DEAR EDITOR:

Come January 2025, what else have we to contend with besides 47 and his White House circus?

Well, for openers, January 2025 will mark the 15th anniversary of Citizens United being approved by a partisan SCOTUS. That’s right, and for those of you who may have not heard of this landmark decision, let me briefly bring you up to speed. This highly controversial decision (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations (also known as gangster capitalism) and other outside groups (euphemistically known as political action committees) to spend unlimited funds on elections.

Fast forward to 2024. Where has this left our beleaguered democracy and fractured society? Well, for starters, how about nearly $4.5 billion coming from these independent expenditure PAC groups and $1.1 billion coming from dark money groups. In other words, fat cats are shelling out millions of dollars to buy elections. And that’s only at the federal level. Actuaries are still totaling the impact Citizens United has had on state and local elections, a process that may take years to determine, if ever. Bottom line, our democratic electoral process has been and continues to be sold to the highest bidders, that vast group of purveyors buying and selling their way into political control and power.

These are the aristocrats, oligarchs and plutocrats running what used to be our country, a nation where character, honesty and integrity were the hallmark and pride of a valued society. Now what have we got? Over the past 15 years, our political system can only be described as a kakistocracy, a government by the worst, as well as a kleptocracy, a government run by thieves. With impunity they thumb their noses at the American people.

Worse yet, this prolific band of marauding bandits has co-opted and plundered many aspects of civil society, including but not limited to the electoral, educational and religious institutions to serve their unquenchable greed. A prime example is the outrageous overreach of the medical and health care industries — including those notorious pharmaceutical bandits. These treacherous bands of thieves are contributing to the further erosion of what was once a great country. And don’t let the MAGA leaders in D.C. deceive you, for they are equally complicit in this tyrannical takeover of America. All these corporate and political grifters are the very so-called elite they rant and rave about as enemies of the people. The dumbing down of America continues along this trajectory toward autocracy.

TERRY B. CROGAN

Boardman