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News :: Civil & Human Rights : Elections & Legislation : Globalization : Health : Labor : Political-Economy |
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As the US Conventions Begin, Big Business has its Eye on Both Parties; but the Poor have the Ear of Neither |
Current rating: 0 |
by Gary Younge
(No verified email address) |
26 Jul 2004
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Of the thousands of lobbyists at the two conventions over the next month, few, if any, speak for the poor. Big business has its eye on both parties; the poor have the ear of neither. In the words of Upton Sinclair: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." |
The fog rolls in so quickly off the Atlantic that it can smother the town of Lubec, in the state of Maine, in seconds. One moment brilliant sunshine glistens off the shore; the next you can barely see to the end of the road. But directions to the easternmost town in the US are simple - head north on route 189 and if you hit the ocean or Canada, you've gone too far. In this close-knit community (population 1,652) everybody fits in to one of three categories: locals, whose families have often been here for generations; "summer people" with holiday homes; and those "from away", meaning from anywhere else.
In his stump speech, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, John Edwards, says there are two Americas: "One America - middle-class America - whose needs Washington has long forgotten; another America - narrow-interest America - whose every wish is Washington's command." Lubec's locals do not fit into either. Living in Washington County, one of the poorest in the US, they are certainly doing the work, but they are not middle class. Take Daniel Fitzsimmons. He used to employ around 50 people in a business making Christmas wreaths. When the North American Free Trade Agreement came in he went out of business, undercut by cheaper wreaths from Canada. "It's free trade to some people, but it ain't free to us because we're losing everything we had," he says.
Fitzsimmons, 41, turned to digging for clams, scallops and urchins until he found himself short of breath one day and fell to the ground. With no health insurance, he had to make himself bankrupt before he could get financial assistance for the bypass surgery he needed. "The bills were enough to give you a heart attack if you didn't have one before," he says. Now he's back, digging in the bay early every morning to catch whatever the season washes in. "If you're making a life fishing then you eat chicken one day and chicken feathers the next," he says. "You take the good with the bad."
As the convention season kicks off this week, there will be little mention of people like Fitzsimmons. The Republicans would rather forget he exists; the Democrats might talk about him, but they won't be talking to him. Both will certainly discuss the issues that matter most to him - jobs and health - but they won't address them in a way that will make a substantive difference to his daily life. Still, Fitzsimmons is backing Democratic hopeful John Kerry, enthusiastically but with no illusions. He doesn't believe the Democrats will propose a socialized healthcare system that would cater adequately for him and his family, a fair-trade policy that would protect his livelihood from cheaper labor or an economic policy that would offer him more stable employment.
The fact that doing so would jeopardize any chance of a Democratic party victory only serves to highlight the glaring dysfunction in US political culture. Of the thousands of lobbyists at the two conventions over the next month, few, if any, speak for the poor. Big business has its eye on both parties; the poor have the ear of neither. In the words of Upton Sinclair: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."
"These are the forgotten people," says Marty Shaw, who runs the Sea Coast Mission, which has a food pantry for those in need in nearby Cherryfield. "They don't count. They don't matter to either of the main parties." With more than half of its inhabitants living below the poverty line, Washington County is an extreme case. As a remote rural area which has lost what little industry it had, it owes its precarious economic viability to seasonal work. In a year, like this one, when a mild winter cuts the blueberry crop in half, those who have been teetering on the edge fall far and fast without a net to catch them. If your car packs up, your child gets sick or the weather is bad, you could find you are suddenly in serious trouble.
But on a national level the issues facing those who live here are by no means marginal. One in eight Americans lives below the poverty line and one in 10 has no health insurance. Add to that the one in eight black men in their 20s in prison, and you have a nation where being impoverished, incarcerated or in need of medical coverage is a mainstream way of life to which mainstream politics has no adequate response. That is not to say that it makes no difference to people here who wins. The economy is not the only issue they care about - there is abortion, gun control, gay marriage and the war, to name just a few. And things could get worse. And what they think could be crucial. Maine is a swing state. Al Gore took it last time, but the latest poll puts Kerry only narrowly ahead of Bush. In 2000, turnout in Lubec was more than 60% and in Cherryfield it was around 70% - way above the national average. Lubec went to Gore, Cherryfield to Bush.
Those who need change most expect it least - few here think the result will make much difference to them. On the banks of Lake Tunk, outside Cherryfield, a picnic turns to politics. Of the six people at the table, two are in their 70s and still working full time to supplement meager pensions. Two others, who are younger, have no healthcare. In 2000, five of them went for Gore and one for Bush; come November four will vote for Kerry, and two are thinking of switching to Ralph Nader.
