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Insider Report: Hillary & Wal-Mart; Lou Dobbs on Bush-UAE Ties Special From NewsMax's Most Informed Sources Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
With retail giant Wal-Mart under fire to improve its labor and healthcare policies, one Democrat with deep ties to the company - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton - has started feeling her share of the political heat. Clinton served on Wal-Mart's board of directors for six years when her husband was governor of Arkansas. And the Rose Law Firm, where she was a partner, handled many of the Arkansas-based company's legal affairs.
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Clinton had kind words for Wal-Mart as recently as 2004, when she told an audience at the convention of the National Retail Federation that her time on the board "was a great experience in every respect." But in recent months, as the company has become a target for Democratic activists, she has largely steered clear of any mention of Wal-Mart. And late last year, Clinton's re-election campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from Wal-Mart, citing "serious differences with current company practices." As Clinton sheds her Arkansas past and looks ahead to a possible 2008 presidential run, the Wal-Mart issue presents an exquisite dilemma: how to reconcile the political demands she faces today with her history at a company many American consumers depend upon but many Democratic activists revile. "The interesting question is not just Hillary Clinton's history at Wal-Mart, but why it's delicate for her to talk about Wal-Mart," said Charles Fishman, author of "The Wal-Mart Effect," a book discussing the company's impact on the national economy. "Plenty of Democrats denounce Wal-Mart, but there are also plenty of people who need it, love it and rely on it." In 1986, when Wal-Mart's founder, Sam Walton, tapped Clinton to be the company's first female board member, Wal-Mart was a fraction of its current size, with $11.9 billion in net sales. Today, Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer and private employer, with over $312 billion in sales last year and 1.3 million employees or "associates" in the U.S. alone. But recently, the company has drawn intense scrutiny for its labor practices -- from its wages to the lack of affordable health coverage for employees, to its stiff resistance to unionization. Throughout the 1980s, both Bill and Hillary Clinton nurtured relationships with Walton, a conservative Republican and by far Arkansas' most influential businessman. Among other things, Hillary Clinton sought Walton's help in 1983 for Bill Clinton's so-called Blue Ribbon Commission on Education, a major effort to improve Arkansas' troubled public schools. The overhaul became a centerpiece of Clinton's governorship. And Wal-Mart's Made in America campaign, which for years touted the company's sales of American products in its stores, was launched after Bill Clinton persuaded Walton to help save 200 jobs at an Arkansas shirt-manufacturing plant. The Made in America campaign has virtually vanished in recent years, as the company's manufacturing has gradually moved overseas - another point of criticism from many anti-Wal-Mart activists. The Clintons also benefited financially from Wal-Mart. Hillary Clinton was paid $18,000 each year she served on the board, plus $1,500 for each meeting she attended. By 1993 she had accumulated at least $100,000 in Wal-Mart stock, according to Bill Clinton's federal financial disclosure that year. The Clintons also flew for free on Wal-Mart corporate planes 14 times in 1990 and 1991 in preparation for Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential bid. Wal-Mart has little to say about Hillary Clinton's board service and will not release minutes of the company's board meetings during her tenure. Lorraine Voles, Clinton's communications director, turned down a request for an interview with the senator. Still, details have come to light over the years. Bob Ortega, author of "In Sam We Trust," a history of Wal-Mart, said Clinton used her position to urge the company to improve its gender and racial diversity. Because of Clinton's prodding, Walton agreed to hire an outside firm to track the company's progress in hiring women and minorities, Ortega said. "These were things the company was not addressing and wouldn't have, had she not pushed them to do so," Ortega said. "She's somebody who could definitely get things done." In fact, Clinton proved to be such a thorn in Walton's side that at Wal-Mart's annual meeting in 1987, when shareholders challenged Walton on the company's lack of female managers, he assured them the record was improving "now that we have a strong-willed young lady on the board." Clinton was particularly vocal on environmental matters, pressing the company to boost its sale and use of recycled materials and other "green" products. Garry Mauro, who served with Clinton on a Wal-Mart environmental advisory committee, pointed to many successes, such as persuading the company to establish recycling centers and sell products like recycled oil and long-life light bulbs. "Hillary had real impact - when she had an idea, things got moving," he said. "When she resigned from the committee, it stopped having any innovative ideas and stopped being effective." Still, critics say there was little tangible change at Wal-Mart during Clinton's tenure, despite her apparent prodding. "There's no evidence she did anything to improve the status of women or make it a very different place in ways Mrs. Clinton's Democratic base would care about," said Liza Featherstone, author of "Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Worker's Rights at Wal-Mart." The Wal-Mart debate has been playing out in legislatures and city councils around the country in the last year, even hitting close to Clinton's adopted home. New York State legislators of both parties are promoting bills requiring businesses - including Wal-Mart - to provide health coverage to their workers. And in October, New York City passed a law, aimed squarely at Wal-Mart, requiring large grocery stores to pay most workers a health care benefit worth an estimated $2.50 to $3 an hour. The law helped stall Wal-Mart's efforts to move into the city, even though recent polls indicate a majority of New Yorkers would welcome Wal-Mart. Amid the deluge of legislative proposals around the country, Wal-Mart CEO Scott Lee announced last month that the company would expand its effort to enroll more workers in a new, low-premium health plan. The company will also trim the waiting period for part-time employees to become eligible for coverage. But Hillary Clinton, who as first lady proposed a wide-ranging but ultimately unsuccessful plan to reshape the nation's healthcare system, has had little to say about Wal-Mart's healthcare record.
