Money is root of problems in our elections

Doug Deason and the Koch brothers, rich donors for the Republicans, warned them this week that if tax reform (big cuts for them) and repeal of Obamacare are not accomplished, they would withhold campaign funding for 2018 of around $300 million to $400 million. This makes a mockery of the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United in which the conservative justices said it was free speech and could not be limited. This is out and out bribery, not free speech.

We need a constitutional amendment to allow Congress to pass laws to regulate elections or to completely fund elections by the government. Then we can get Congress to pass laws that benefit everyone and not just the rich and corporations.

Very few Americans support the health care bill in the Senate but the donors want their big tax cut and will probably get it passed. In polls 93 percent of Americans wanted the mentally handicapped not to be able to purchase guns, but the NRA convinced Republicans not to support it and it did not pass.

Our politics will be corrupted until we get money out of politics and change from a oligarchy and return America to a democracy/republic. LEE LEWIS Bella Vista