Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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September 2, 2007 4:43 PM
K Street Wants Justice Up for Sale
Just when you thought another branch of government couldn't be sold off to Corporate America, here comes a story from Stateline about how state attorneys general are now the targets of big-time corporate lobbying campaigns.
Here are some of the details from the story:
"A growing number of advocates turn a profit by lobbying state attorneys general – seeking to influence the investigations they pursue and the outside help they hire, according to current and former state attorneys general. It’s an area of lobbying that has received little attention and even less oversight at the state level, experts say…The lobbying of state attorneys general mainly comes from corporations trying to dissuade the law enforcers from filing lawsuits that could cost the firms millions of dollars in legal fees, fines or out-of-court settlements…Other lobbying efforts are aimed at helping private law firms profit from state-led cases by winning lucrative government contracts to assist in litigation."
The article notes than in many states, there are little to no disclosure requirements for corporate lobbyists trying to buy off, influence, or otherwise manipulate state attorneys general. And at least one Republican attorney general seems slightly bothered by the whole situation.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers (R) said:
"'A cottage industry has sprung up. There are now hundreds of people making a very good living lobbying attorneys general,' Suthers said. “When the 50 state attorneys general get together to discuss issues, there are often 100 or more lobbyists in the back of the room looking for an opportunity to further their cause.'...[He] said he finds the lobbying 'pretty disconcerting – but I’ve also come to understand it.'"
Suthers modest outrage at the pay-to-play nature of this is fairly surprising for someone from a party that has so happily embraced K Street lobbyists and the culture of corruption. That said, his "com[ing] to understand it" might have a little something to do with him becoming more acclimated to the ways of the Republican Party's use of attorneys general. You may recall that back in 2003, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) was exposed by the Washington Post for running an operation where it dangled the potential to stop state corporate prosecutions as a way to extort campaign contributions out of Big Money interests. So what's going on here is nothing new - at least for the GOP.
I guess none of this should be a surprise. We live in a country governed by a party that sold off a war to private interests - a government that has no problem flying $12 billion in cash over to Iraq, only to watch $8 billion of it go missing. Putting basic justice and law enforcement up for sale, I guess, is merely the logical next step. But boy - when you read the Stateline piece, you see just how big the implications really are.
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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Discussion
Its amazing to watch a political party devolve to a cult of shakedown artists and extortionists. But thats what happens when you purge the party of normal Americans and replace them with mindless ideologues, religous fanatics, perverts and failed businessmen.
But thats the good news, the bad news is that these blotto buggers are intent on regressing the U.S. to pre-FDR and pre-labor rights era - basically ushering in a new Gilded Era(which is almost here now). And there is a very good chance that they will succeed given how inept and cowardly the Democrats have been on domesitic issues.
Hell I can even see Pelosi and Reid helping the GOP on their program to strip Americans of their rights. After all the Democratic leadership has done what the GOP has told them to do for the last 8 years.
I guess you could call this the beginning of the "mopping up" process.
Or licking up the crumbs...
The Democratic leadership doesn't do that the Republicans want.
The Democratic leadership has sold itself out to K-street and their corporate bosses just like the Republicans have done. They follow K-street agendas just like the Republicans. Both the Republicans and the Republi-lite sell-outs in the Democratic party do what K-street tells them.
It's time to fire these Republi-lite sell-outs along with the Republican sand bring in populist politicians who are willing to support campaign and election reform.
I refuse to support the DNC/DLC the DCCC or the DSCC. I will send my contributions directly to the candidates of my choice so I know that the money will NOT go to sell-out politicians.
If necessary I WILL write in the names of my candidates of choice.
Screw the DNC/DLCC. They need to be fired, big time!
"Let the marketplace decide."
I know the American governments are all for sale on all levels; that's a given unless you have been sleeping through life. I have never known many details, so I find this story very interesting. Where is 60 minutes, Bill Moyers, Now and others who are in the expose business? There is endless fodder to feed their maw and entertain us with the Sopranos of our ultimately corrupt political system. We need a new show that does nothing but expose government corruption. The system is designed to be corrupted so what can be expected and can anything be done except what we do,blogger grousing? And don't say vote the crooks out. Virtually all, by necessity are bribe takers. How else to finance elections and to survive? People can't compete with corporations that have unlimited funds to corrupt. They just don't have the financial staying power. Until the system is changed there will be no stopping it. The question is, how much irreparable damage is being done to the Republic? Will we survive? Is this why our infrastructure is falling apart? Is this why our economy is being sold to the Chinese in the form of cheap imports that transfer our jobs, technology and security to our sworn enemies? Is there any historical parallel to this fleecing of a country. (Perhaps China before the Communists took over. Maybe we need a dose of Communist totalitarianism to straighten up our act) We are systematically being sold by our politicians. Without some wise leadership soon, America will be dismantled into an agrarian breadbox for the rest of the world and we the people will be transformed into a bunch of hicks like the Mexicans who are picking our crops and mowing our lawns. Frankly we need them. Stop persecuting them because your descendants are probably going to be in the same fix. I hate to say it, but I predicted this 30 years ago. It's all in "Parity Democracy, how to level the world economic playing field" at online bookstores worldwide. This book published this year was 25 years coming to fruition. If you want to know how to change this, read Parity Democracy. There's a plan to end this insanity once and for all and I don't mean convert to communism or go on a jihad. Happy Labor Day. Don't work to hard.
