Most liberal politicians (at the national level) are very wealthy, yet they
portray themselves as the champions of the little guy. Even the
politicians who are multi-millionaires talk about rich people
in the third person.
Note: So much of this page pertains to the actions of John Edwards that a special
subsection has been set aside for him.
Superdelegate system is pure
elitism. In 1903, Wisconsin's "Fighting" Bob La Follette organized the first primaries in the
United States. La Follette hated boss-controlled conventions. The aim of the primaries, he once
said, is to remove the nomination from the hands of professionals. There were no superdelegates prior to
the 1980s, when Walter Mondale, one of the early architects of the superdelegate system, repudiated
La Follette's democratic philosophy. With the explicit aim of preventing voter insurgencies, Mondale
helped to create a bloc of unelected kingmakers drawn from the Washington establishment.
Limo
Shortage for Denver Dems. Limousine liberals may be forced to take the bus at the Democratic National
Convention this month because Denver simply does not have enough limos and black cars to go around.
Big Money Still Has
Prominent Seat at Parties' Conventions. When Senator Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech before
70,000 people at Invesco Field on Thursday in Denver, most supporters will be sitting under the open night sky.
But a group of lobbyists and corporate executives will watch the event from plush skyboxes, with catered food and a
flowing bar, and a price tag of up to $1 million.
Pelosi's
Wealth Greater Than Other Congressional Leaders. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is
the wealthiest of the top congressional leaders, with total assets valued at somewhere between $30 million
and $131 million, according to federal financial disclosure statements.
Where's the wealth gap? Try Congress.
Together with her husband, Paul, [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi owns a vineyard in St. Helena, Calif., valued
at $5 million - $25 million; a town house in Norden, Calif., valued at $1 million - $5 million;
rental property in Napa, Calif., valued at $500,000 - $1 million; and a Wells Fargo bank account
containing $100,000 - $250,000.… Rent from the Napa property totaled $15,000 - $50,000; rental
income from the vineyard totaled $50,001 - $100,000.
House members doing well
despite economic slump. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., one of the wealthiest members of
Congress, and her real estate-magnate husband Paul Pelosi spent between $1 million and $5 million to
buy the home they'd been living in on San Francisco's Broadway. They also own a vineyard in St. Helena,
Calif., worth between $5 million and $25 million and a town house in Norden, Calif., valued between
$1 million and $5 million, according to annual financial disclosures released Monday [6/16/2008].
Filings provide a glimpse of corporate
Clintons. A close look at the delayed financial disclosure report of Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton for 2007 should banish any lingering thoughts that she and the former president are distinct
entities. As she entered the 2008 election year, the New York Democrat and Bill Clinton were clearly a
corporation and they were rich. … They sold 165 separate securities accounts in April, 2007. The
valuation tables employed in the form indicate they were worth up to $25,440,000. Significantly all
165 accounts were marked "J," meaning joint.
Lawyer in Edwards saga bankrolls Texas
Democrats. The Dallas lawyer who helped John Edwards' former mistress move across the country
has donated $3.5 million since 2005 to help fuel a Democratic resurgence in Texas, a newspaper reported
Saturday. Fred Baron has been by far the largest donor to a group called the Texas Democratic Trust, and
Republicans are now taking aim at candidates who take money connected to him.
A perfect
match: Barack Obama and the dogma-lite elite. Barack Obama's presidential campaign
has rested on two very different sources of financial support. The first has been well documented:
the million or so small donors who gave less than £100 each, largely through Obama's peerless website
and social networking efforts. The second is less well known, but far more significant in terms of
his future administration. These are the financiers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who
perceive in him not only a likely winner, from an investment perspective, but also a man whose rise
and ideology-lite politics closely mirror their own.
Help! I'm
a Hollywood Republican. It is, I kid you not, a badge of honor in Hollywood to hate
America. These airheads who have amassed millions through the free market economy constantly
spout nonsense about the need for a Scandinavian style socialist government. They don't even
know that the Scandinavian countries are economic basket cases. I'm not making this up. They
actually cruise Sunset Strip in their Bentleys and accuse Republicans of being greedy.
It Can't Get Any Worse?
Idling behind a Lexus this morning I saw the latest bit of agitprop from the Obama campaign — a
"Got Hope?" bumper sticker. The first question that popped into my mind was, "How bad can it be if
you're driving an ES 350?"
Obama's Little Red Schoolhouse.
[Barack Obama] recently told an interviewer that he opposes school choice because "although it might
benefit some kids at the top, what you're going to do is leave a lot of kids at the bottom." Not being
left behind are Obama's daughters, who attend the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.
There, tuition ranges from $15,528 for kindergarten to $20,445 for high school.
Michelle Obama says $600 is the price
of a pair of earrings. Michelle Obama said in Pontiac, Mich., on Wednesday [7/9/2008] that if her husband is
elected he will offer more than a "quick fix" on the economy. "You're getting $600 — what can you do with
that? Not to be ungrateful or anything, but maybe it pays down a bill, but it doesn't pay down every bill every
month," she said. "The short-term quick fix kinda stuff sounds good, and it may even feel good that first month
when you get that check, and then you go out and you buy a pair of earrings."
Reality sets in about Obama.
After abandoning his pledge to abide by public financing, this apostle of cleansing the political culture is now going
after the high rollers. As the July 3 New York Times reported, "Last week, the Obama campaign collected about
$5 million at an event featuring celebrities in Los Angeles. The evening began with a dinner at the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion for more than 200 people who had contributed $28,500 per couple, or raised $50,000."
Obama's Liberal Shock Troops:
In 2005, billionaire investor George Soros convened a group of 70 super-rich liberal donors in Phoenix to evaluate why their
efforts to defeat President Bush had failed. One conclusion was that they needed to step up their long-term efforts to
dominate key battleground states. The donors formed a group called Democracy Alliance to make grants in four areas:
media, ideas, leadership and civic engagement. Since then, Democracy Alliance partners have donated over $100 million
to key progressive organizations.
Cutting Off Energy: The super luxury Kingsmill Resort,
owned by Anheuser-Busch, sprawls over 2,900 lush, rolling acres along the James River in Virginia. It's
an incongruous place for a meeting of liberal Democrats who never tire of attempting to ingratiate themselves
with America's blue-collar workers, folks who could never afford the luxury of traveling to Kingsmill for a
round of golf followed by a session in the spa for the "gentlemen's skin renewal" or "revitalizing pedicure"
services.
