In wake of ruling, Wall Street CEOs form conservative ‘action tank’ X-posting from LBN

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4259249&mesg_id=4259249

Source: By Raw Story

This week, a group that includes some of the wealthiest Republican CEOs on Wall Street have formed a group to take advantage of new fundraising possibilities for the GOP.

The Supreme Court ruling could potentially allow the group, called the American Action Network, to take unlimited contributions from corporations for use in political campaigns.


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According to the New York Times, the group also includes:

"Republicans who are donors, board members or both include Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi; Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida; Mr. Barbour a former chairman of the Republican Party; Fred Malek, an investor and official in the Nixon and first Bush administrations."

Read more: http://rawstory.com/2010/02/wake-ruling-wall-street-ceos-form-conservative-action-tank

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I, for one, am sick an fucking tired of the same old names turning up to profit while ruining the lives of Americans and ruining America itself.

America. That used to mean something. It was We the People that gave it that meaning. Now the ideal of America, land of the free, home of the brave, is now nothing more than Land ot Corporate Personhood and Home of the Cowering Wage Slave.

Maybe a requirement to provide full disclosure of who donates to them might slow down the corporations from backing these kinds of groups...... at least as an interim solution until a means to restricting them completely is found.

From the Grand Daddy who sold arms to the Nazis in violation of U.S. law at the time, to Poppy who was involved in that nasty Iran Contra affair up to his eyeballs. Brother Neil who ran Silverado Savings into the ground and snuck out of Denver (literally) under cover of darkness, to Dubya who is a drug addict who failed at everything he ever did.

Jeb is a real piece of crap, too. He left Florida a mess for Governor Crist to deal with.

I too am sick of the same tired, old corrupt names popping up to profit from their crimes and take advantage of the American people. :puke:

RW Think Tank -> RW Action Tank -> Bullshit direct to your living room

And it's all legal now.

Haley Barbour was RNC chairman from 1993 to 1997 and was involved in some serious fundraising scandals. Ed Gillespie became RNC communications director under Barbour, and then the two of them went into business together. In 2003-04 Gillespie got his own turn to serve as RNC chair. Barbour is currently the chairman of the Republican Governor's Association.

So these two are not even wealthy Republican CEO's. They're party hacks who see a chance for perfectly legal corporate fundraising beyond their wildest dreams of the 1990's and are ready to pounce.

And Fred Malek, of course, besides being a venture capitalist and the former co-owner of the Texas Rangers with George W. Bush, is also a former RNC deputy chairman and a veteran of the Nixon administration, known first for his attempts to politicize federal spending in order to promote Nixon's re-election and then as deputy director of CREEP.

It might be a stretch to say that these guys are behind *all* the GOP sleaze of the last 40 years -- but it's not much of one.