"That was a long time ago," she said recently when asked if she had done anything about the company's healthcare policies while she served on its board. "Voters would find it a strained argument to believe that the senator who prides herself on intelligence and knowledge of detail can't recall any details in this case. It just strains credulity," Tasini said. Nonetheless, Clinton and her advisers continue to insist that Wal-Mart has fundamentally changed since her tenure on the board. "Wal-Mart was a different company then and the country was not facing the same healthcare challenges we face today," communications director Lorraine Voles said. Even Clinton's decision to return Wal-Mart's campaign contribution illustrated the complicated role Wal-Mart still plays in her political life. Wake-Up Wal-Mart posted several entries on its Web log applauding the decision, but others complained that the move seemed hypocritical and opportunistic given her history with the company. Meanwhile, Republican National Committee spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt called the move "standard operating procedure" for Clinton. "When push comes to shove, the senator allows politics to trump principle every time," Schmitt said. (c) 2006 Associated Press Editor's Note:
2. Lou Dobbs: Bush Ties to UAE Examined Critics of the Dubai ports deal had some legitimate reasons to complain. One concern first raised by CNN's Lou Dobbs was the close ties between Bush family members of and the United Arab Emirates, the country whose firm would have taken over operations at several major U.S. ports. While there is little doubt President Bush was acting in good faith when he approved the deal, critics felts a better disclosure of business links between the Bush family and the UAE should have been on the table. The oil-rich Middle Eastern country is a major investor in The Carlyle Group, the private equity investment firm for which President Bush's father once served as a senior adviser, CNN correspondent Christine Romans revealed on "Lou Dobbs Tonight." And the president's brother Neil Bush has reportedly gotten funding for his software company from investors in the UAE, according to Romans. The UAE also has a connection with Bush's cabinet. Treasury Secretary John Snow was chairman of the railroad company CSX, which after his departure sold its international port operations to Dubai Ports World, the government-owned UAE firm that had sought to take over operations at American ports. In addition, President Bush selected David Sanborn, the former director of Dubai Ports' European and Latin American operations, to head the U.S. Maritime Administration, the agency that oversees U.S. port operations. "Now some members of Congress, some of whom have already confirmed Sanborn, say they'd like to take a closer look at this nomination," Romans reported. Lou Dobbs, who came out against the port deal, added that lobbyists for the UAE "don't see anything wrong with helping push this $7 billion port deal through, even if it raises serious questions about national security." Editor's Note:
3. ACLU Tries to Sabotage Religious Freedom Group A memo from an American Civil Liberties Union official reveals that the organization attempted to steal the thunder from the Liberty Counsel's success in aiding an artist whose art was banned as "too religious." As NewsMax revealed in early February, paintings by artist Lloyd Marcus were banned from being exhibited during a Black History Month display in Deltona, Fla., because some of his works contain "Christian symbols." The paintings reflect the artist's memories of his childhood at his dad's storefront church. One painting depicts three black people: a minister, a woman and another man wearing a baseball cap that reads "I Love Jesus." Two others contain the partial image of a Bible. "I would hardly call these paintings 'in your face religious,'" Marcus told NewsMax. The artist was informed that the works he submitted could not be displayed due to the concern that they violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause regarding the separation of church and state. Marcus contacted the Liberty Counsel, an Orlando-based litigation and education group that specializes in cases involving religious freedom and pro-family issues.
The legal group sent a letter to a Deltona official advising him that the paintings did not violate the First Amendment. When the city still refused to display the paintings, the Liberty Counsel filed suit asking a court to order Deltona to display Marcus' works. Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, said city officials then reversed their position and allowed Marcus' paintings in the exhibit. But the ACLU tried to take the wind out of Liberty Counsel's sails after they filed the suit. In a memo sent to Deltona Mayor Dennis Mulder, George Griffin, chairman of the ACLU's Volusia-Flagler chapter, suggested "a possible solution" to the controversy over the paintings. He proposed that city officials could issue a statement saying they sought another legal opinion about whether the paintings would violate the separation of church and state, according to a source who obtained the memo. Specifically, Griffin suggested that officials say they had spoken to Randall Marshall, the legal director for the ACLU of Florida, and that Marshall had assured them the display of the paintings would not violate the First Amendment. Then Griffin revealed his real motive, saying that such a move would diffuse the lawsuit "but without capitulating to the Liberty Counsel. Sure, they would probably crow 'victory,' but it would irritate the hell out of them if your decision was NOT based on their threats, but rather on legal advice from the ACLU." The ploy didn't work - the Liberty Counsel went on to claim victory despite the ACLU action. When city officials were "facing the prospect that they were going to court and that this would cost them a significant amount of money," Staver said, "they reversed their position reluctantly."
4. Banner Year for Lobbyists Last year was a bad one for lobbyists publicity-wise, with the Jack Abramoff and Randy "Duke" Cunningham scandals garnering national attention - but it was a great year for lobbying firms in terms of money. Most major lobbying organizations saw a significant rise in revenue in 2005, according to the influential publication The Hill, with several lobbyists enjoying revenue jumps of more than 20 percent. At the top of the list of firms filing an end-of-year report is Patton Boggs, which bills itself as a "full-service law firm" - it reported $37 million in revenue, up from about $31 million in 2004. "With Congress eyeing new curbs on earmarks and congressional travel in response to scandals, 2005 could wind up being a high-water mark for the lobbying industry," The Hill reports. But James Chapman of Bracewell & Giuliani, a Texas-based lobbying firm that Rudy Giuliani joined in 2004, said he didn't foresee a reduction in lobbying dollars despite the push for reform. According to Political Money Line, companies and other special interests spent $1.6 billion to lobby Congress and federal agencies during the first part of 2005 - a new six-month record for lobbying spending. Editor's Notes:
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