Democracy Alliance: Billionaires for Big
Government. Corporate America now leans left. A year ago, six of the ten top-giving industries gave more
to the GOP, but the watchdog Center for Responsive Politics finds that all are now giving more to Democrats. (The
Politico, October 15, 2007) Of more than $577 million donated by business, 56% has gone to Democrats, 44% to
Republicans.
Flatbed Hillary: One of the
more bizarre developments of this campaign season has been to see Hillary Clinton, of all people, turned into
an electoral favorite of blue-collar white voters. The reality is that very few people in politics have
more contempt for white workers than does this product of Park Ridge, Wellesley, the Senate Watergate Committee,
and the super powered Rose Law Firm.
The Democrats'
recurring nightmare: The Party of the Little Guy appears to be caught in what Marxists like to
call a contradiction. Their rhetoric is all about compassion and helping, and taking care of the
unfortunate. But their political philosophy is anchored in elitism: the notion that the government
(and the elites running it) know better than Everyman what is good for him. … It turns out that Obama is
as much of a snob as Kerry, albeit with a wife who thinks she is poor when they earn a million bucks a year,
and feels aggrieved at the cruel way America has treated her.
Media have a
knack for hyping up the news. Journalists still love to claim that the Democrats are the party
for the poor and middle-class workers, while the Republicans cater to the rich. If the truth be told and
emphasized, the Republicans gain more of their political contributions in smaller amounts compared to the huge
personal and political donations by the fat cats and corporations to the Democrats.
Rangel Rents
Apartments at Bargain Rates. While aggressive evictions are reducing the number of
rent-stabilized apartments in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel is enjoying four of them,
including three adjacent units on the 16th floor overlooking Upper Manhattan in a building owned by one
of New York's premier real estate developers.
Congressman Charlie Rangel Facing Questions About His Harlem
Rental Apartments. The New York Times reports that Rangel — who is chairman of the House Ways and
Means Committee — has three adjacent apartments at a building called Lennox Terrace. He also has a fourth
apartment which he uses as an office despite regulations that require a rent-stabilized apartment to be used only as
a primary residence.
Mr. Rangel's Very Good Deal.
Rent-stabilized apartments in New York City are supposed to be a way for the city to retain residents with moderate
incomes — teachers and police officers, for example. These apartments are very hard to get and even harder
to keep. And in recent years, too many senior citizens or struggling families have been evicted from their
apartments — and the city itself — as landlords upgrade buildings and raise prices.
Only after getting caught...
Rangel:
I'm Evicting Myself. Rep. Charles Rangel said today he will give up one of his four rent-stabilized
apartments, for which he has paid about half of market rate for more than a decade. "The decision has
been made to relocate as soon as possible," said Rangel spokesman Emile Milne, as the Harlem Democrat faced
a storm of controversy.
Rangel's
$trangle. Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel has become an albatross around the necks of
congressional candidates across the country. In at least a dozen contests, Republican challengers are
demanding their Democratic rivals return donations from Rangel, who is under fire for having four
rent-regulated apartments.
Rangel
Calls for Probe into Letterhead of Law. Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel said yesterday [7/17/2008] that
he will seek an ethics ruling on whether it is proper for him to continue using congressional stationery to solicit
funds for a controversial Harlem center named for him. However, Rangel said the House Ethics Committee had no
business probing his leases on four rent-stabilized apartments in Harlem, which critics have blasted as improper.
Clintons' wealth skyrockets by 5,600
percent. Hillary and Bill Clintons' wealth has skyrocketed to more than $20 million last year, a
staggering 5,600 percent increase since President Clinton left the White House, according to their newly released tax
records. In Clinton's last full year in office, 2000, he and Mrs. Clinton earned $357,026. Last year, their
estimated total income was $20.4 million. That is an increase of more than 5,600 percent.
The Clinton Cash Register: Bill Clinton collected
$10,085,000 in speeches alone in 2007, a figure that underscores his continued rock-star credentials on the
international lecture circuit, according Sen. Hillary Clinton's financial disclosure forms for 2007, which
were released Wednesday morning by the Secretary of the Senate.
Rapid rise of
Hillary's fortune: The meteoric rise of the Clintons to the ranks of America's wealthiest families has
presented a challenge to Hillary Clinton's presidential ambitions at a critical stage in the battle for the Democratic
nomination. The Clintons left the White House burdened by debt but have earned $109 million in the past eight
years, putting them among the 14,500 richest families in the country and presenting a stark contrast to the impoverished
families championed by her campaign.
Canada a cash cow for Clinton.
Bill Clinton landed at Pearson International Airport one day in the autumn of 2005, and by the time he boarded
his plane at the end of the day the former president's excellent Canadian adventure had earned him $475,000.
In that one day in the GTA, he had earned double his annual salary as president of the United States.
Bill
Clinton just keeps on getting. Bill charges as much as half a million dollars to deliver the
platitudes, homilies and dramatic pauses that made him bigger than Oprah. … Obviously, the most effective
way to save lives and deliver hope to young people the world over is to hobnob with corporate tycoons and give
speeches at half a million dollars a pop. And so that is what Clinton has done. Tirelessly.
For eight long, wearying years.
Bill Clinton Earned
$15.4 Million From Burkle Firm Since 2003. "Most people who make that much money work
for it," said Yale University tax law professor Michael Graetz, a former Treasury Department official in
President George H.W. Bush's administration. "What are they being paid for, and if it's the
Sheikh of Dubai paying the husband of somebody who might be the next president of the United States, what
do they think they're paying for?"
Boy,
That's Rich, Bubba! Bill and Hillary Clinton have earned a staggering $109 million since
leaving the White House — fueled by the former president's lucrative paid speeches, books and
business deals at home and abroad, according to tax returns released late yesterday [4/4/2008]. The records give
the most detailed glimpse yet of the one-man cottage industry that Bill Clinton has become since 2001.
Clintons Report
$109 Million in Income Over 8 Years. It's good to be the Clintons. On the same day that she proposed
creating a cabinet-level position devoted to ending poverty, Hillary Clinton and her husband reported earning more than
$109 million over eight years in newly released tax data.
Are We an 'On Your Own Society'?
America has become a heartless "On Your Own Society," Hillary Clinton argues, where "the fruits of our modern
global economy are showing up in the corporate bottom line, not in workers' paychecks." This is hardly
new rhetoric from Democrats. … So if Clinton isn't original, is she at least correct in her assessment?
Liberals
and Their False Idols: Politicians, unlike cops, firemen and members of the military, are not
called upon to do anything dangerous, heroic or the least bit self-sacrificial. Instead, they build up
fiefdoms on your tax dollars, go on junkets around the world, receive the sort of health care only millionaires
can dream of and the sort of pensions no working stiff can even imagine.
