About that "Hillary is a corporate stooge" meme...

Crossposted from dKos and SecuringAmerica.com

Though it is a convenient supposed "smackdown" for those opposed to Senator Clinton, the "Hillary is a corporate stooge" meme has a whole lot less basis in fact than most of them realize.  Cribbing from the Left Coaster (here, here and here), let me quote the conclusion reached there about Senator Clinton's record:

[T]he existing evidence, based on her Senatorial voting records compiled by Progressive Punch, Americans for Democratic Action, AFL-CIO and SEIU, does not really support this allegation. Indeed, the evidence suggests that Sen. Clinton's voting patterns are substantially and surprisingly progressive (ranging typically from 90-100%), including on corporate or labor issues. There are certainly serious issues where Sen. Clinton has unfortunately taken anti-progressive positions (e.g., her vote for a version of the Bankruptcy Bill in 2001), but the data reviewed here suggests that overall, she is far more progressive than corporatist. In the absence of additional or new data, I have to conclude that the label "Corporate Democrat", as applied to her, is inappropriate and extraordinarily misleading. In other words, while it is true that she has strong links to corporate America and corporatist interests, there is little or no evidence that she systematically votes in lock-step with those interests or even significantly in line with their positions.

But let's go to an example that shows her anti-corporate efforts: Hillary's opposition to corporate interests was at the center of her health care plan.  In this Newsweek piece by Susan Bedell Smith, Smith is so busy trying to make marital tensions between Bill and Hillary the major reason for the plan's failure that, in my opinion, she fails to properly emphasize the anti-corporate stance Hillary took (the part I think should have been emphasized more is bolded):

Nor has she touched on the most sensitive topic of all: how the Clintons' marital tensions complicated the health-care debate at crucial moments.

Hillary was widely criticized for making the health task-force deliberations secret, insisting on pushing her proposal as an all-or-nothing package and targeting the health-care establishment as "the enemy" to be fought with a "war room." When Bill tried to make the plan more flexible, he had to defer to her, in part because of their implicit marital bargain, in which Bill ceded her power as a trade-off for his history of infidelity. In July 1994, he was urged to accept a compromise plan with less than the universal coverage that Hillary wanted. When he unexpectedly told a group of governors in Boston that he would be willing to take 95 percent, Hillary immediately called her husband. "What the f--- are you doing up there?" she screamed, according to a West Wing adviser who was in her office at the time. "I want to see you as soon as you get back." The next morning the president not only recanted his statement but apologized.

And when Nicholas Confessore wrote his seminal piece on K Street (link), Hillary's health care plan was a central topic of how corporate interests defeated legislation they disliked.  Admitting there were other contributing factors (notice that marital tensions between Bill and Hillary is not on his list), here is what Confessore wrote:

There were, of course, many reasons why Clinton failed, from mishandling relations with congressional leaders to the perceived insularity and arrogance of the task force of policy wonks Hillary Clinton assembled to tackle the challenge of achieving universal health care. But another major obstacle was the business and health-care interests on K Street. Clinton worked to win their backing. Among other things, his plan would have capped employer contributions to workers' health insurance at a level far below what many large companies, like General Motors and Kodak, were already paying to their employees' health plans, saving the companies billions of dollars. But some of those firms nevertheless denounced Clinton's plan after it was unveiled, rightly believing that they could bid up the price of their support even more. Meanwhile, conservative activists, eager to deny a new Democratic president his first major political victory, worked to convince business lobbyists that they would gain more by opposing Clinton than by supporting him. As more and more K Street lobbies abandoned Clinton, the plan went down to defeat.

And speaking of health care, I believe it is fair to say that the strongest opposition to corporate interests comes from unions, for whom health care costs is a top issue.  I just want to point out that although they have opposed mandates for health care that were unaccompanied by provisions to cap costs for working families, both the two biggest union gurus, Gerald McEntee of AFSCME and Andy Stern of SEIU have recently backed plans including mandates. (link) So, instead of mandates being a favor to the corporate interests, as Markos Moulitsas recently claimed (link), it is equally or perhaps more reasonable to say that the Clinton and Edwards plans, which include mandates, are supported by the natural enemies of corporate health care interests.

Hillary is not a perfect candidate.  And her record on corporate issues is not perfect.  But neither is it is as bad as many of her political opponents would have us believe.



Display:


Re: About that "Hillary is a corporate stooge (2.00 / 2)

Needed to be said...Thank you.


by arkansasdemocrat on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 05:53:53 PM EST

Seconded... (2.00 / 2)

I hope Mike posts here more often! It's great to encounter so many voices of reason here! Hillary is NOT a corporatist, and Mike proved that quite well with this diary.


