One of the greatest issues of the coming election for president of the United States and perhaps the most burning issue for progressives in this nation is the involvement of corporate money and how it corrupts the system.
Recently I asked if there was anyone that could give me an example of Hillary Clinton taking corporate America to task such as I had just viewed Bernie Sanders doing in regard to the American tax payers subsidizing Walmart for lack of a working wage. There is a good reason why that just won’t happen; at least in regard to Walmart.
In 2007 Greg Palast wrote:
“...Read an official biography of the Senator and you'll find her six-month stint on a child-protection task force. Yet you won't find her SIX YEARS on the board of directors of Wal-Mart Corporation. She may have earned a Grammy for "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child." But it takes a Governor's wife to provide cover for Wal-Mart's profiteering off systematic wage-enslavement of children in its factories in South America…
I do not mean to offend anyone who is supporting Hillary for president; that would never serve my interests in trying to engage my fellow Americans in a serious discussion on who the people are we choose to represent us in Washington D.C. But unless we all start out with the same set of facts subjective as they may be and build a consensus of what they indicate and therefore what conclusions can be drawn from them, such discussion simply isn't possible. We end up tearing at each other; hurling names and accusations at each other which only serves to drive us further apart. Indeed that is the intended result of much of what drives political campaigns anymore and why we never end up with anything close to a government that serves our interests.
In a recent thread I read someone taking others to task for the tone they take. That if you truly wish to change someones mind, they should try something different. Ok, I’m good with that, maybe you could show me how I could have presented this topic differently from what will surely be viewed as confrontational.
The entire article for anyone who have not read it and would like to can be found at:
http://www.gregpalast.com/hillarys-mother-fing-tour-business/
Update:
True to my word, I have read your comments and have adjusted the topic accordingly. Again, I do not mean to offend. As too your comment on being informed...I am…
As was reported in the Progressive Press on Saturday, June 20, 2015:
“The ties between the Clintons and the Walton family continue to this day. Alice Walton, the daughter of Wal-Mart’s founder Sam Walton, is a big supporter of Hillary Clinton becoming the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016. According to filings with the FEC, Alice Walton gave $25,000, the maximum allowed under federal law, to the super PAC Ready for Hillary. According to Clinton Foundation’s disclosures, the Walmart Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation each have given between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation.”
You know, it is easy to spin this. It is easy to say, oh I tried to make things better but because change was impossible I simply didn't try. Evan Barack Obama questioned this during a CNN debate. I believe anyone running for government, and particularly president is and should be held to a very high standard. If who one associates with is not an indication of who they actually are then I don't know what is.
“I just judge the distance, not the words I hear.” Bob Seger
Update 2
Ok so you don’t like it when I’m trying to be nice…I agree; you never can trust nice guys, they seem so wishy washy, I don’t like them either…so no more Mr. nice guy; you want to challenge ideas on a substantive basis, that’s fine. You want to take a one line shot at me; smear me with a label of being sexist; suggest that I shouldn’t be taken seriously because of a typo, go get a (expletive) life. I may be new to DK but obviously dirty politics isn’t.
I fail to understand what exactly it would take for Clinton fans to acknowledge that perhaps there might be a chance there was and is undue corporate influence concerning them; obviously being previously on the board of the highest profile corporation in the US is not enough. Maybe the problem is you have become so complacent that you can’t even see why being influenced by corporations while being in government is a problem at all. Hey, corporations are people too! The Supreme Court says they are so it must be true.
For me, the “revolving door” between the public and private sectors is at the root of all pervasive corruption we see in government today. Greed has no limits now it would seem and make no mistake it will consume everything in its path until it is all gone.
So let’s explore that briefly in relationship to the Clintons and now that Hillary has officially brought Bill in as her “secret weapon” he is fair game as far as I’m concerned.
From the headlines of The Washington Times: Team Clinton leverages Big Business for political, charitable and personal gain…
When Hillary Clinton stepped in front of a podium this week to announce a new initiative to train and hire unemployed young Americans, some familiar corporate logos were plastered in the background behind her. Companies like JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft and Courtyard Marriott donned the backdrop.
They were familiar to most Americans as household corporate names. But for former President and Mrs. Clinton, they were familiar in a different way, as big-ticket entries in their personal checkbooks.
Long before getting behind Mrs. Clinton’s latest public service effort, all three companies enriched her husband, former President Bill Clinton, with six-figure speaking fees that turned the 1990s Arkansas middle-class family into millionaires on the strength of his gilded tongue. And some of the companies were also gracious sponsors to the former president’s Clinton Global Initiative foundation that provides him his day job in retirement from the White House.
The episode is the latest example of how the Clintons have intertwined their public service and private gain, often tapping the same sources for money that benefits them politically, personally and charitably. And that exclusive club of philanthropic and corporate interests will also likely be at the top of the list of companies seeking favor should Mrs. Clinton run for the White House and win.
“One of the big problems in democracy is that these relationships are developed over long periods of times,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, noting that political dynasties like the Clintons or Bushes often have long-term relationships with many different people and corporate interests.
“The payoff may be far in the future,” she said. “That’s especially difficult for the press, researchers and ultimately the public to connect the dots.”…
I could go on, there are many such examples to choose from but for anyone whose eyes haven’t glazed over before they finished the first sentence and have gotten to this point, they already know that.
It’s not all bad. In fact, the Clintons have done a great deal of good through their foundation. I too was a huge Clinton fan during the 90’s and only later as I saw the results of the Clinton years unfold did I see the betrayal. I too was mesmerized by Bills gilded tongue but now it’s almost embarrassing to hear fellow Americans swoon, “I could listen to him for hours”.
…And therein lies the problem. You my fellow Americans have been lulled to sleep. You have become comfortable numb in your complacency. Governance should not be about celebrity and too much power in the hands of the few. I do not want corporations deciding what my future should be even if they play the role of benevolent dictator. If you truly think the dictates of Corporate America will be benevolent after they have hollowed out the middle class and robbed us of what little equity that still remains not to mention our children’s children’s future then by all means disregard all the warning signs. Certainly Bill in particular, but Hillary in her own right have their brilliant moments but given the opportunity so do many among us. I believe the future of America lies in a new direction, a new vision, and the Clintons in all their glory only represent a return to the past; the continuation of political dynasty and business as usual. I for one, just want the Clintons and the Bushes etcetera to go away. It is time for a new vision; a new direction for this nation while there is still any chance of that happening at all.
I wish you well from the gryphonaerie