The U.S. Chamber is a massive wrecking ball, bringing destruction to our democracy through its multipronged efforts of lobbying, secret money campaign finance spending. It and other groups representing massive corporate and billionaire funds have caused tremendous damage to our democracy.The membership of the Chamber is a closely guarded secret if memory serves me. This article explains why.
"Fed Up With the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Anti-Democracy Activities? So is an Ambitious New Coalition." By Craig Sandler, Chamber Watch, 11/13/18.
While I despise the chamber of commerce this group is clearly another faux freedom group. Democracy is mostly dangerous because depending upon the collective wisdom of individuals who are unable to solve their own problems is not very wise. I can easily see this group carrying out plans the chamber favors while the two "battle" in public.
ReplyDeleteBunny, I would advise your readers to read the link you post to and its links to look for proof of malfeasance of their local chamber of commerce. I would than advise them to go the link to Declaration for American Democracy which your linked article strongly endorses. And scroll down to see who endorses it.
ReplyDeletehttps://declarationforamericandemocracy.org/?fbclid=IwAR20nD5So0xfkbFURDohh045KrPqGnnULzfW0h7tZEcz0Wq3HZvFJNilAqo
Here are just a few:
American Federation of Teachers (rich, coming from a group that decries big money in politics)
Demos
End Citizens United
Blue Future
Greenpeace
CODEPINK [sic}
Center for American Progress
Illinois Democratic Women
NARAL Pro-Choice America
Daily Kos
MeveOn
SEIU
NAACP
National LGBTQ Task Force
and on and on
Tim Turner
Mr. Olson, Chamber Watch is new to me. I can see nothing wrong with what I quoted from their site and can only see it at first glance as something of a citizen watchdog group. I know of nothing to suggest that it's not a genuine group, other than your suggestion that it might be problematical.
ReplyDeleteI welcome scrutiny of the USCOC. It seems suspect to me for all that it DIDN'T say over the years as NAFTA, our insane favoring of China, our insane evisceration of our industrial bases, and open borders appeared and took root. That what one might conclude is the premier US business group with plenty of money just sat there and sucked its thumb as American factories took flight for China is just bizarre. Had I been influential in that organization I'd have said we have to have a comprehensive proposal to completely undercut all business decision making that resulted in moving tens of thousands of factories to China. Was there nothing the USG could have done? Lowered corporate tax rate? Permit repatriation of foreign earnings? Reform of tort laws? Rational environmental and energy regulation? You name it and your own list of three action items would be three more than I ever heard come out of the Chamber.
Mr. Turner, that's a good catch and I was remiss in not investigating further. I still have no disagreement with the passage I quoted for the reasons stated in my reply to Mr. Olson's comment. Premier business lobby group, huge resources, and (deliberate) passivity in the face of US manufacturing being gutted and borders left open to drive wages down for all.
ReplyDeleteReading more about the Chamber Watch group as you suggested makes me see I was wrong to think of them as some kind of citizen watchdog group. Mr. Olson is correct about its being a faux freedom group. I'm with them on the danger of special interests and the damage they've caused to "democracy." So far so good. America's political elites despise the Constitution and the historic (white) people of America and "reforms" are needed. Your putting your finger on who's who in the Declaration for American Democracy, however, gives a clear picture of what kinds of "reforms" we can expect, though they do call for enforcement of our election laws, for which hooray. I doubt that means purging voter rolls, however.
Bottom line, the Chamber is no friend to us chickens and the Chamber Watch outfit is best kept away with a ten-foot Pole, though I don't think I've ever met one THAT tall.