing American politics.
It happens from time to time,
let's be clear.
But there are regulations
against it.
Well, we're about to lose one of
those and that is because the FEC
has now cleared the way for
foreign donations to go towards
ballot initiatives which you know,
depending on the state you live in
might be a very significant part
of how things get done.
We're here in California where
there are constant massive ballot
initiatives and they raise massive
amounts of money.
Well now more and
more of that money might be
coming from other countries.
So four nationals are currently
barred from donating to us
political candidates or committees.
But with this change they will be
able to directly influence both our
voters as well as domestic policy.
And we will have to see how this is
eventually adjudicated later on by
the Supreme Court,
which as we know is awesome.
Some of these ballot initiatives
have to do with the nature and
function of our democracy.
And so how much of this will
foreign money
eventually get to influence?
We don't know for sure, but
this is definitely sending us down
a very different road.
>> Okay, so
this is disastrous news.
Now bribery is international this
is flat out like so
let let me explain in this case,
it's not going to politicians.
So bribery is a little
bit of a misnomer, but corruption
is definitely the correct umbrella,
It's under the umbrella
of corruption.
And in this case they're buying
elections as opposed
to politicians,
which is actually more efficient.
Why bother giving money to a
politician, hope he does the right
thing and then he's going to have
pressure and he's going to have to
worry about his voters and he's
going to have to do all that lying.
And, but no, no,
just buy the election.
So ballot measures and now here's
a hilarious part of the story.
The degree to which America
has become corrupt is immeasurable.
The FEC said ballot measures
are not elections.
That's why foreign governments and
foreign companies can put unlimited
money in them.
I mean, they're not elections,
of course they're elections.
We go to a voting booth, we vote on
the ballot measure in an election.
No, no, it's Orwellian guys,
but it's not right wing or
left wing by the way,
one of the Democratic commissioners
voted for this corruption.
Okay, that's why it was 42.
The Corporate Democrats are just as
corrupt as corporate Republicans,
just as corrupt.
Okay.
And so in this case, they said,
any country wants to come in and
buy a ballot measure and so
wrap your mind around it.
This originally came from Montana,
that case did.
So there is a foreign company that
is taking public land of Montana
and drilling on the people in
Montana don't want it,
but they do a ballot measure and
the foreign company spend unlimited
money lying and
pretending that it's actually for
the people of Montana and it helps
them with their public land.
And you say,
well the voters should know better.
How the hell would they
know better?
Who knows the intricate details of
that ballot measure and no,
they unfortunately get
their information in that case from
the ads because the news almost
never cover stories like that.
So they almost have no way of
getting that information.
In fact, credit to access
from covering this story.
I've seen it in, no cable news,
no coverage at all.
Did you know that foreign companies
can now buy our elections?
No, because the corporate media
didn't tell you why because they're
also corporations and
by the way it's a slippery slope.
And the reason why corporate media
is super hush hush on this is
because remember a lot of their
shareholders are not Americans,
we call them American corporations,
but are they?
And a lot of them then go and
do like, yeah, my real headquarters
in the Cayman islands.
So they want international
corporations to be able to buy
every election in America.
So the corporate media is thrilled
with this.
They're like, my God corporations
have more power now, we can just do
ballot measures saying what,
we're going to ban all online
programming.
Why not?
They're our competition.
It's annoying us.
Remember look I'm no fan of
Elan Mask now.
But remember when local car
dealerships were just bribing
officials in places like New Jersey
and saying to them just don't let
Tesla have dealerships and they
literally passed a law saying Tesla
cannot have dealerships or can't
sell unless they have dealers.
Yes and and
they don't have dealerships so
they couldn't sell.
It's unbelievable what you could
bribe American officials into and
now you can buy elections and and
guys one last thing and
I'm going to come to Carolina.
Any government can do it,
China can do it,
Saudi Arabia can do it.
Of course Israel can do it but
of course Canada can do it.
Of course UK could do it.
And guys it isn't about
the countries so
much these are new rulers
are multinational corporations.
