Big Dogs Weblog

Bill Clinton, the 20 Million Dollar Man

by Big Dog on Jan 22, 2008 at 12:47 Political

Last night during the Democratic debate there was some banter about Hillary Clinton sitting on the board of Wal Mart (that evil corporation that does not allow unions). The news today discussed this and the fact that the Clintons owned Wal Mart stock as part of their blind trust. I think it is unlikely that they did not know they had Wal Mart stock because they probably had it before the blind trust was established but then again, I don’t care what stock they own. Stocks only matter when a Republican owns them even if they have been awarded to charity (see Dick Cheney and Halliburton).

The Clintons went through their blind trust to see if there was anything that would be problematic (if it was truly blind, would it matter) and they got rid of the Wal Mart stock. This was done to prevent problems during her run for the White House. Interestingly, they (probably more so Bill) are now in the process of severing ties with a company that will end up paying Bill about $20 million dollars. The company is Yucaipa Cos. and it is run by long time Clinton pal Ron Burkle. Interestingly, this company has ties with Dubai though the pay out comes from domestic dealings.

Not so long ago the President was trying to allow Dubai Ports permission to run six ports here in America. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer were huge opponents and Clinton was very vocal in her opposition. At the time, Bill was advising the company on how to make things smoother and get the deal passed (which did not happen). It appears that in addition to Bill there were other Hillary advisers working with Dubai only in this case it was to take over two defense plants.

Bill is severing the ties with Yucaipa because he does not want the relationship to reflect negatively on Hillary and her campaign. He is ending the relationship to prevent potential conflicts of interest. The question is, were there not conflicts related to her position as a Senator? If there were, why has he waited until now to end this relationship? If the only problem arises with her as president then why did he not end the relationship when she announced? Surely he was aware of any potential conflict.

Severing the tie to Dubai, a U.S. ally, will remove a potentially tricky problem for Mrs. Clinton. Questions raised about the activities of sovereign wealth funds — giant pools of money controlled by foreign governments — have become a campaign issue, as the funds have made a spate of multibillion-dollar investments in such corporate giants as Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mrs. Clinton said such purchases are “a source of concern,” partly because the foreign funds “lack transparency” and could be used by foreign governments as “instruments of foreign policy.” WSJ

With this item things become more clear. This was not a problem until Hillary called these kinds of relationships a “source of concern.” With that, Bill had to relieve himself of the burden of those kinds of concern so that Hillary’s chief rival, Senator Obama, would not be able to use the relationship against her as he did with her and Wal Mart.

The Clintons are opportunists and they only worry about potential conflicts when people discover them. They will keep potential conflicts alive as long as they can make money and there is no political liability (as in being discovered). Once there is mention of a problem or once Hillary makes a statement that is contrary to the Clinton’s behavior, things get changed. Of course, they always act as if there was never a problem and anyone who thinks otherwise is part of some conspiracy (Vast Right Wing or otherwise). Do as I say and not as I do.

I can’t help but wonder how Clinton and Schumer and the other Democrats would have acted if it were a Bill or Hillary Clinton that worked the Dubai Ports deal. Of course, the Republicans probably would have had a different opinion as well.

The Clintons have their hands in a lot of cookie jars. It will be interesting to see how many of them become public knowledge as the campaign season rolls along.

Others with similar items:
Is It Just Me?, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Faultline USA, Allie is Wired, third world county, Right Truth, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, Celebrity Smack, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Dumb Ox Daily News, CORSARI D’ITALIA, Adeline and Hazel, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Tags: blind trust, burkle, Clinton, conflict of interest, yucaipa