Cynthia Huntington is one of them. She is 60 and has a hernia. But with no health insurance, she cannot afford an operation. So she has the choice of either waiting five years in pain and possibly peril so she can qualify for Medicare or having her operation now and handing her home over to the state after she dies. She has worked all her life and does not want to leave her children with nothing. She doesn't know what she's going to do, and she doesn't believe the outcome of November's election will make the decision any easier. "They don't give a shit about us," she says. "They're all rich people and they're all run by corporations. They don't care about the fact that I need surgery and can't pay for it."
"You want to let Bush back in and make things even worse," asks Gladys Pollard. "Worse than what?" asks Huntington. "Kerry's not going to get me my operation."
Huntington says she may change her mind before the election and switch back to the Democrats. "I'll talk to her," whispers Gladys. And the fog chases the dusk in over the Tunk, so thick you can barely make out the hand in front of your face, let alone the banks on the other side.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
http://www.guardian.co.uk |
Copyright by the author. All rights reserved. |
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Corporate America Shelling Out Big Bucks for Convention Visibility |
by Sharon Theimer, AP
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
26 Jul 2004
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WASHINGTON — With movie-themed parties, gourmet spreads and star-studded receptions, corporate America is rolling out the red carpet and more for Democrats at their national convention next week in Boston.
The largesse lavished on members of Congress, governors and other delegates at daytime outings, evening bashes and complimentary breakfasts, lunches and dinners is in addition to at least $39.5 million that companies, unions and others gave local organizers to help the party throw the convention that plans to nominate John Kerry for president.
“If you don’t have an event, you don’t really have tickets to trade to other events,” said Heather Podesta, a Washington lobbyist and Democratic fund-raiser attending the convention. “This is a whole other form of currency. Money doesn’t work here. Credentials and tickets to parties are your currency.”
Some companies are going all out to make sure their events make conventioneers’ agendas.
Altria Group, parent of the Philip Morris USA tobacco company, is among roughly two-dozen companies sponsoring a party with an “Indiana Jones” feel at an Egyptian exhibit at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.
“Be part of the adventure,” stated the invitation to a party for Congress’ two Democratic whips, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid and Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer. The Senate and House whips are responsible for ensuring that Democrats hew the political party line in congressional votes.
The event’s sponsors represent a Who’s Who of corporate America. In addition to Altria, they include defense contractor DynCorp International, the Allied Domecq liquor company,BellSouth, Miller Brewing, Fannie Mae and Sallie Mae, FedEx, the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America, Pitney Bowes and the National Association of Home Builders.
The media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. hopes the promise of “Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker as the special guest draws power brokers to its Wednesday reception for New York Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chuck Schumer at an upscale Boston restaurant.
“Taste and enjoy our classy cocktails, splendid spirits, exclusive elixirs and posh potables,” stated the invitation to a Monday reception honoring Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., sponsored by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and others.
Altria Group, also the parent of Kraft Foods, is sponsoring a Monday reception with the National Journal magazine advertised as a one-of-a-kind luncheon event with “lively commentary and recipe descriptions throughout the meal.”
Others are sponsoring golf outings, city tours, even batting practice. Fenway Park is a popular venue; among those choosing it as a backdrop is the Savings Coalition of America.
“There will be dozens of events – from breakfasts to lunches to golf to many late-night parties,” said Wright Andrews, a Washington lobbyist attending the convention.
Some companies are throwing parties and donating to help hold the convention in its own right. Altria, for example, donated at least $100,000 to the convention’s host committee.
Microsoft, which during the 2000 election found itself ensnared in a federal antitrust lawsuit that is now settled, will have a prominent convention presence. The Redmond, Wash., software company is helping throw a Monday night reception for the delegation from Washington state and donated nearly $1 million in software and computer support to the Democratic convention and next month’s Republican gathering in New York.
“We simply see this as a way to support our nation’s democratic process,” Microsoft’s Ginny Terzano said. “We obviously believe technology plays an increasingly important role in the electoral process, and contributing to the conventions allows Microsoft to ensure both parties are able to take advantage of all the benefits of technology.”
Several donors gave more than $1 million to the convention's host committee to help hold the Democratic gathering. They include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Inc.; the Boston Foundation; Fidelity Investments; Bank of America Corp.; the Gillette Co.; John Hancock Financial Services; Liberty Mutual Group; New Balance Athletic Shoe Co.; Raytheon; and State Street Corp.
A handful of companies donated enough goods and services to get recognized as "official providers" for the convention. Among them are Allied Domecq, the official wine and spirits provider; IBM, the official hardware provider; Microsoft, software; Motorola, "mission critical" radios; and Nextel, wireless services.
© 2004 Associated Press
http://www.ap.org |
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