Jon Stewart went to town on fellow New Jersey-born-and-bred, ex-senator/governor/ex-Goldman Sachs CEO Jon Corzine on "The Daily Show" Tuesday night, describing him as "the living, breathing avatar of "the corporate-industrial-government complex." He had a point. Corzine famously argued on behalf of tough financial regulations in office, only to return to the world of finance as the exact kind of high-flying gambler (with other people's money) who needed to be regulated but preferred not to be.
And because rich financiers tend to get what they want from this government, the now-former head of MF Global got what he wanted and proceeded to prove why he had been right in the first place -- not that it matters.
Stewart summed up the situation thusly: "Politician Jon Corzine saw Lehman Brothers as a cautionary tale; financial firm honcho Corzine saw it as a dare."
The Corzine tale demonstrates the impossibly intertwined nature of big money and politics. It can hardly be considered a coincidence that the ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs would become not only a senator and a governor but also the head of the party's senatorial campaign committee, in charge of raising cash.
But the complications go much deeper than just money and politics. The problem is not simply that moneyed interests can buy what they want and make the connections with one another necessary to see that their interests are properly overseen. What makes the impossible tangle of money and politics even more difficult to unravel is the fact that the various interests who hire lobbyists to ensure legislation serves private, rather than public interests, work together to ensure if one lobbyist wins, every lobbyist wins. And if a legislator is indebted to one of them for campaign cash, or access to a private plane, he is indebted to all of them.
A pioneer of this tactic, unsurprisingly, is the conservative activist Grover Norquist. The man Politico aptly terms "America's No. 1 anti-tax activist" has built a "sprawling lobbying empire that leverages his iconic status to influence politicians on issues completely unrelated to those about which he professes to care.
What, for instance, does the State Department's decision regarding the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline have to do with taxes? Why does Norquist lobby on Pentagon spending, get involved in postal issues, or care about payments to the people of Guam for injuries suffered during World War II? Why do lawmakers, according to Politico, "from both parties contend Norquist is the chief obstacle to a $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction deal?" That sure is a great deal of back-scratching, and none of it is good for the smooth legislative operations of a representative democracy. Norquist is particularly powerful with conservatives. But the syndrome is evident everywhere in Washington.
Take a look at the so-called pro-Israel lobby, The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Allegedly concerned exclusively with issues related to Israel, AIPAC's lobbying reaches far and wide. During the 1980s it would punish liberal legislators who did not support Ronald Reagan's wars in Central America because those nations' U.S.-supported dictators would, as a favor, vote with Israel in the United Nations. (They would also invite Israeli mlitary advisers to train their forces in counterinsurgency.)
AIPAC lobbied lately to get the United States to, in the words of one former AIPAC staffer, "stick it to Turkey." AIPAC, it will surprise no one, also appears to be behind the demand that the United States punish itself and its interests by withdrawing from the U.N. Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as a piece of misguided retaliation for the organization's admittance of Palestine into its membership role.
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Although on paper 110th Congress Public Law 81, section 702 should stop such action it seems to only apply to staff and not Congress. Our only recourse may be in elections since they are all above the law, know it, and do bad things anyway (even at the demise of the people over personal financial gain).
The House Ethics Committee does not receive e-mail questions or complaints.
From URL - http://clerk.house.gov/public_disc/PLAW-110publ81.txt
A good place to start if ya wanna: http://soupsauntieoxymoron.blogspot.com/2011/07/as-california-goes-so-goes-nation.html
Love, Soup
P.S.- http://soupsauntieoxymoron.blogspot.com/2011/10/love-soup.html :-p
One of the political directors of the Carpenters Union was one of the primary architects of
Corzine's run for office. Where do you think they invest the MILLIONS of dollars in membership dues?
Wall Street. How many millions do the labor unions invest in POLITICAL activities?
http://www.citizen.org/documents/TP-FTA-Flyer-11-10.pdf
"Get informed and join the fight:visittradewatch.organd/orcontactPublicCitizen’sGlobal
Trade Watch Field Team at gtwinfo@citizen.org or call us at 202.454.5140.
Contact your Senators, Representatives, and state legislators: ask them to demand that the Obama administration stop pushing a Trans-Pacific FTA corporate power tool agenda that slams us 99 percenters.
Write Pres. Obama: tell him that we can’t afford to allow this deal to become another job-killing,
unsafe-import-flooding, democracy-crushing NAFTA-style trade deal."
Vote for the Kucinich, Warren, Grayson CPC progressives in the dem primaries and the Dem including Obama in the general, because the GOP/Tea are Tories out to destroy the republic, democracy, the BEAST, and take away the vote from the citizens and conserve the good old days before the Lock liberals founded the USA of serfs and the super rich 1000 families.
I wouldn't waste your time arguing with Chris. He is all spin and no top.
Nothing but blind allegiance to GOP talking points and rabid overgeneralisations from that man.
What is the statement, if you keep doing the same thing over and over again in the very same way and do not like the outcome it is your fault not the program.
So, many of you are upset with Wall Street, the money influence in Washington and no regulations yet at each election you send one of two parties back into make changes and are shocked when the politicians do nothing but talk and fight.
If you want change you have to start at home.
Average American
First of all the entire western political system needs to be changed. I would propose a hybrid system whereby each political region whter it be a country, state, province or municipality be be divided up into districts based on population Each of these districts would elect a representive based on first past the post but campaign financing would be soley from donations from indivual residents of that district only and would have an upper limit. This would prevent these elections from being financed soley by companies, interest groups or lobyists and would enable a certain independance from national parties. The second part is an election of the cabinet. This also would be a winner take all based on total party vote from each of the total district. prior to en election each party would have elected from a party convention its leader, each minister and deputy ministers who would campaign on a national level and financed by individuals from all over the country. when the final tally of votes is added up, these national representives would form the government via a cabinet but the legislative body would include district individuals also. By preventing anyone other than an individual from finacing elections, we maintain some substance of one person one vote and level the playing field more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpoRE2eBQx0
People attack the ows crowd as spoiled kids with cell phones and laptops -- and it never occured to them that everything they have can fit in a backpack. when people have nothing they have nothing to lose. we fear losing the roof over our heads -- they don't have that fear.
Why should any of us be surprised by the kind of legislators we get under such a corrupt, and corrupting system? Personally I don't believe an honest individual can be elected under our current system.
Get the money out of politics, force politicians to get their jobs the old fashioned way..........earn it.
Make them run on their records, and the laws they make to benefit the majority of the American people..............instead of the few wealthy, powerful, privileged, super rich individuals, that finance their multimillion dollar campaigns.