Al Gore's $100 Million Makeover:
Al and Tipper used to fret occasionally about money. Not anymore. They have a new multimillion-dollar home
in a tony section of Nashville and a family home in Virginia, and have recently bought a multimillion-dollar condo at
the St. Regis condo/hotel in San Francisco. Available data indicate a net worth well in excess of
$100 million.
Al
Gore's Convenient IPO: What's an Emmy worth? If you're former Vice-President Al Gore,
it's worth just north of $1 million a year and roughly another $48 million in stock. That's a
hefty sum for a guy who of late has traveled the globe as a goodwill ambassador for mankind, stressing the need
for humanity to wake up to the dangers of global warming. Where's Gore getting the dough? From a
tiny, lightly watched cable TV channel called CurrentTV.
Why the Obamas don't advertise their standard of
living: Campaigning for her husband in Zanesville before the Ohio primary, Michelle Obama described to a group
of women how hard it had been for her and Barack to make ends meet: "We spend between the two kids, on extracurriculars
outside the classroom, we're spending about $10,000 a year on piano and dance and sports supplements. And summer
programs... Do you know what summer camp costs?"
Obamas Donated Less
Than 1% of Their 2000-2004 Income. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife
Michelle gave $10,772 of the $1.2 million they earned from 2000 through 2004 to charities, or less than
1 percent, according to tax returns for those years released today by his campaign. … Bill Burton,
a campaign spokesman, said the Obamas gave as much as they could afford.
Obama's
Former Pastor Getting $1.6M Home in Retirement. A two-week FOX News investigation ... has
uncovered where Wright will be spending a good deal of his time in retirement, and it is a far cry from
the impoverished Chicago streets where the preacher led his ministry for 36 years. FOX News has
uncovered documents that indicate Wright is about to move to a 10,340-square-foot, four-bedroom home in
suburban Chicago, currently under construction in a gated community.
Wright Moves On Up.
The concept of practicing what you preach is apparently lost on Wright. After decades of lecturing blacks
to remain loyal to the black ghetto and eschew the white suburbs, he's now building a 10,340-square-foot mansion
in the white suburbs. Among its amenities: an elevator, a rubberized exercise room and room for a
future theater and indoor swimming pool.
McMansion Marxism:
Padding between his reported whirlpool and circular driveway, or maybe while fishing out a snack from the
butler's pantry, Wright can develop some thoughts for volume one of his memoirs on the blinding racism of
bourgeois living in the USA. Not that Wright is alone in his McMansion Marxism. That's the familiar
posture of most radicals: the farther they get from Marxism, the better it looks; the more America
protects their celebrity, status, and wealth, the more secure they feel in denouncing it.
A Rich Irony:
Democrats have always insisted their party is the friend of the poor and unfortunate. But a new
analysis suggests their carefully cultivated image is false. By crunching Internal Revenue Service
data, the Heritage Foundation has found that the Democratic Party is the party of the rich. Democrats
now represent a majority of the country's wealthiest congressional districts.
Inconvenient Al Guzzles More
Electricity Than 20 Average Right-Wing Climate-Change Deniers. [Al] Gore's mansion, [20-room,
eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month
than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service
(NES). In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by
reducing electricity consumption at home.
Gore Travels in Style.
Take for instead, his mode of both, air and ground transportation. Since Gore only travels in hybrid
vehicles, the Lexus that got him from the airport to the Brandt Centre was just that -- an $80,000
hybrid. Turning now to the air, with the fuel Gore's private plane used for this trip, you could probably
take your vehicle and travel back and forth between Vancouver and Halifax about four-and-a-half times.
The great environmentalist?
Tennessee
mine enriched Gore, scarred land. Al Gore Jr. received more than $500,000 in royalties
from the owners of zinc mines who held mineral leases on his farm near Carthage, Tenn. Now the mines
have a new owner and are scheduled to reopen later this year. Before the mines closed in 2003, they
emitted thousands of pounds of toxic substances and several times, the water discharged from the mines into
nearby rivers had levels of toxins above what was legal.
Party of the Rich: Using data
provided by the Internal Revenue Service, [Mike] Franc looked at single-filer taxpayers earning more than
$100,000 per year and married joint-filers earning more than $200,000 per year. Franc discovered
that the Democratic Party is the "party of the rich." Franc said, "Electing Democrats is very closely
correlated with how many wealthy households are in a district."
Bill Clinton May
Get Payout of $20 Million. Former President Clinton stands to reap around $20 million — and
will sever a politically sensitive partnership tie to Dubai — by ending his high-profile business
relationship with the investment firm of billionaire friend Ron Burkle.
Clinton
loaned her campaign $5 million. Senator Hillary Clinton confirmed at a press conference in
Virginia this afternoon [2/6/2008] that she'd loaned her campaign $5 million … She's drawing on a
pool of personal wealth estimated to be as much as $41 million, as well as a reported payout to
Bill Clinton of $20 million from the Los Angeles billionaire manager Ron Burkle.
Clinton gang sets
up $1 million heist in the Hamptons. The Clintons are heading for the beach this summer
along with the Hamptons moneyed elite. Next weekend they will be attending five fundraisers that could
collect $1 million for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign war chest.
Clinton Foundation Raised $135 Million. Former
President Clinton's nonprofit foundation raised more than $135 million last year as his wife ramped up her
bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to tax forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service.
The
Clintons' New Escape: Bill and Hillary Clinton have their eyes on the ball when it comes to
2008, but in the meantime, has anyone noted that they bought a piece of beach property in the Dominican
Republic right next to the beautiful domain of designer Oscar de la Renta and his wife, Annette?
Clinton made $10 million
for one year of speaking. Bill Clinton has taken home more than $10 million for his speaking
engagements in the last year. The former US President is one of the best-paid speakers on the lucrative
US circuit, but his biggest single fee was £230,000 paid for a talk in London last September.
To
Avoid Conflicts, Clintons Liquidate Holdings. Concerned that their personal finances might become
a political liability once again, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton in April sold the millions of dollars of
stocks held by their blind trust after learning that those investments included oil and pharmaceutical
companies, military contractors and Wal-Mart, their aides said Thursday.
Bill Clinton: $10
Million Haul for Talks. Former President Clinton, who might someday be the first spouse,
traveled the globe last year, making more than $10 million giving speeches at corporate retreats, trade
group gatherings and motivational venues. The speaking engagements and their top-dollar fees were
detailed in Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate financial disclosure report, made public Thursday. The
report showed that the former president and his presidency-seeking wife had assets of at least $10 million
and might have as much as $50 million with no liabilities.