Want to defend marriage equality in Maine? Ask me how!
by atdleft on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:17:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Seconded... (2.00 / 3)

Are you atdnext at dKos?  If so, I love your stuff there.


by Mike Pridmore on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:48:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yes, I am... (2.00 / 1)

And many thanks! I'm now cross-posting here as well, so you'll be seeing more of me at both places. Now I just hope I'll be seeing more of your great stuff here! :-)


Want to defend marriage equality in Maine? Ask me how!
by atdleft on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 10:46:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that "Hillary is a corporate stooge (2.00 / 2)

Thank you!!


by Mike Pridmore on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:50:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that "Hillary is a corporate stooge (none / 0)

And what do you call Hillary's capitulation to the corporations in her universal medical care plan?

You have to be kidding. From whom did she create such a financial warchest for her campaign. She has openly defended her corporate contributions, naming social workers to fend off the criticism. Who else?

Even worse is her capitulation to other lobbies, like AIPAC. Hillary's foreign policy projections are right out of the AIPAC playbook, and her representation is no longer just DLC centrism, it is DLC/AIPAC centrism which leans to the right.

Hillary is REPUBLICAN LITE again and if that is what you Democrats want, vote for her. I prefer to vote for a Democrat.


Click on Peace, Propaganda, & The Promised Land and learn the truth about the I/P conflict.
by shergald on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 10:10:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Great stuff. (2.00 / 2)

I hope you post here more.


by lonnette33 on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 05:56:28 PM EST

Re: Great stuff. (2.00 / 3)

Thanks! :)


by Mike Pridmore on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 06:30:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Great stuff. (2.00 / 2)

yeah, you're a prophet without honor over on that OTHER website. i keep stats on pro-hillary diaries there, and noticed your excellent work.


by campskunk on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:16:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Great stuff. (2.00 / 3)

Thanks campskunk!  I have tried responding to Bob Johnson's diaries so that people will recommend mine as a contrast to his.  But that doesn't seem to work at this point.  Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that people aren't reading them.  So I keep posting them.


by Mike Pridmore on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:47:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

here are your stats for saturday's diary (none / 0)

#30 in comments, #38 in recommends, #34 in impact


by campskunk on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 01:19:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: here are your stats for saturday's diary (none / 0)

Thanks!!!


by Mike Pridmore on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 02:03:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Right on, lonnette! (2.00 / 2)

It's about time that the real FACTS about Hillary come out. Once people see the facts, they realize that all the talk of Hillary being some "neocon corporatist" is just garbage. Many thanks to Mike for debunking the rumors and giving us the facts! :-)


Want to defend marriage equality in Maine? Ask me how!
by atdleft on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:19:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Right on, lonnette! (none / 0)

Of course, Kyle/Lieberman is a fact as well, one that doesn't deter Hillary supporters in the slightest, as they aren't all THAT liberal.


by ReillyDiefenbach on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 10:23:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Right on, lonnette! (2.00 / 1)

perhaps you would like to have a contest about who is more liberal?
Kyle-Lieberman has no teeth and Clinton made sure that bush would NOT be able to use it to go to war.  So get over it and find a real excuse for your opinion.

ABO... Anybody but Obama. I LIKE the democratic party.

by MollieBradford on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 11:35:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Right on, lonnette! (none / 0)

OK.  Gonna have to quote from Wes Clark, my favorite liberal workhorse for the Democratic party, on this one:

Nicole Sandler Do you, what do you think about her decision to sign on to the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which, you know, many say is very reminiscent of, of legislation that was passed before we went into Iraq?

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think you have to be careful in making that analogy, because the people who are critical of this say that if you, if you say anything at all about Iran it may give President Bush an excuse to go to war. Look, he doesn't need an excuse to go to war. He can go to war any time he wants against Iran, and he's probably preparing to do it right now. What Kyl-Lieberman does, and I don't like the name-

Nicole Sandler Mm hm.

GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: -but what it does is it gives the United States a diplomatic weapon to use against Iran through sanctions and through calling the Congressional, putting Congressional pressure on our diplomacy to go out there and work against the Iranian interests. When I was negotiating in the Balkans, I used Congressional pressure for that negotiation. This was a sound diplomatic move. It has no connection to President Bush's decision to go to war, and I think you have to recognize that Iran is the big winner in Iraq. It is a problem, and it does have to be dealt with.


by Mike Pridmore on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 11:45:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Right on, lonnette! (none / 0)

you might say that k-l makes it less likely we will go to war with Iran.
I don't personally think even bush has the nerve to start another war.  That is why I have never understood the hysteria over Kyle-Lieberman.

ABO... Anybody but Obama. I LIKE the democratic party.

by MollieBradford on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 09:21:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Great stuff. (2.00 / 1)

OT:  Lonnette, just wanted you to know that I finally linked to your lobbying diary today here and at No Quarter.  Thank you for that diary!


by susanhu on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 10:22:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Great stuff. (none / 0)

No problem susanhu. Just keep bringing us excellent diaries here on MyDD.


by lonnette33 on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 09:40:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

About that (2.00 / 3)

thanks Mike, good analysis.
I went and read the Markos link.  He is good at the horse race and he is good with writing the kind of net-roots narrative and hitting back at the lazy media.  but there are a lot of other things he needs  some work on.  More research would benefit his writing.

