I have a question for you Clinton fans, have you seen this and why are you voting for her.. ?
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/06/l...
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton is being taken to task by her two closest rivals for accepting $400,000 in campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists.
Sen. Hillary Clinton dismissed criticism that she took money from lobbyists, saying it would not influence her.
Over the weekend, Clinton was booed by an audience of liberal bloggers in Chicago when she defended taking money from Washington lobbyists, something both Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards have vowed not to do.
%26quot;I don%26#039;t think, based on my 35 years fighting for what I believe in, anybody seriously believes I%26#039;m going to be influenced by a lobbyist or a particular interest group,%26quot; Clinton said.
%26quot;A lot of these lobbyists, whether you like it or not, represent real Americans. They actually do. They represent nurses, they represent social workers -- yes, they represent corporations that employ a lot of people.%26quot;
The former first lady said that she welcomed the debate on the issue.
%26quot;I%26#039;ve been waiting for this. This gives us a real sense of reality with my being here,%26quot; Clinton said, prompting a loud rumble from the audience at a candidates%26#039; forum sponsored by The Daily Kos.
Edwards%26#039; response was to ask, %26quot;How many people in this room have a Washington lobbyist working for you?%26quot;
%26quot;You are not represented by Washington lobbyists. We need to cut these people off,%26quot; he said, to cheers.
Don%26#039;t Miss
Clinton, Obama report more than $30 mil in bank
Obama: My presidency would be a %26#039;transformation%26#039;
However, while eschewing contributions from Washington lobbyists, Edwards has accepted about $10,000 in contributions from lobbyists in his home state of North Carolina, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Edwards campaign said there is no inconsistency because his pledge did not extend to lobbyists representing local interests.
Monday, the Edwards campaign also said it would return a $4,600 donation from the Credit Suisse bank, which is registered to lobby in Washington.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, lobbyists actually provide less campaign cash than political action committees or donors directly affiliated with large corporate interests.
%26quot;But they do get a lot of attention because it%26#039;s very easy to point at them and say, well, these are the special interests, these are the people who most represent these big moneyed interests that are trying to influence policy,%26quot; said Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for the center.
And while the grassroots interests of many ordinary Americans are represented by Washington lobbyists, as Clinton noted, some political experts think that could be a hard case for her make.
Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report said that while Clinton is making an %26quot;analytical argument%26quot; about the way the political system works, Edwards %26quot;is simply getting the emotional advantage of portraying her as somebody who is close to lobbyists and big business and the establishment.%26quot;
Excuses! Excuses! Excuses!
Hillary Clinton and lobbyists?
My first thought was that I guess Obama and Haircut boy can%26#039;t get enough lobbyist money for it to matter. I highly doubt either one these guys is really doing it out of a matter of morals.
Hillary Clinton and lobbyists?
John Edwards has NEVER accepted donations from lobbyists or PACs - as a senator or presidential candidate.
OTOH - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is sponsoring fundraisers for Hillary and funding her campaign. And Murdoch is affiliated with Bill Clinton%26#039;s empire comprised of the powerful and wealthy - now funding Hillary%26#039;s campaign.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0...
Oh - and Rupert Murdoch also bought Tony Blair in 1997 - promising positive media coverage in exchange for Blair allowing Murdoch to expand his media empire.
He bought Blair - now he%26#039;s bought Hillary - and the media provides pro-Hillary coverage 24/7.
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/57376
John Edwards is the only candidate offering real solutions for the working poor and middle class - and that%26#039;s why the CORPORATE media smears him 24/7. But people are waking up - and aren%26#039;t relying on the CORPORATE media to shape their opinions about the candidates - because they know the media represents CORPORATE interests - not ours. And the corporate media promotes candidates who are raking in the corporate moolah and most likely to be in the corporations%26#039; pockets.