$10
Million Blabber Bubba. A globetrotting Bill Clinton raked in a whopping $10 million last
year on the speaking circuit — his most successful year since leaving the Oval Office — pushing the former
first couple's nest egg to as much as $50 million. New personal financial records filed in the
Senate by Hillary Rodham Clinton showed the ex-president hit the talk tour with gusto, delivering speeches
across Europe, and in Australia, Canada, the Bahamas and South Africa.
Hillary Defends Corporate Jet Use.
On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton was challenged by the press about the Clinton family's acceptance of more than
$900,000 in free private travel from Infousa, a company linked to scamming the elderly. … And it's not like
the Clintons couldn't afford to buy an air ticket — the family income since 2001 has been more than
$63 million! So why do they have to freeload from rich friends?
2008
Candidates Rely on Private Jets. A flock of small jets took flight from Washington Thursday
[4/26/2007], each carrying a Democratic presidential candidate to South Carolina for the first debate of the
political season. … No one jet pooled, no one took commercial flights to save money, fuel or emissions.
Corzine
earned $6.1 million last year. Multimillionaire New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine earned about
$6.1 million during his first year as governor, nearly $50 million less than what he earned in 2005,
according to income tax estimates released Thursday by his office.
Save the Green Movement by Stopping
the Insanity. Laurie David has been labeled a "Gulfstream liberal" by Eric Alterman, himself a
proud member of the Left and a regular columnist for the Nation. He recognizes that Ms. David's
brand of environmentalism is nothing more than a facade, a distraction from the financially secure yet
intellectually boring life of the fabulously wealthy. But this hobby has dire consequences for the rest
of us.
Call
him 'Dollar Bill' Clinton. No one brings in money for the Democratic Party like Bill Clinton.
Before the former president and party mega-star even took the stage at Newark's Performing Arts Center for New Jersey
Democrats' annual fundraiser Friday night, the party has pulled in $1.3 million and counting. Some of
the money was raised because of Clinton's unmatched ability to draw out deep-pocketed donors.
Ex-presidents'
big payday. We learned last week that in the six years since Bill Clinton left office, he has
pocketed a staggering $40 million in speaking fees. Tirelessly working the lecture circuit, he has
delivered hundreds of speeches, often at a price of $150,000 and up. Two-thirds of his speaking money
has come from foreign sources, according to the Washington Post, including "Saudi Arabia's Dabbagh investment
firm, which paid $600,000 for two speeches, and China's JingJi Real Estate Development Group, run by a local
Communist Party official, which paid $200,000 for a speech."
All the ex-President's money.
Former President Bill Clinton is one of a kind, but we knew that already. No president before
him has managed to cash in from his time in office with such shameless abandon. A Washington
Post story by John Solomon and Matthew Mosk is staggering in its revelations of Clinton's greed.
In the six years since he left the presidency, Clinton has taken in nearly $40 million -- between
nine and 10 million of it last year. Clinton averaged "almost a speech a day" in 2006.
Twenty percent of his fees reportedly "were for personal income." The rest of his speeches,
says the Post, were for no fee or for donations to Clinton's foundation.
Clinton and the Boardrooms: Senator Clinton has
spent the past few months raising tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from corporate
America. She splits her time between a $2.8 million mansion in Washington and a $1.7 million,
five-bedroom house in Chappaqua.
Hill
Hauls In a Cool $10 Million. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's weekend trip to California capped off
a breathless week of fund-raising that hauled in nearly $10 million, revealing the reach of her network
of wealthy supporters.
Deval says state police helicopters
are at his service. Throwing caution to the political wind, Gov. Deval Patrick is hopping state police
helicopters for beat-the-traffic trips, and aides say he'll keep using the taxpayer-funded chopper chauffeur despite
his predecessor Jane Swift's public slapdown for similar flights. "The state police helicopter is there for his
use when he needs it for official business," said Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy. "The governor during the
campaign pledged to be governor of the entire state," she added. "He's not going to be a governor who sits
in his office on Beacon Hill."
A
spendy dinner for Obama backers. More than 350 generous campaign contributors — some
of them donating $28,500 to dine with a presidential candidate — cheered Democrat Barack Obama on
Wednesday [8/7/2008] at an exclusive fundraiser for him at the Hilton Minneapolis Hotel.
Hillary and Barack battle it out
for Hollywood elite's millions. Barack Obama's surging campaign for the White House is winning
him new friends in Hollywood, where chequebooks speak louder than political opinions and some of the most
influential entertainment industry figures are already promising big-money contributions that might otherwise
be going to Hillary Clinton.
Hollywood heavyweights set
to rake in cash. One of the first major fund-raisers for the budding Barack Obama presidential
campaign will be hosted by entertainment moguls David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg — that's the Hollywood
buzz.
Oprah
Winfrey is TV's richest celebrity. Winfrey, whose media empire includes a magazine
and stakes in syndicated daytime talk shows by Dr. Phil McGraw and Rachael Ray, earned an estimated
$260 million between June 2006 and June 2007.
The Porkbusters Hall of Shame: If you're a
West Virginian, you have to recognize a central truth: it's Robert Byrd's state -- you're just living
in it. In his over forty-eight years (!) in the United States Senate, Senator Byrd has achieved a
pork record that is second to none. From the Robert C. Byrd Expressway to the Robert C. Byrd
Freeway; the Robert C. Byrd Institute to the Robert C. Byrd Federal Building (both of them), Senator
Byrd has truly left his mark on West Virginia -- and the federal budget. It would be appropriate to
erect some kind of monument to his century-spanning resume -- except that he already did so himself.
Pelosi's
Four-Day 'Coronation' Draws Conservative Criticism. The swearing-in of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
as the first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives next week will be the focus of four days of
concerts, church services and fund-raising events that conservative analysts called a "coronation" that will
emphasize partying over policy.
Billionaires
for Big Government. The Democracy Alliance does not endorse candidates for public office. … This
emerging vanguard of the proletariat is hardly open to the common rabble because its members must satisfy one
requirement: They must be rich. Members, who are called "partners," pay an initial $25,000 fee and
$30,000 in yearly dues. They also must pledge to give at least $200,000 annually to groups that the
alliance endorses. Partners meet two times a year in committees to decide on grants, which focus on
four areas: media, ideas, leadership and civic engagement. Recommendations are then made to the DA
board, which passes them on to all DA partners. The alliance discourages partners from discussing DA
affairs with the media, and it requires its grant recipients to sign nondisclosure agreements.