ABO... Anybody but Obama. I LIKE the democratic party.

by MollieBradford on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 06:52:58 PM EST

Re: About that (2.00 / 3)

Markos is human and he knows it.  He can be stubborn at times but knows he does not have a lock on the truth.  I think at the time he was leaning toward Obama, but now he is leaning away from Obama because of recent statements by the candidate and his staff.  I think he has blinders against Hillary because of her IWR vote and her Kyl-Lieberman vote.


by Mike Pridmore on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 07:08:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (1.00 / 0)

yes, but the thing is, he IWR vote was not a vote for war and neither was the K-L vote. She made damn sure that K-L was NOT going to allowe bush to go to war.  People should get over it and think a bit more clearly.  All this ageda over those two votes is such a waste of smart people's time and energy.


ABO... Anybody but Obama. I LIKE the democratic party.

by MollieBradford on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 11:33:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

I agree.  


by Mike Pridmore on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 11:47:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

You agree that the vote for the Authorisation for the Use of Military Force was not a vote for war?  I would like to see you explain that.


by Shaun Appleby on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 03:47:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

The intent was to use the threat of force to get the weapons inspectors in.  That part worked.  And Bush, which is now no surprise, intentionally misled all of them about what he would use the vote for.


by Mike Pridmore on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 06:04:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

Check it out, it raises a few questions.


by Shaun Appleby on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 07:34:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

It certainly does raise questions.  The main question that comes to my mind is if these people are smart enough to run a video camera how is that they are too stupid to understand that Bush lied to congress about what he intended to with the authorization they gave him to use the threat of force?  He was supposed to use it to get the inspectors in and verify whether there actually were WMD before we went to war.  And he decided to go to war before the inspectors could prove there were no WMDs.  Personally I have understood this all for years.  I wrote about it in August of 2004 here.


by Mike Pridmore on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 08:16:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

Bush lied.  But the AUMF was his last hurdle and once he had the authorisation to use force there was nothing stopping him.  You've understood this all for years?  Those who voted for that authorisation were perfectly clear on what they were voting for.  I was, and Bush did exactly what I expected him to do shortly thereafter.  Don't make me start quoting Hillary at the time, we've all seen that before.  

The clip was meant to be light-hearted, anyhow, I hope you enjoyed it.


by Shaun Appleby on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 08:39:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

You can stop with this: "Bush lied."  That's the real problem.


by Mike Pridmore on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 09:28:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

Well, it's certainly true.  Is that it then?  What about the twenty-three senators who didn't vote for it, what does that make them?


by Shaun Appleby on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 09:45:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

That makes them candidates who are not running for president.


by Mike Pridmore on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 10:33:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: About that (none / 0)

Well, there's always Kucinich.  My point was that there was a significant division of informed opinion within the Democratic party at the time.  It seems to me that the real explanation has more to do with not getting rolled opposing a Desert Storm style success in the lead-up to 2004, or beyond.  

That is a cynical interpretation, to be sure, but seems more credible than the 'fist in a velvet glove' justification made by some Democrats in the 2004 election and more recently by unrepentant aye-sayers.  And doesn't trusting the evidence and intentions of the Bush administration strike you as a failure of judgement at that time, even if it were true?  We had already seen ample evidence of indifference to legality and international diplomacy by then.  We can't afford to revise that history if we expect to depart from it.


by Shaun Appleby on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 01:55:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Markos Crystal Ball (2.00 / 3)

"He is good at the horse race"

He IS????? Name ANYTHING he's correctly predicted in the last 10 years.


I'm United Methodist. I already have a Messiah.
by KnowVox on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:18:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Markos Crystal Ball (2.00 / 2)

He did a decent job on the Senatorial races in 2006.


by Mike Pridmore on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:49:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

in the last 10 years? (2.00 / 1)

being good at the horse race is about more than predicting who will win what office.


ABO... Anybody but Obama. I LIKE the democratic party.

by MollieBradford on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 11:28:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I have been posting on DKOS since 2002 (2.00 / 1)

and he is a great writer.

But he has no idea how to read a poll.


by fladem on Sun Dec 30, 2007 at 12:40:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Great diary. (2.00 / 3)

As an aside, I think most Hillary supporters in the bolgophere would love a Clinton/Clark ticket.  I admit, I'll be crest fallen if we don't get that.  However, it's quite clear there will be a prominent position for Clark in the Clinton admin and that does my heart good.


formerly bookgirl
by masslib1 on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:21:07 PM EST

Re: Great diary. (2.00 / 4)

I am hoping for that as well.


by Mike Pridmore on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 09:44:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]


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