So what difference does it make if
corporations based in Israel or
Australia or Denmark it doesn't
make any difference at all.
They're coming here to rob you.
And then FEC just said light rolled
out the welcome mat and said come
on in most corrupt country in
the world, you're welcome Caroline.
>> Yeah this is truly jaw dropping.
It's an absolute disgrace to voter
transparency.
I mean ballot measures
are notorious in California at
least we often joke about how they
are the most boring but important
parts of the election process and
because of that, very few people
actually know what they're voting
on and have to have a photographic
memory of like yes, no, yes,
no going into the polling station.
We need to be making voting easier
and more accessible and able to be
understood by more people.
And this is the exact opposite of
that, and I'm sure this is
something that happens nationwide.
But every election when we have
the specifically regarding like
kidney dialysis and
the commercials and the messaging,
it's impossible to understand and
and having this type of foreign
donations is just going to make
already insanely complicated
messaging even more complicated.
And yes, as you said,
this is going to quite literally
allow corporations to take over at
the municipal, state federal level.
And it just flies in the face of
everything that the democrats and
everyone has been talking about
with regards to voting rights.
And it's incredibly sneaky,
that taking these ballot measure
propositions and making something
that is already so archaic and so
hard to understand and just making
it more so more corrupt.
It's a disgrace quite frankly.
>> Yeah, and
I want to clarify one other thing,
it's not just foreign companies,
it's any foreign nationals.
So any Saudi prince can buy any
ballot measure in America now and
and for right wingers,
America first are you kidding me,
they just sold America out Iran can
buy elections, Venezuela can buy
elections, Madura can come in and
spend unlimited money on all
these ballot measures and
you might never even find out.
I mean, look,
you're hoping the corporate press
is on your side because on economic
issues you think, they're so
liberal, but I on economic issues,
they're super conservative, right?
They're not on your right wing side
anyway, they're on the corporate
side, your knuckleheads,
they're robbing you blind.
Anyway, so you're thinking,
well they would out Maduro and
they would out Iran if they were in
these first of all, they don't out
anybody, they don't out corporate
republicans, but they also don't
out corporate democrats have been
protecting mansion in cinema for
months straight here.
So you think they're going to out
other corporations or
foreign nationals.
And second, well, maybe they out
the guys you think you don't like,
are you sure they're going to
out a guy from Tajikistan?
Well, what if he's really,
really rich and
he's also buying ads on CNN and
MSNBC and Fox News.
So the reality is where this
means there is almost no limit to
anyone across the world engaging
in the open auction.
That is American elections,
I'm sorry, said elections, but
I'm going to quote Axios so
you know that I'm not exaggerating.
In a four to vote in July the FCC
ruled ballot initiatives are not
elections under existing federal
law, isn't that amazing?
Ballot initiatives are not
elections.
>> You vote in them.
I mean, the only time you
ever hear of them is
when you're in a polling station.
>> And by the corporations
are human beings.
These are.
>> All right.
>> These are actual decisions made
by the American system.
It's a joke.
The whole world laughs at us.
Look at how corrupt America as
they call other countries corrupt.
They legalized corruption.
Hey guys, anybody can go buy
an election in America.
So that's where we are now, where
the ritual have everything and they
don't even have to be American.
>> Unless the Supreme Court
saves us.
[LAUGH].
>> One last joke down the week.
>> Supreme Court would be like
corruption.
One name so yes.
>> Say no more.
>> Yeah. The Supreme Court led
corporations pour unlimited money
into politics and
that's how we lost our democracy in
the first place.
The Supreme Court's going to be
salivating over this case.
Yes, yes,
yes that's what's going to happen
to the Supreme Court and
then feckless democrats who
are actually corrupt and pretending
to be feckless will come and go,
there was nothing we could do.
Well, you could pass an amendment.
No an amendments really scary and
dangerous.
Don't have a convention.
No, no.
That could upset the status quo.
Exactly.
All right, it is what it is.
This country is totally screwed.
It's now nearly 100% corrupt.
Okay, so that's the reality.
That's the news. It's not a good
day for it, but it is what it is.