Why
Kerry's crack matters. Despite their pose as "the party of the little guy," the dominant Democrats
are patronizing elitists who were born to privilege — people like Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy,
Nancy Pelosi and, yes, John Kerry. As a matter of fact, the very phrase "little guy" or "little people"
is obviously condescending. The people who volunteer for our armed services aren't little in any
sense: they're big and self-reliant and proud and powerful and determined, and rightly annoyed by
Kerry's demeaning but revealing attitude. Predictably, major veterans' organizations (including the
American Legion) have demanded his apology.
The elite doesn't understand
the South. The know-it-alls in New York and Washington don't have a clue about the American
South. They don't comprehend its political might and economic muscle, and thus the ultimately crippling
impact Katrina is going to have on them, too. It's that simple.
Kerry Asked About
Campaign Donations. Democrats could win the House and maybe even the Senate next month. So
why isn't John Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential nominee, opening his wallet to help? That's the
question raised on a Web site, heyjohn.org, which points out Americans gave more than $300 million to the
Massachusetts senator's bid for the White House two years ago and argues Kerry should be more generous.
Kerry
is pressured to share campaign wealth. As he campaigns extensively on behalf of House and Senate
candidates, Senator John F. Kerry is under increasing pressure from Democratic Party leaders and activists
to tap his $14 million campaign account and spread the money around to help the party's efforts.
Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, has given less than $15,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
since the beginning of 2005.
Kerry's inconvenient truth.
While running for eco-moralizer-in-chief in 2004, Kerry was asked by The Detroit News editorial board what car
he drove. Without any hint of irony, he said: "Well, we have a couple of Chrysler minivans.
We have a Jeep. ... and a PT Cruiser up in Boston. ... and we have some SUVs. ... and an old Dodge 600 that
I keep in the Senate. ... and I also have a Chevy. A big Suburban."
Lifestyles of Lear Jet
liberals: Limousine liberals, move over. You've been out-glammed by Lear Jet liberals who
burn beaucoup fossil fuels in the sky as they soar around the planet fighting global warming. Last week,
they flew to their Mecca, the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York City. For the left-leaning
and loaded, this is the meeting that has it all — the mega-rich paying to be seen caring about poor
people and the environment, while posing for photos with former President Bill Clinton.
The Top 1% ... of What?. As many
others have done, Virginia's Democratic Senator-elect Jim Webb recently complained in The Wall Street Journal
of an "ever-widening divide" in America, claiming "the top 1% now takes in an astounding 16% of national
income, up from 8% in 1980." Those same figures have been repeatedly echoed in all major newspapers,
including The Journal. Yet the statement is clearly false.
Former President Rakes
in $7.5 Million. Life after the White House has proven lucrative for former President Clinton,
who made nearly $7.5 million in speaking fees last year and sometimes earned as much as $350,000 for a
single appearance.
Liberals pledge
millions to revive US left. Scores of the US's richest people have pledged
$1,000,000 or more towards a new attempt to reinvigorate the American left and counter the
powerful Republican political machine. The money will be funnelled through an organisation
called the Democracy Alliance which, according to a report in the Washington Post, will help fund
a network of thinktanks and advocacy groups seeking to halt the shift to the cultural and
political right.
Who would have thought Hillary would be perceived as too conservative?
Stars take the shine
off Hillary's bid. From George Clooney to Sharon Stone to Susan Sarandon, the
Beverly Hills set has turned on Clinton. … Hollywood liberals are a vital source of
election funds. "Hollywood is like a piggy bank for the Democrats. No one wants
that cut off," said one senior Democrat activist.
Guest-worker
plan is un-American. Sen. Ted Kennedy may do a lot of talking about his love for
the little guy, but if two major proposals he has made in this Congress were to become law, it
would be a disaster for the poorest American workers and a blow to American freedom.
Kennedy to Cash In.
A bidding war has erupted for the rights to Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-Mass.) autobiography, which could end up well
into the mid-seven figure range. The floor price to get in the running is believed to be around
$2 million.
Liberals and class: Part
II. Having imagined a world in which each individual has the same probability of success as anyone
else, intellectuals have been shocked and outraged that the real world is nowhere close to that ideal.
Liberals and class: part
III. Sometimes it seems as if liberals have a genius for producing an unending stream of ideas
that are counterproductive for the poor, whom they claim to be helping. Few of these notions are more
counterproductive than the idea of "menial work" or "dead-end jobs."
Rich Liberals: John Kerry and his
wife, Teresa, are worth an estimated $500 million. Along with a $35 million
private Gulfstream V jet and an $800,000 boat, they own five homes in the
U.S. (Source: MSNBC.com)
There is much more information about John Kerry (in case you've
forgotten) here.
Social Security reform threatened by
elitist liberals. According to public record, one of every three members of the Senate and one out
of every four members of the House are millionaires. Despite popular stereotypes of Republicans as the party
of the rich and Democrats as the party of the working class, the wealthiest member of the Senate (John Kerry of
Massachusetts) and the wealthiest member of the House (Jane Harman of California) are both Democrats. Of
the top six wealthiest senators, five are Democrats.
Easy money in California:
Much of this exclusionary agenda is pushed by people who inherited great wealth and are using it to buy a sense of
importance as deep thinkers and moral leaders protecting the environment. The foundations and movements they
spearhead are driving working people out of areas dominated by limousine liberals, who are constantly proclaiming
their concern for the poor, the children and minorities.
The oldest fraud: Election
frauds are nothing new and neither are political frauds in general. The oldest fraud is the belief that the
political left is the party of the poor and the downtrodden. The election results in California are only the
latest evidence to give the lie to that belief. The most affluent counties were where Kerry had his strongest
support.
Party stereotype update.
Democrats: the party of the little guy. Republicans: the party of the wealthy. Those
images of America's two major political wings have been frozen for decades. The stereotypes were always
incomplete, but for a long time they reflected rough truths. Over the last generation, however, that has
dramatically changed.
John Kerry, Useful Idiot.
While Kerry's handlers might try to cast their candidate as a man of the people, he is anything but. Remember,
this is a man who has twice married multimillionaire heiresses; a man who has multiple mansions on multiple continents;
a man who windsurfs (poorly) off tony Nantucket; a man who rides a bicycle that costs more than some new cars; a
man who spends, oh, maybe $15,000 to jet his hairdresser cross country for a trim. Yes, John Kerry is
the latest in a line of "inheritance-welfare liberals" — those who were raised dependent on
inheritance rather than self-reliance. Is it any wonder, then, that the character and values of these
inheritance-welfare liberals are all but indistinguishable from the character and values of those who depend on
state welfare?
Kerry's Class Warfare: "Working Families" vs. "The
Privileged". In his victory speech at the Iowa caucus, John Kerry uttered a line that exquisitely
captured a staple of his Leftist politics — class warfare. "Count the cost that working
families are paying while the privileged ride high and reap the rewards," he said.