"Where is 60 minutes, Bill Moyers, Now and others who are in the expose business?" - ewode
They were either forced out of business or forced to be nice to "conservatives". Today's faux "Democrats" show their true colors of letting the cons getting away with it all. And you can thank their support of RAYGUN's repeal of Fairness Doctrine followed by KILLton's Telecommunications Act of 1996 for letting this mess happen.
By the way, Labor Day is just another JOKE Day where we Americans gleefully pat each other's back even as we backstab one another to death. In fact, it's just like Valentine's Day at a time when the DIVORCE rate is 50+ % along with increasing broken relationships and teen dating violence. Hell, it's even like "Thanksgiving" Day which was put forth after we KILLED the Native American population even after they helped us ! I'm sorry but in a ruthless and ungrateful nation, we're all going to bleed to death as long as we let the dog eat dog mentally fuck with us !
Nebraska Nathan: In the L.A. area where I live the aforementioned three shows are not out of business. Bill Moyers is on KCET PBS and so is Now with repeats the next day of Moyers. His recent shows since he's started a new show are spectacular. Now host David Brancuse (Sp) is always procative/informative. 60 minutes is half expose and half entertainment unfortunately, but there is still some great stuff about half the time. If you don't get these most informative shows in Nebraska, you are pointing out another great problem in this country. The uneven dissemination of information that leaves people the complete dupes of the bought mainstream media and crackpot media. Thank goodness for the internet to help improve this drastically dumbing down outrage that causes people to vote against their own best interests. Hopefully the IT will correct this soon as they allow us high speed access all over. Keep fighting for right. We'll win out in the end, but it is not going to be a cakewalk.
A lot of the problems stem from Americans refusal or plain inability won't work together to protect themselves from corporate predations. And IMO a result if our public education system along with the media indoctrinating them into the cult of the individual and short-term thinking.
Then add to the mix class divisions. Blue-collars are looked upon as dirt by middle and upper middle class folks. And the middle-class is notorious for fucking one another over for a "attaboy" from the boss. The upper middle-class are just fucking assholes with delusions of grandeur, if anyone wants to see this ugliness, just come visit Orange County CA and you'll see this first hand.
These are not the kind of Americans who battled union busters with clubs and guns like their grand fathers did in first part of the last century.
Todays white collar worker is more likely to see himself as part of management and put loyalty to company above even their own family and their own health, and are more likely than not to stab their fellow worker in the back.
Hell even among bluecollars you'll find such treacherous crapweasels.
Americans to be blunt have lost the ability to work together for the common good. They are like a pack of rabid dogs tearing at one another while the rich and political class pick their pockets and loot their bank accounts.
waltc,
The white collared folks look so rich I almost thought they'd have more than enough dough to enrich their kids and treat their fellow white collared workers loyally.
You are 100% correct about the middle class and lower class blue collared workers. Out here in Nebraska, it's all dog eat dog. And worse, counter-whistle blowers are often hired to pre-emptively SMASH whistleblowers in most workplaces.
ewode,
The PBS stations in my state don't carry any Bill Moyers's NOW much unless you want to count those AM hours when people sleep. By the way, go to http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html and check each state out. You'll be amazed at the extreme lack of schedule especially in the rural places in middle Middle America. Nebraska isn't all that bad at least compared to the Dakotas right above.
We get CBS alright but it looks more like a Katie CLOWN's channel and it just isn't the same without Dan Rather or anyone like him.
As for IT and Internet, not easy. Out here in Middle America, there are still very few places that get anything close to high speed access at least as far as home users count. Lincoln and Omaha are about the best places to get anything of it but even there it's probably a toughie though I'll have to check for updates on pricing and availability. Usually, I have to go to a public library to get high speed access and they're pretty strict about it. Of course, I still work and I'm lucky to have a DSL connection. Telephone companies are especially the biggest monopolies because they know cable is hard to come by and DSL is a pipe dream which makes it easier for ISPs and Telco to charge 20-30 a month for a measly dialup connection. Worse, our local stations keep getting AOL and Netzero MISLEADING ads claiming that they are "hi speed" despite the fact that it's all dialup and that their BULLSHITY software is just playing tricks. Of course, try downloading a 10 meg file of those 56k dialups and then you'll know their real speeds. Still, as long as I can read articles and post discussions, the old cart will have to do.
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