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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Will the gender pay gap ever disappear? Ashland Recycling Center hits quarter-century Louie’s Restaurant hosts fourth annual Equal Pay Day Police Reports 10 things to know for Friday Education Official hopeful whooping cough case at John Muir contained Bracing for Common Core Ashland Kiwanis recognize Lillian Huang Chautauqua series brings author Jane Hamilton to Ashland Ashland Runs on Volunteers: OLLI classes pay dividends in joy of teaching, learning Environment Ashland Fire & Rescue Alarm Box: There are good fires and there are bad fires Lots to celebrate at SOU Arbor Day rites Business Louie’s Restaurant hosts fourth annual Equal Pay Day Chamber celebrates innovation in the food, wine and beer industries Cars We Remember: 1964 Olds F-85 owner seeks information Ride & Drive: 2015 Honda Odyssey Silvio Calabi: Passat 1.8T Sport is satisfyingly rational Politics and elections Arthur I. 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Mangino: Mass incarceration enters the national consciousness Our View: Help fill empty bowls in Ashland Jeffrey Gillespie: Buying the presidency Editorial Our View: Help fill empty bowls in Ashland Our View: Jackson County should say yes to Circle of Teran rehab request Our View: New cat on the block in Ashland Our View: Ashland High benefits as cycle racing club gets rolling Our View: Ashland is prepared, Firewise Letters Letters to the Editor, April 14 Letters to the Editor, April 13 Letters to the Editor, April 11 Letters to the Editor, April 8 Letters to the Editor, April 7 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky Guest Opinion: Fremont cottonwood is not a hazard Guest Opinion: Ashland council vote on travelers accommodations was less than transparent Guest Opinion: Hannah Thomas-Garner's father thanks the Ashland community Columns Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky Herb Rothschild Jr.: Spreading the risk of vaccination Matthew T. Mangino: Mass incarceration enters the national consciousness Jeffrey Gillespie: Buying the presidency Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Community blog: Go to the poetry reading at the library on Sunday Community blog: Poems for parenting A tale of two plays at OSF Joanne Rand at the Unitarian Fellowship Five picks for entertainment this week Theater Ticket Availability Ticket Availability A tale of two plays at OSF Ashland New Plays Festival chooses new artistic director Backstage: 'Poof: Something that wasn’t there is there' Music On TV: Your guide to the Academy of Country Music Awards The Farr Side: Intriguing time on the Hot 100 Joanne Rand at the Unitarian Fellowship The Farr Side: Is Kelly Clarkson’s weight truly news?  Rhythm is on tap at the Northwest Percussion Festival Visual Art More films, excitement than ever for AIFF Ashland's First Friday Art Walk Movies Movie review: Based-on-fact ‘True Story’ asks, ‘Who’s fooling who?’ Movie review: Lots of monkey business in ‘Monkey Kingdom’ Russell Crowe discusses WWI and being a first-time director 'Cinderella' revisited is stunning, magical Ben Steelman: Big-screen showings to mark anniversary of ‘Sound of Music’ Food and Drink Business profile: Couple opens second Pita Pit in Ashland Tot owners buy Playwright, hire Amuse chef Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories App Finder: Best Earth Day apps Health Watch: How to avoid the dreaded weight-loss plateau Looking Up: Watching for the next big comet Adelante! Gallery showcases Zenga Official hopeful whooping cough case at John Muir contained Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Spreading the risk of vaccination ... Ticket Availability ... Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Spreading the risk of vaccination ... Ticket Availability ... COMMENTARY Jeffrey Gillespie: Buying the presidency Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Apr. 17, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Apr. 17, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News As Hillary Clinton heads off toward 2016 in her humble black van, in a naked attempt at suggesting that she somehow has middle-class values at heart, I'm left wondering just how stupid the American public has to be in order to swallow such a shallow and obvious approach. The cost of a presidential run has never been higher. Clinton's effort, by her own estimates, may top out at $2.5 billion from start to exhausting finish. In the meantime, Ted Cruz and his wife, Heidi, are asking for $500,000 each from their top donors, which will get you dinner at their home once a quarter between now and the end of his run. his or her plate. When the Supreme Court came out "in favor" of free speech by ruling for Citizens United in 2010, it managed to quash most every American voice but for the very wealthiest and their SuperPAC proxies, and the dollars are starting to roll in with a vengeance. A huge share of the cash will go into television attack ads. It will also go to field operatives, data consolidation and opposition research. Over a period of almost two years, these structures (and the money and lobbyists supporting them) will have the effect of pushing out any dissenting voices in the political arena. Private funding will have turned the once-revered American democratic process into a coronation event wherein the richest campaigners always win. To give you some idea of how out of control the process has become, let's look at the campaign of 1960. Back then, the most expensive ticket to a fundraiser for John F. Kennedy came in at $100, or about $800 in 2015 dollars. A few years later, at another JFK birthday fundraiser, the price was the same, and it got you entertainment from Jack Benny, Bobby Darin, and Marilyn Monroe, who famously sang for her supper. This year, a fundraising dinner with Jeb Bush will cost you $100,000 a plate. Writing a check that big for one night out should leave even the most jaded billionaire hoping against hope that Bush can carry a tune. Meanwhile, nearly 50 million people are on food stamps. Only those who live in the financial economy could fathom, let alone accommodate, the price of admission to what is now the most exclusive of "democratic" processes. Clinton, in her first outing to Iowa as candidate this week, was keen to discuss campaign finance reform. We have truly lost the plot if someone with a $2.5 billion dollar war chest can sit in front of an audience of ordinary Americans and call the system “dysfunctional," saying she would favor an amendment to the Constitution to rid politics of what she terms “unaccountable money.” It's rather like Hannibal promising that he'll eschew elephants —  no really, he will — just as soon as he's finished crossing the Alps. Presidential elections are now a slave auction for plutocrats. A few voices of integrity, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have put forth valiant attempts to overturn the ruling that has made all of this possible, but it won't happen anytime soon. If and when it does, it's likely we will already have the most expensive retail politician in history serving his or her first term in the Oval Office. That's not freedom and democracy. That's graft of the highest order, and it's got to be stopped. Jeffrey Gillespie's writing has appeared in the Santa Fean and Art Collector magazines, the Portland Mercury and Willamette Week. He lives in Ashland. 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