Vote your gun. Gun owners
and hunters, don't let Kerry fool you with his "I'm a gun owner and hunter and I respect the Second Amendment" bovine
scatology. Kerry is about as pro-gun and pro-hunting as I am pro-Dixie Chicks, Michael Jackson, Cat Stevens
and Hans Blix. Have you seen any video or stills of Kerry handling a gun? He looks about as
knowledgeable, natural and comfortable with a firearm as Al Gore does trying to French kiss Tipper.
Here's your
bill. There is no bigger name in making a business out of post-presidential life than
Mr Clinton. Reports have him earning well over $130,000 a speech, and this week he is making
at least three….
John Edwards
Edwards' haircuts cost a pretty penny.
Looking pretty is costing John Edwards' presidential campaign a lot of pennies. The Democrat's
campaign committee picked up the tab for two haircuts at $400 each by celebrity stylist Joseph
Torrenueva of Beverly Hills, Calif., according to a financial report filed with the Federal Election
Commission.
John's $400
Trim: Democratic White House hopeful John Edwards insists on first-class
pampering — enjoying $400 haircuts on the road and plunking down nearly $500 for swank
spa treatments, according to campaign records. Edwards, who touts himself as the poor man's
champion and even launched his bid from New Orleans' hurricane-devastated Lower Ninth Ward, tucked
the vanity treatments into his 5,236-page first-quarter Federal Election Commission filing under
"consulting" expenses.
Update:
Cost Of Edwards' Haircut Hits
$1,250. Beverly Hills stylist Joseph Torrenueva tells the Washington Post that one of his haircuts
for Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards cost $1,250 because Torrenueva had to fly to Atlanta and missed
two days of work as a result. … Torrenueva, a Democrat, said he began cutting Edwards' hair for free but wound
up charging him $300 to $500 per haircut, plus the cost of airfare and hotel stays. That's because Torrenueva
was often forced to meet Edwards on the campaign trail to shear his locks.
Hair
comes the groomed. Poor John Edwards. He follows Barack Obama on the
podium at a conference of mostly anti-war Democrats and it's like watching air whistle out of
a balloon. Obama, a charismatic candidate for change in the mould of Bill Clinton and
John F. Kennedy, has just worked the crowd brilliantly. Then Edwards walks
in….
The Breck
girl and (tax-funded?) haircuts. John Edwards has acknowledged that one haircut (and almost
certainly at least two others) he received during the 2004 general-election campaign, when he was the
Democrats' vice presidential nominee, cost $1,250. His staff insists that Mr. Edwards paid for the
haircuts himself, but it has declined to provide the evidence in the form of cancelled checks or credit-card
statements.
Edwards touts
record as trial lawyer. Democrat John Edwards says his experience as a trial
lawyer makes him the presidential contender best able to give voters hope — and to give
the establishment grief.
The evolution
of John Edwards: John Edwards tells voters that there are still two Americas. What Iowa
caucusgoers must decide is if there are two John Edwardses. Four years ago, the fresh-faced then-North
Carolina senator defended his support for the Iraq war, prescribed a gradual approach to health care reform
and told Iowa caucusgoers not to expect him to criticize his fellow Democrats running for president.
Today, he calls his Iraq vote a mistake, embraces universal health care and regularly attacks party
front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
Two Americas. When
Sen. John Edwards ran for president four years ago, the North Carolina Democrat declared that President Bush
had divided the nation into "two Americas ... one America that does the work, another America that reaps the
reward." Turns out that the other America lives right next door to the 28,000-square-foot,
$5.3 million mansion Mr. Edwards has built near Chapel Hill, N.C.
Edwards
Takes Heat Over Lavish Estate. With a current building value of $4.3 million, the unfinished
Edwards estate is already about $1 million more expensive than any other house in the county, according to
tax records. It sits on land worth about $1.1 million. Edwards first purchased the land in
2004, during his failed run as vice president. He recently sold his mansion in Washington's tony Georgetown
neighborhood for $5.2 million.
How
John Edwards makes his millions grow: Edwards' sprawling, 48-page campaign-finance disclosure for
2006 reveals substantial investments in limited partnerships, subprime-mortgage lenders and an offshore hedge
fund. The latter two run contrary to stands he has taken as a candidate.
The Party of
the Rich. The GOP has historically been the party of both Main Street and Wall Street. But
over the past decade, the plutocrats have increasingly become Democrats. Billionaires for Bush are
increasingly outnumbered by billionaires who hate Bush. And Republicans in limousines are being
outpaced by Democrats in Lear Jets.
In the Beverly
Hills Style: Candidate's $400 Coiffure. John Edwards, the North Carolina Democrat,
announced on Thursday that he was reimbursing his campaign $800 to cover what his aides said was the cost of
two haircuts. … Mr. Edwards has presented himself in the Democratic field as an advocate of
working-class Americans, lamenting the nation's growing economic disparity.
$400 haircut could ruin one's image.
Granted, John Edwards is a wealthy man and he can pay whatever he wants for a trim. But those of us in the
cheap seats are likewise entitled to think his pricey coif sends a message jarringly at odds with the populist
theme of Edwards' campaign. After all, this is the guy who likes to style himself the "son of a
millworker," standing up for the common man. The common man, not to put too fine a point on it, doesn't
pay $400 for a trim.
Edwards
Got Rich Hurting the Poor. Trailing in the polls, John Edwards spent the past week telling the poor
and downtrodden how much he cares about them. He even insisted that his Kennedy-esque "poverty tour" was
not part of his campaign to capture the White House. Yeah, just like all those years he spent latched
to the back bumper of an ambulance were all out of the goodness of his heart.
Don't shut Edwards up.
"They want to shut me up," says John Edwards, who apparently thinks jokes about his $400 haircuts are part of a
plot to keep him quiet. I am on his side. Leave the man alone. Let his jaw keep flapping at
100 mph. With every word the Democratic candidate for president utters, the public learns that much
more about his demagogic, hypocritical phoniness. Even in a recent Creston, Iowa, tantrum about scary forces
spouting trivia to drown out his seriousness, he was busily providing evidence that bunkum is his specialty.
Poor Scam:
John Edwards is hawking only himself. Last week, we learned that Edwards received $55,000 to give
a speech, "Poverty, the Great Moral Issue Facing America," at the University of California, Davis. The
poor students who attended were charged more than $17 a ticket. Earlier this month, it was reported that
despite the fact he denounces predatory lending and subprime mortgages for the poor, Edwards made nearly
$500,000 as a consultant to a hedge fund involved in that business.
