Dick Gephardt: Defender of “Corporate Citizenry”

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Super Lobbyists Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt

Super Lobbyists Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt

When many of these previously principled legislators get out of congress, they wrap themselves in the warm embraces of the “corporate citizenry” and shed the financial limits of their “values”.

When Gephardt ran for president in 1988, his ads claimed he had “defeated the strongest lobbying effort in history,” and even in his waning Congressional years, he hardly seemed a defender of lobbying. “I’m running for president because I’ve had enough of the oil barons, the status-quo apologists, the special-interest lobbyists running amok,” he proclaimed in February 2003.

[…]

In April 2007, soon after the firm’s first set of lobbying filings became public, Matthew Gephardt, a founding partner in his father’s business, laid out the firm’s philosophy: “We’re really getting involved with companies that share our values–ones involved in good corporate citizenry, with taking care of their employees, taking care of the environment and their local area as well, investing back in the community.”

By these standards, Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private coal company and the firm’s first registered client, was a bizarre choice.

[…]

With Tom Daschle, Gephardt has advised UnitedHealth Group, one of America’s largest private insurers, which has waged a strong campaign against a public option. Since 2007 Gephardt has served on the advisory board of Extend Health, another insurance company, graduating to the board of directors earlier this year. However, his biggest involvement has been with the pharmaceutical industry.

via Dick Gephardt’s Spectacular Sellout.

This is where Grayson should also apologize to the house floor for his statements for Republican health care reforms. When the former House and Senate majority leaders of your own party are working for the “corporate citizenry”, then no longer can you just say that Republicans health care plan is “die quickly”. When these two get called out, then you can get props. Until then, spare me the theatrics.