Trusters of expansive government routinely seek to gut the First Amendment and allow the government to have more control over political messaging.
The recurring claim is that political messaging funded by the private sector “buys” elections and produces undue influence.
But total spending by government on political messaging almost certainly DWARFS total spending on political campaigns by private-sector interests.
The USA TODAY reports today that a SINGLE government “propaganda contractor” (their words) named Leonie Industries has been paid “more than” $423 million for propaganda IN AFGHANISTAN ALONE since 2008. Tom Vanden Brook, “Propaganda contractor dumped by U.S. Army,” USA TODAY, Nov. 19, 2015 at 6A.
The article adds that there is little evidence that these hundreds of millions of dollars accomplished anything!