Is
Edwards running for king? He already has a castle. When it comes to big houses, how big is too big?
The answer apparently is 28,000 square feet, which is the size of John Edwards' North Carolina home. If
Edwards wants to continue being in the top tier of Democratic presidential hopefuls, he may well have to put
a "For Sale" sign on his behemoth of a house and move into ordinary rich man's digs, like, say, a 12,000
square foot mansion.
Elizabeth
Edwards Favors "Rage". How in the world did these vile women find positions as the official
bloggers in the Edwards campaign? According to Men's Vogue magazine, they were hired by, you guessed it,
St. Elizabeth. And even after their wretched bigotry triggered a national outcry, John Edwards
refused to fire them. But Elizabeth Edwards wasn't confronted on a single one of these statements during
any of her media appearances.
That Was No Lady -- That Was My Husband.
The Edwards campaign is apparently still running low on donations, so this week they went back to their top fundraiser: me.
Nonprofit center benefited Edwards.
John Edwards ended 2004 with a problem: how to keep alive his public profile without the benefit of a presidential
campaign that could finance his travels and pay for his political staff. Edwards, who reported this year
that he had assets of nearly $30 million, came up with a novel solution, creating a nonprofit organization
with the stated mission of fighting poverty.
Edwards
Returns Lobbyist Money. Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, who reiterated his commitment
Tuesday [7/24/2007] to never accept campaign donations from special interest groups, recently returned $3,400
from lobbyists. Edwards spokeswoman Colleen Murray said the campaign returned some money donated by a
registered lobbyist last week, and money from two others was refunded Tuesday after The Associated Press
inquired about the donations.
The Man Behind
the Haircut. Last month, Elizabeth Edwards complained: "We can't make John black, we can't
make him a woman. Those things get you a lot of press, worth a certain amount of fund-raising dollars."
That's right: All Edwards has is a wife with cancer. And as fiercely as the couple tries to play
that victim card, Edwards remains in third place.
Edwards'
finances and populism clash. Once again, John Edwards' money is getting in the way
of his message. His Democratic presidential campaign spent yesterday responding to a front-page
Wall Street Journal report showing that a company Edwards worked for and has invested $16 million
in, Fortress Investment Group, owns mortgage companies that have moved to foreclose on homeowners in
hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. The newspaper identified 34 homes in foreclosure suits.
Edwards backs mandatory
preventive care. Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said on Sunday
[9/2/2007] that his universal health care proposal would require that Americans go to the
doctor for preventive care.
It's easy to throw somebody else's money at the country's problems.
Edwards Calls For Universal Preschool.
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards rolled out a program for reforming primary education in the United States
on Friday [9/21/2007], proposing to pay teachers up to $15,000 more in high poverty areas and initiating universal
preschool. Edwards was to detail the proposals, which also include longer school years and reforming
No Child Left Behind, later in the day in a speech at a Des Moines middle school.
John Edwards Thinks He's Wiser than Ben Franklin.
Franklin you see, believed in the wisdom of the individual rather than the government, and he spoke often about
the need to guard against the growth of government and the inevitable intrusion on individual rights.
Believing he and government know best, Edwards has now announced more details about his plan for government to
take over the healthcare decisions for every man, woman, and child in America.
Two Edwardses: Once a
great hope, now unliked in party. The dynamic performance by John Edwards at last Sunday's
Democratic presidential debate, assailing his competitors for the nomination, got high marks from political
reporters, Republican politicians and left-wing activists. But not from the Democratic establishment.
Once their great hope for the future, Edwards now is massively unpopular among party regulars who neither
like nor trust him.
Edwards
plans big for presidency. John Edwards says if he's elected president, he'll institute a New
Deal-like suite of programs to fight poverty and stem growing wealth disparity. … Edwards, a former
Democratic senator from North Carolina, says the federal government should underwrite universal
pre-kindergarten, create matching savings accounts for low-income people, mandate a minimum wage
of $9.50 and provide a million new Section 8 housing vouchers for the poor.
Edwards gets $50,000 to make a speech about poverty
An embarrassment of
riches for John Edwards. Democrat John Edwards has eloquently established his credentials as an
advocate for the poor with a presidential campaign focused on the devastating effects of poverty in America.
But the former North Carolina senator's populist drive has hit some land mines: a pair of $400 haircuts, a
$500,000 paycheck from a hedge fund, and now a $55,000 payday for a speech on poverty to students at the
University of California-Davis.
John Edwards Charged $55,000 to Speak About Poverty, Media Mum.
If a Republican presidential candidate like Rudy Giuliani or John McCain charged a $55,000 fee to speak at a
major university about poverty, would the media be all over it like white on rice?
Immigration
Inconsistencies. There is, of course, the hilarious inconsistency and largeness of John Edwards
charging $50,000 to give a college speech on poverty; specifically noting that we live in two Americas, one
rich (those who get paid $50,000 for a half-hour speech) and one poor (those who have to take out a long-term
loan to pay for their college textbooks — and whose college payments paid for Edward's $50,000
speaking fee).
Edwards'
bumper sticker: Last month he was the poster boy for hair bling and offshore fund-dumping.
Last week he was spanked for receiving $55,000 to speak to a group of students at a public college about poverty
and getting a cut of the booty from the recovery of $500 million in sunken treasure.
Conservatives are more generous than liberals
Money, time, blood. Arthur C. Brooks spent
12 years as a professional French horn player with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and other
ensembles. Then he entered academia and is now Professor of Public Administration at Syracuse
University. In his well-researched book, "Who Really Cares: the Surprising Truth About
Compassionate Conservatism" (Basic, 2006), Brooks uses statistics to demolish years of propaganda.
Why are conservatives more
generous to the poor? So what are we to make of the fact that conservative Americans donate
30 percent more to charity than liberal Americans? A new book called Who Really Cares, by Syracuse
University professor Arthur Brooks, is not going to please the Howard Dean crowd. The book states
flat-out that religious Americans who vote Republican are far more likely to be generous to the downtrodden
than secular-progressives.
Professor Stumbles on
the obvious: Conservatives More Generous Than Liberals. When it comes to the charitable
impulse, liberals are only compelled to give away other peoples' money. Left to their own devices,
they'd just as soon pass the plate up and have somebody else fill it.
Who really
cares? People who identify themselves as conservatives donate money to charity more often than
people who identify themselves as liberals. They donate more money and a higher percentage of their
incomes. It is not that conservatives have more money. Liberal families average 6 percent
higher incomes than conservative families.
