Photo courtesy of wikimedia.org
On June 13 in New York City, Hillary Clinton officially launched her presidential campaign.
“Democracy can’t be just for billionaires and corporations,” she yelled to the crowd of excited spectators and supporters (billmoyers.com).
Did they believe her? Now, of course many (perhaps most) people in this country believe the actual statement to be true – that real democracy serves everyone in society, regardless of income. But did they believe her?
Do you? Do you believe that, if president, she’d bring balance back to the American political system so that the rich no longer have a disproportionate amount of power? Her campaign has certainly sought to convince us of that. In fact, the event took place in a spot with a lovely view of Wall Street.
But the real Hillary Clinton is the exact opposite of the persona she has tried so hard to cultivate (in part as a response to pressure from real progressives like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.) A BillMoyers.com article digs into Clinton’s recent and past actions, giving us a much more realistic picture of who she really is, and what we can expect if we vote her in as president.
From BillMoyers.com:
“Between 2009 and 2014, Clinton’s list of top 20 donors starts out with Citigroup and includes JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, whose chief Lloyd Blankfein has invested in Clinton’s son-in-law’s boutique hedge fund. They’re also among the deep-pocket outfits that paid for speeches and appearances by Hillary or Bill Clinton to the tune of more than $125 million since they left the White House in 2001.”
“Consider the two Canadian banks with financial ties to the Keystone XL pipeline that fully or partially paid for eight speeches by Hillary Clinton. Or her $3.2 million in lecture fees from the tech sector. Or the more than $2.5 million in paid speeches for companies and groups lobbying for fast-track trade.”
“…while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, her department approved $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to 20 nations whose governments have given money to the Clinton Foundation, according to an IBTimes analysis of State Department and foundation data…”
There’s a lot more information in the article that is really valuable – go to BillMoyers.com to read the full piece.
Illuminate 
Reblogged this on League of Bloggers For a Better World.
Hillary, dickory, dock.
The corporatist ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The corporatist ran down,
Hillary, dickory, dock.
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Glad you’re helping people see reality – the close ties Hillary has to Wall Street. And now, she refuses to say ‘aye’ or ‘nay’ on the TPP or Keystone Pipeline. She is for the multinational corporations, and would do nothing with real effect towards getting money out of American politics, were she elected.
It’s going to take a president like Sanders (a real Washington outsider) WITH huge backing from the people to achieve political/economic reform. In fact, I support Bernie Sanders because of his authentic, consistent, long-standing policies for economic, racial, and climate justice.
I admire Jill Stein and the Green Party platform very much, but their day has not yet come… unless, there could be a Sanders/Stein ticket…?
I agree with you about Hillary and Bernie Sanders!