THE LEGAL BATTLE OVER CAMPAIGN FINANCE IS REACHING A POINT OF EXHAUSTION. MEDIA REPORTS SUGGEST THE ERA DEFINED BY LANDMARK DECISIONS LIKE CITIZENS UNITED MAY BE FRAYING. THIS IS NOT A VICTORY FOR THE VOTER. It is merely the continued reckoning of how much blood money politics can absorb.

THE CORE ISSUE HAS NOT CHANGED. The american political process is no longer about the will of the people. It is about the most effective distribution of corporate capital. When the law is built primarily to protect the right of rich people to speak through politicians, it is not a defense of free speech. It is a framework for private interest to command government action.

THE MECHANISMS OF CONTROL ARE NOT MAGIC. They are just complex. The system relies on the appearance of legality while fundamentally operating on an illicit exchange of dollars for power. We are watching the decay of a system that agreed to pretend it was still a democracy.

THE SHADOW OF CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP IS EVERYTHING. It controls the agenda. It dictates which issues even make it into the national conversation.

THE DEPRESSING REALITY OF THIS ENDGAME IS CLEAR. Unchecked outlays are being legalized. Political debate has been reduced to a mere fundraising event. Moreover, votes are treated as nothing more than a statistical problem to be managed.

DO NOT EXPECT ANY SUDDEN RECKONING. Do not anticipate a new clean start. The power structures are too deep. The money is too well-tunneled. The only thing changing is the color of the blood on the hands of the people in charge.