Charitable
Nation. The further to the left you are — particularly to the secular left —
the less likely you are to donate your time or money to charity. … What's interesting to me is that
Europeans are uncharitable for the same reason liberal secularists tend to be. In America, as in
Europe, the more you think the state should provide for everything, the less you think anybody else should
provide anything.
Why
the 'Christian Left' is not. Who was it that brought relief in record supply to Tsunami and Katrina
victims — not the leftist Academics, spoiled Hollywood starlets, or the National Organization for Women.
It was the bible-believing, faith practicing, church going religious right. For biblical Christians to
associate themselves in any way with the progressive leftists in America today is to associate oil with
water. So take your pick, choose to be a faithful, biblically centered Christian, or a godless, amoral
leftist — but the two do not go together.
Anti-capitalism
Much of the effort to "watch out for the little guy" is the result of the political left's
jealousy of other people's wealth, or guilt about their own wealth. Either way,
liberals can't stand it when capitalism succeeds. But it is a mistake to believe
that poor people are built up when rich people are torn down.
More class warfare.
A key element of the John Kerry-John Edwards campaign is an us-versus-them theme, where "us" are the poor and
middle class and "them" are the greedy rich. Edwards famously characterized this dichotomy as "Two
Americas" during his run for the Democratic nomination. The clear implication of the Democrats' message
is that the rest of us would somehow be better off if the rich were worse off.
'Depleting'
water, 'poisoning' drinks. For nearly four years a worldwide network of Leftist activists has been
trying to blacken the name of The Coca-Cola Company. The purpose of this corporate campaign is to put a
halt to ostensibly unjust business practices, particularly at Coke bottling plants in Third World countries.
Led by Ray Rogers, a renowned New York-based hired gun for organized labor, the campaign shows no signs of
slowing down. Exactly where Rogers' Campaign to Stop Killer Coke is getting its money is a separate,
if intriguing issue.
The
Few Jerks That Make Everybody Suffer. Every time [an overpaid executive] in effect pillages a
publicly held company, it provides more fodder for Democrats and liberals who perpetually seek to "tax the
rich." In "rich," of course, they usually include families with three kids and parents who are not
multimillionaires, but who might make a combined $250,000 yearly. In fact, the new Democratic Congress
may shove into higher tax brackets families earning far less than that.
Dems
to tackle "income inequality". Understanding [Barney] Frank requires understanding the deep
recesses of the Democrats' psyche about wealth and its creation. Recall former House Democratic Leader
Dick Gephardt of Missouri, who once said people of wealth in America are "the people who have won the lottery of
life." Obviously, Messrs. Frank and Gephardt consider the old hard-work formula dated and dysfunctional.
"Corporate Social Responsibility"
CSR: Corporate
Shakedown Racket. For those who value private property, unfettered competition and the principle
of taxation with representation, wake up and smell the new generation of power-hungry socialists hiding
within a Trojan Dragon called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Corporate
Social Responsibility: Picking 91 Million Pockets. Corporate executives are responsible for
obeying laws and regulations. However, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement is all about
business leaders spending company resources (a.k.a. other people's money) on social and environmental programs
that are not mandated by law. It does not take an economics guru to conclude that diverting corporate assets
away from activities that improve earnings endangers the financial wellbeing of millions of Americans.
General
Electric and Al Gore Scheme to Undermine Domestic Oil Drilling. It's tragic that key corporate giants
are on the wrong side of the energy debate. Rather than recognize that our current economy is dependent on fossil
fuels, too many CEOs have been seduced by the notion that corporate responsibility is defined by Al Gore's view of
climate science.
Forty Years of
Perverse "Social Responsibility": Lewis Carroll's "Looking Glass" logic too often seems to be a
guiding principle for environmental and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activists. They claim to be
committed to people and planet, not just profits — and to honesty, transparency, accountability and human
health. One would expect that such basic ethical standards would apply equally to for-profit companies
and nonprofit advocacy corporations. However, the activists who defined CSR standards routinely exempt
themselves and use the terms primarily to pressure companies, raise money and advance political agendas.
Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) is the Rope that will hang Capitalists. Karl Marx once remarked, "The
last capitalist we hang shall be the one who sold us the rope." However, Marx had no idea the rope would
be corporate social responsibility (CSR) and not greed. In keeping with CSR doctrine, CEOs are opening
their doors to activist groups with great fanfare in hopes of maximizing both "the social good" and corporate
profits. Regrettably, these CEO's are maximizing neither.
The responsible
corporation. Does anybody believe that companies should be socially irresponsible? I
don't think so. The problem is that few people seem to agree on what corporate social responsibility
actually means.
Putting Class Warfare in Context:
Even if you took every last dollar of profit and redistributed it into wages and benefits, it would
amount to a 21.6% hike across the board. And then the economy would collapse, because no sane
businessman will stay open (and thus provide jobs) if he's forbidden to make money.
GE Irresponsibility: CSR activists call
themselves stakeholders, and demand a controlling voice in all matters corporate. But they weren't
elected. They have little or no ownership interest in the company. And their only real "stake" is
a desire to advance their ideologies. Their agendas typically oppose energy development and emphasize
distant, minor, conjectural or exaggerated risks like global warming and "endocrine disruption."
Corporate Social
Responsibility cuts both ways. It is tiresome to note that Americans are divided
politically. Despite this fact, companies are becoming ever-more entrenched in political
issues. Not just any issues mind you; contentious issues that have already driven a wedge
through our country's political institutions.
Shining
the Light on Wal-Mart's Corporate Social Responsibility Blind Spot. Wal-Mart's emphasis on
fluorescent lighting illuminates a much deeper problem. First, it illustrates the company doesn't understand
the nature of its battle or the motivation of its adversaries. For the Left and its socialism leanings,
Wal-Mart is a symbol of capitalism and free enterprise. This represents a mortal threat to labor unions and
aspiring liberal politicians who value economic equality through wealth redistribution.
The economics
of CSR: Economics matters; the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement obscures basic
economic principles by redefining the meaning of a private transaction. Should this redefinition be
successful, our economic growth and vitality will suffer. Right now, the prognosis is not good because
the Corporate Social Responsibility movement is steadily gaining prominence in the business community.
CSR
and the Democratic takeover. It?s official. Nancy Pelosi is going to be the next Speaker of
the House and Harry Reid will be the next Majority Leader of the Senate. Should the Left consolidate its
power past 2008, the future of tax cuts and pro-growth legislation would be in doubt and economic growth would
suffer as a result. There is, however, another less obvious implication from the election that may
significantly affect the economic well-being of our country: the Democratic takeover of the Congress
hands the political levers of power to people who support the efforts of the Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) activists.
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