The Administration and Congressional leaders insist jobs are a priority, right? And most would acknowledge that the private sector has at least a role to play in creating jobs.
Do they not recognize that maligning the private sector fosters uncertainty, that attacking the motives of corporations creates a business climate that discourages investment? Demonizing employers does not help create jobs.
Anyway, just a couple of thoughts after reading the New York Times’ coverage of the latest development on H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act, to limit political speech by disfavored groups. From the story, “Senate Democrats Call on House to Support DISCLOSE Bill,” based on a letter written by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), chairman of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee:
“The Roberts Court and its activist majority overturned decades of law and precedent and gave corporations and other special interests unprecedented new power to influence America’s elections,” Mr. Reid and Mr. Schumer continued. “Additionally, the activist decision opened the door to foreign-controlled corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on American political campaigns.”
The senators added, “We fully agree that Congress must take a stand against this naked power grab sanctioned by the Roberts Court and pass the DISCLOSE act.” And they wrote, “We commit to working tirelessly for Senate consideration of the House-passed bill so it can be signed by the president in time to take effect for the 2010 elections.”
The assertions about foreign corporations spending unlimited amounts are not just inflammatory, they are untrue, just as they were when the President made them in the State of the Union address in January. Former FEC Chairman Bradley Smith explained:
The president also stated, again misleadingly, that the decision would open the door for foreign corporations to spend unlimited sums in American elections. In fact, another provision of federal law, not at issue in the case, already prohibits any foreign national, including foreign corporations, from spending money in any federal campaign. FEC regulations, which have the force of law, further prohibit any foreign national from playing any role in the political spending decisions of any U.S. corporation, political action committee, or association. And the Court specifically stated that Citizens United was not addressing these laws at all. So while some states may tweak their state rules in the wake of Citizens United to limit the ability of U.S. incorporated and head-quartered subsidiaries of foreign corporations to spend money in campaigns, the “foreign corporation” bogeyman is little more than leftist demagoguery.
Foreign-owned corporations create millions of jobs in the United States. Instead of accusing them of trying to undermine U.S. democracy, it would be better to say, “Thank you.”
If jobs are a priority, that is.
Previous NAM communications …
- Joint letter from 232 trade associations and activist groups, including the NAM, objecting to H.R. 5175, the anti-speech DISCLOSE Act.
- NAM Key Vote letter.
- NAM news release.
June 23rd, 2010 on 5:48 am
Disclose Act Will Choke First Amendment
The Neomarxist behind the Obama/FTC intend to drown out the voice of America with Obama/Marxist propaganda, enforcing new regulations that will cripple bloggers and other alternative media from disseminating information, free speech that grass-roots among other organizations depend on to make informed decisions. Obama’s support of the DISCLOSE Act confirmed what many Americans already believed; that Obama and certain Democrats in Congress intend to strangle the flow of information. If Obama and his leftists associations get their way, our Children will be brainwashed by Obama’s one-sided propaganda at school, through Obama controlled Radio, TV and Obama media policies that restrict the free flow of information. Historically when communists attempted or took over a country, one of their first steps was to control the media and all forms of public communications to control Civilian populations. When Russia took over Hungary, it immediately took control of the Radio stations to thwart Citizen resistance and to psychologically control the People. Considering the Obama administration’s obsession with controlling all media, one might ask, are some of the same persons inside and outside U.S. Government working with the Obama administration to push the Disclose Act and other censorship regulations, involved in causes that promulgate overthrow of the United States? While some in the Obama Government say they support dismantling capitalism, brick by brick, does their endgame call for destruction of the United States? If it does, what should Americans do to stop it? Does the Obama administration’s proposed censorship of free speech e.g., the Disclose Act threaten National Security? In other countries where members of political parties and ideological extremists attempted or succeeded in this kind of forced censorship, forbidding Citizens to receive information, they have been arrested for treason among other crimes. The Obama administration appears intended to curtail Americans’ right to know, restrict American’s right to communicate via the Internet and the Obama administration admits they want to pay writers in newspapers and other media to covertly propagandize their point of view. Is this not treason? Top CZAR Cass Sunstein prepared a 2008 paper that proposed spying on Americans, infiltrating groups and organizations to obstruct Free Speech, disrupt the exchange of ideas and disseminate false information to neutralize Americans that might question government.
See: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=121884
The majority of Americans oppose military governments. But increasingly during the last six months, more Americans quietly state they would trust the U.S. Military running U.S. Government temporarily over extremists in Obam’s government; that they would support a quasi Civilian/military form of government temporarily provided their civil and constitutional rights were protected and importantly, all leftists extremists in U.S. Government were deposed. This recent change of attitude by Americans might be explained by the fact they can relate to their U.S. Military and find nothing in common with Obama and his extreme leftist associations and supporters. Increasingly Americans appear to fear the Obama government more than the idea of having the U.S. Military temporarily run U.S. Government. Additionally Obama’s refusal to secure America’s Mexican border might have contributed to Americans identifying with a quasi/U.S. military government over an Obama government that won’t protect Border States from foreign invaders. The number of Marxists in the U.S. is small, but having them control any part of our government is repugnant to most Americans that believe it not in the best interest of our economy, national defense and National Security. Considering the direction America is going economically, more Americans are afraid that if things collapse, Obama might use the U.S. Military against U.S. Citizens; that should things collapse a quasi Civilian/U.S. Military government not the Obama administration should run America. This is mentioned only to note there is a strong wind blowing across America, that is howling enough Obama.