Written by Lorin Brice Hall
Recently Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has recently come under fire for perceived anti semitism. Omar, the nations first Somali-American Congresswoman, was accused of anti semitism after she tweeted about the influence of Israeli lobby money in U.S. politics. Omar’s tweet has drawn the ire of actors from all areas of the political spectrum. President Donald Trump has called for Omar to resign, and the tweet has further splintered the already fragile sense of Democrat Party unity with party elites quietly condoning Omar while other representatives have seconded Omar’s sentiments.
Omar’s tweet read “All about the Benjamins.” and was in response to a tweet that was discussing the deep influence that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has in the U.S. congress. The various reactions have only shown the truth of Omar’s statements.
Our nation is killing itself with lobbyists. Lobbying firms certainly have a place in our political system as they serve as guides to the politically illiterate citizenry. Our nation suffers a crisis in political participation. The general populace does not care about politics in this nation, this is corroborated by our abysmal rates of voter turnout and the general sense of political apathy that has grown in recent years due to a sense of genuine powerlessness. This attitude is exacerbated by lobbyists who represent money. Even the lobbyists who don’t represent huge corporations have helped build a wall around politics. You have to have training to be here, you aren’t able to speak for yourself is the message that lobbyists send to us serfs.
One of the biggest issues that plagues Washington is greed. Politicians want to be re- elected, so they take lobbyist handouts to fund their campaigns. These politicians then become indebted to the lobbyists and work to satisfy these people instead of their people. By enacting common sense legislation that limits the amount of money dispersed amongst the political elite we could lessen the influence of money in politics which would remind the people in office that we, the people, are the ones they must answer to.
The ire with which U.S. politicians from both sides attacked Omar only indicates the deep rooted nature of money in politics. Please call your congressional Representative and tell them to stop sucking the gilded toes.
