I'm sorry, but you are simply wrong in your dismissal of the legitimate connection between money and speech. What's worse is you don't appear to recognize the root problem itself: Too much power vested in government which attracts those who wish to control it. I agree that the US government (and others) has been on a downward spiral away from liberty (democracy not being the same thing) for decades. At least a hundred years. But the fundamental problem is not the common sense understanding that money is a lubricant for speech and therefore ought not be limited but, rather, the number and scope of things over which the state get, has and maintains power and control needs to be strictly reduced and limited.