Chamber of Commerce Hates Anti-Business Candidates

[MzNov]

This is very scary.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-chamber8jan08,1,5346679.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true

Business v. the American people. Isn't that what John Edwards (and Dennis Kucinich) are talking about???

[smokey nj]

1. Thanks for the link, Ms. November

I hate Corporate fucks! :grr:
:hi: fuzzies!

[MzNov]

2. So you could get into the article smokey nj??

I hope you didn't have to register.

I wrote to John Edwards campaign today and suggested that they really push the Pro-Business, anit-corporate greed thing.

Isn't that guy a total asswipe?????

:hi: Hugs to the meatloaves! YAY, MM back tonight. I didn't get to say Happy BD to mr. smokey, you were already gone. Hope it was fabulous.

[smokey nj]

3. He's a HUGE asswipe!

Thanks Ms. N! Mr. smokey enjoyed his birthday! I'm so happy Mike's back tonight!! Good riddance Johnny Cake!!

[Catchawave]

4. Chamber of Commerce is very Conservative

They are always endorsing Republican candidates in my area with full page glitzy ads that mislead and misinform...ya know...Repuking the facts :D

[Two Americas]

5. the battle lines

We can't afford to be naive about what is happening and what is at stake.

The Republicans well know ehere the battle lines are drawn. They will not be sitting down at any table and giving any quarter or negotiating in good faith, they will not be "transcending those tired old liberal versus conservative politics," they will not be coming together with us based on hope or anything else, they will not be surrendering any power for the good of the country, they will not be embracing any new feel good politics or doing any healing of the divisions.

Read the entire article if you are able to. The president of the US Chamber of Commerce is saying that any candidates even talking negatively about corporations will be punished with vicious anonymous attack ads, and he has an enormous budget at his disposal to carry out the threats.

Excerpts from the article:

Alarmed at the increasingly populist tone of the 2008 political campaign, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is set to issue a fiery promise to spend millions of dollars to defeat candidates deemed to be anti-business. "We plan to build a grass-roots business organization so strong that when it bites you in the butt, you bleed," chamber President Tom Donohue said.

...

The chamber president is scheduled to announce the broad outlines of the organization's plans for the 2008 election and beyond at a news conference here today. Donohue also plans to fire a rhetorical warning shot across the bow of candidates considered unfriendly to business. "I'm concerned about anti-corporate and populist rhetoric from candidates for the presidency, members of Congress and the media," he said. "It suggests to us that we have to demonstrate who it is in this society that creates jobs, wealth and benefits -- and who it is that eats them." In advance of today's news conference, Donohue told The Times of his plans to be active in 140 congressional districts this year, as well as the presidential contest.

...

Under a system Donohue pioneered, corporations contribute money to the chamber, which then finances attack ads targeting individual candidates without revealing the name of the businesses involved in the ads. In 2000, drug companies paid the chamber to run advertisements in Michigan to help elect then-Republican Sen. Spencer Abraham. Pharmaceutical companies that year gave the chamber additional millions to run issue ads attacking mostly Democratic House candidates. And large corporations paid $1 million or more to support advertising campaigns against judges deemed too friendly to plaintiffs.

[MzNov]

6. and uphill battle lines they are.

I'm amazed (and shouldn't be) how hard we have to fight for the rights of average Americans. Some days I think we'll never win.

[Two Americas]

7. we won't win

We will never win if we don't know the nature of the battle.

We will never win if we cannot be honest about the enemy.

We will never win if we cannot build consensus and solidarity.

However, should we do those three things, we cannot fail.

These things have been done succesfully by our ancestors again and again, with far fewer resources and advantages.