The ‘U.S.’ Chamber Of Commerce Likens Obama To Qaddafi, Threatens White House

[sasha031]

Earlier this month, the White House floated the possibility of an executive order to require “companies seeking government contracts” to disclose contributions to groups that air political ads. And a few days ago, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) filed a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to demand rules mandating donor disclosure.

The move by the White House has been met with a fierce denunciation by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which ran one of the largest ad campaigns using secret corporate money in the midterm election last year. In an interview with the New York Times, Chamber executive Bruce Josten compared President Obama to Muammar Qaddafi, claiming that the Chamber will fight the order with the same resolve as military leaders currently bombing Libya:

The lobbyist, R. Bruce Josten, said in an interview that the powerful business bloc “is not going to tolerate” what it saw as a “backdoor attempt” by the White House to silence private-sector opponents by disclosing their political spending.

“We will fight it through all available means,” Mr. Josten said. In a reference to the White House’s battle to depose Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, he said, “To quote what they say every day on Libya, all options are on the table.”
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/27/us-chamber-obama-qaddafi/

[spanone]

1. the u.s. chamber of congress does not represent the u.s.

it has become the political arm of the republicans...

[TheKentuckian]

4. Correction: The Republicans are the political arm of the CoC

and have been as long as I can remember.

[librechik]

2. If they are so convinced they are in the right, why not put your name to the ads?

Oh, becasue they are shameful, false and ridiculous. It might make the Chamber look like it really is. Instead of the respectable image it puts out.

[Parker CA]

3. Great post, librechik!

[Squeech]

5. Exactly

Hey Chamber, what are you trying to hide from the American people?

[sasha031]

6. I agree, why don't they

[rurallib]

8. That is what I can not understand

They advertise to sell you their products and proudly annouce who they are.
Why then are they ashamed when they try to tell you how to think?
"proudly sponsored by Charles and David Koch, makers of Brawny paper towels, Angel Soft and Northern Quilted bath tissues"
I believe they do so when they sponsor a show on PBS

[kenny blankenship]

7. Ooh there are some people to "reach out" to!

Let's see, what Democratic principles and programs can we put to the knife to get these Chamber volk to like us? What's left, I mean?

[starroute]

9. Here's something I posted to another thread about this story

But it bears repeating -- a Time Magazine article from as far back as 1995, showing Josten and Boehner working hand and glove even then.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982729,00.html

Mar. 27, 1995

AT 11 A.M. LAST THURSDAY, CONGRESSMAN John Boehner took his seat at the head of a conference-room table a few steps from the Rotunda, beneath the Capitol dome. As the fourth-ranking Republican in the House and a field general in the war to pass the "Contract with America," Boehner (pronounced Bay-ner) looked at home. But his lieutenants, who were arrayed around the table strewn with coffee cups and cigarette butts, were not so natural a fit. They were not fellow lawmakers or even congressional staff members. They were lobbyists representing some of the richest special interests in the country. . . .

Welcome to the underside of the Republican revolution. To an extent unusual even for parasitic Washington, the House G.O.P. leadership has attached its fortunes to private lobbyists, and is relying on their far-flung influence to pass its agenda. Boehner's Thursday Group is the top of the pyramid of that sophisticated effort, serving as command central for a series of multimillion-dollar campaigns on behalf of the Contract with America. The stakes of the enterprise-and the potential rewards for the lobbyists-are huge. . . .

Not all Republicans think the alliance is a good idea. Some are worried that in its zeal to pass the contract, the leadership might be snuggling too close to the special interests that the all-important swing voters abhor. If the contract's tax cuts overtly favor corporations and the wealthy, says G.O.P. Representative Steve Schiff of New Mexico, "it will make us a sitting duck for those who argue that our party has capitulated to our allies." Democrats are already making the argument. "The Republicans are too close to business interests," charges Charles Schumer of New York. "That is their Achilles' heel." . . .

For the most part, though, the lobbyists are playing the good soldier and reveling in the experience of being at the right hand of power for a change. "The difference this year is that we're playing offense rather than defense," says Bruce Josten of the Chamber of Commerce. "It's very tiring but very exciting for all of us." It could also be very profitable.