But in our first hour, do we really have the best democracy money can buy and is it better to be respected or feared? I want to take on these two memes. Over the past 30 years lobbyists have taken over the job of writing major parts of most legislation. Now they’re even writing the speeches for our legislators to give on the floor of the House of Representatives and the Senate and to insert into the Congressional record. I’m gonna document what’s happened to our democracy, what we may be able to do about it.

Should we bring back the era of big government?

What stands between us and the power of big corporations? There are only two things that stand between you and me and the Enrons of the world, and the United Health Cares of the world, and the, you know, fill in the blank. Even the Ford Pintos of the world: trial lawyers who will sue on our behalf and whip companies into behaving properly because it hurts them financially if they don’t, and big government.

Thom Hartmann: Ok, who has as their top twenty contributors for this campaign cycle, Eli, among them, the American Health Care Association number two, the Eli Lilly & Co number three, Abbott Laboratories number five, tied with Allergan Inc, the American College of Cardiology, Amgen Inc, and Johnson & Johnson.

Thom Hartmann: As his website, at ImpeachObamaCampaign.com points out, Floyd Brown himself says he was the guy behind the Willy Horton ad that sunk the Dukakis campaign, he was behind the Vince Foster hysteria that you know, 'the Clinton’s killed Vince Foster', that, oh, there was a really interesting quote here, that George Stephanopoulos said that he, well I can’t find it. In any case, you got some good enemies here, Floyd. Floyd Brown is here with us. He’s on Skype, coming in on Skype.