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IN THE POCKET OF BIG CORN.
I'd be remiss in my ongoing campaign against the dangers of the Corn Lobby if I failed to note that Hillary Clinton campaign, according to a report by ABC News' Jake Tapper, announced plans to hold a "Rural Americans for Hillary" briefing and luncheon in the Washington offices of the lobbying firm that represents agribusiness giant Monsanto. Monsanto is a major employer in Iowa, but this is ridiculous.
--Garance Franke-Ruta
COMMENTS (6)
War on Big Corn!
Ever since my second post on Ezra's blog, I've been totally behind this.
Posted by: Neil the Ethical Werewolf | October 18, 2007 3:50 PM
But there's nothing "ridiculous" about it. This is a major lobbying firm with hundreds upon hundreds of clients. You have to show some kind of actual connection between Monsanto and this luncheon before I care, otherwise it's just the "six degrees of separation" game that seems to bore actual voters.
Whoever managed to get this story out in the press with the framing "Hillary lunches with Monsanto lobbyists" did a great job, but seriously, aren't we all supposed to be a little bit smarter than that?
Posted by: Steve | October 18, 2007 4:01 PM
Steve, do you have any idea what in the lobbying firm's offices besides their support for Monsanto had to do with rural America? In the absence of anything else, I'm left thinking that that's supposed to be the connection.
Posted by: Neil the Ethical Werewolf | October 18, 2007 4:16 PM
It's not just Big Corn, it's Big Sugar:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/search.asp?txtCID=&name=fanjul&employ=%28any+employer%29&state=%28all%29&zip=%28any+zip%29&submit=OK&amt=a&sort=A
All to HRC or Chris Dodd.
I want my cheaper, better, pure sugar Coca-Cola!
Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot | October 18, 2007 5:15 PM
Well, that's a good question, Neil. I'm not sure I have an answer.
As for Big Sugar, maybe that's why no one wants to normalize relations with Cuba!
Posted by: Steve | October 18, 2007 5:19 PM
It's funny that this so-called progressvice website has this Hillary and the corn lobby stuff, but has not covered her plans she unveiled this week to give regular americans seven paid sick days a year, or to offer paid FMLA, or prevent parents from being discriminated against because of pregnancy or parenting care giving (read breastfeeding) or even to expand FMLA to 13 million more americans. I guess that sort of stuff isn't progressive.
Posted by: Melanie | October 20, 2007 1:47 AM