Private Prison Lobbyists Are Raising Cash for Hillary Clinton - TheIntercept

[WillyT]

Private Prison Lobbyists Are Raising Cash for Hillary Clinton
Lee Fang - TheIntercept
July 23 2015, 10:49 a.m.

<snip>

As immigration and incarceration issues become central to the 2016 presidential campaign, lobbyists for two major prison companies are serving as top fundraisers for Hillary Clinton. Corrections Corporation of America and the Geo Group could both see their fortunes turning if there are fewer people to lock up in the future.

Last week, Clinton and other candidates revealed a number of lobbyists who are serving as “bundlers” for their campaigns. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2178532-clintonbundlers.html Bundlers collect contributions on behalf of a campaign, and are often rewarded with special favors, such as access to the candidate.

Richard Sullivan, of the lobbying firm Capitol Counsel, is a bundler for the Clinton campaign, bringing in $44,859 in contributions in a few short months. Sullivan is also a registered lobbyist for the Geo Group, a company that operates a number of jails, including immigrant detention centers, for profit.

As we reported yesterday, fully five Clinton bundlers work for the lobbying and law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Corrections Corporation of America, the largest private prison company in America, paid Akin Gump $240,000 in lobbying fees last year. The firm also serves as a law firm for the prison giant, representing the company in court.

Akin Gump lobbyist and Clinton bundler Brian Popper disclosed that he previously helped CCA defeat efforts to compel private prisons to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Hillary Clinton has a complicated history with incarceration. As first lady, she championed efforts to get tough on crime. “We need more police, we need more and tougher prison sentences for repeat offenders,” Clinton said in 1994. “The ‘three strikes and you’re out’ for violent offenders has to be part of the plan. We need more prisons to keep violent offenders for as long as it takes to keep them off the streets,” she added.

In recent months, Clinton has tacked left in some ways...

<snip>

More: https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/23/private-prison-lobbyists-raising-cash-hillary-clinton/

[Thinkingabout]

1. Maybe they are fund raising for the candidate they think is the better choice.

All eligible voters have the right to cast a ballot, doesn't matter where you work.

[WillyT]

16. Um... Nevermind...

[Snotcicles]

115. I feel ya. nt

[MrMickeysMom]

22. Maybe monkeys are gonna fly out of my ass...

Yep…

[London Lover Man]

26. Think about what you just said.

Again.

[SolutionisSolidarity]

31. That's exactly what she is. The best Democratic choice for the private prison industry.

[Man from Pickens]

32. The Clintons are the best friends the prison industry ever had

They both ramped up incarceration to insane levels AND gave in to Repub privatization efforts.

[Plucketeer]

35. That was my FIRST thought

Who's more deserving of this cash source?

[brooklynite]

48. That's why her first policy speech was on ending mass incarceration?

[Man from Pickens]

53. And you believe her?

Out of curiosity, just how many times are you willing to be lied to, to your face, without apology or admission or remorse, before you stop believing what that person says?

HRC has exceeded that threshold for most, long ago.

[brooklynite]

56. Ah, the "she's lying to your face" argument...

...try that one out and see how many people you move from Clinton to Sanders.

[Man from Pickens]

59. Why would I want to do that?

I'm in the almost-undecided camp, not the Sanders camp. The "almost" in my undecided is that under no circumstances will HRC get my vote or support in any way - primary OR general.

The rest of the candidates, and any new candidate that may yet enter the race, still have a chance of getting my vote.

My hostility to HRC has everything to do with HRC and nothing at all to do with Sanders or any other candidate.

[brooklynite]

67. I forgot to mention (and I'm not boasting but there's no other way to put this out)...

...since I'm one the 1%ers who's funding her campaign, I'm thinking she WON'T lie to my face. But your concern is appreciated.

[Unknown Beatle]

72. With Hillary's history

and her flip flopping, all the news articles and videos showing that she leans whichever way the political wind is blowing at the time, keeping quiet about the TPP and TTIP, getting money from big banks and corporations and now the prison industrial complex, and there's much more than meets the eye, and you believe her lies?

You can lead a person to knowledge but you can't make them think.

[London Lover Man]

78. Nice to learn that you have blown your money into a failing effort n/t

[brooklynite]

79. "Failing" = 58% of the vote...

I'd hate to see success...

[artislife]

82. inner circle anyone?

To big money she's truthful. Hmmm.

[brooklynite]

85. Name something she's said differently to you than to me.

I've heard her discuss criminal justice reform, immigration reform, election and campaign finance reform.....

[artislife]

86. I am just responding to your one post right there

That is the subtext I read.

[brooklynite]

87. And you said that she's truthful to people like me...which means she NOT truthful to people like you

What has she not been truthful about?

[artislife]

88. That is what I read in your post.

I am 1%. She's not going to lie to me.

I would quote but too cumbersome on a phone.

[artislife]

89. gotta run and earn money

In case you post and are waiting for a reply.

[druidity33]

98. That really does NOT

make me want to vote for her. I completely understand why you support her. Good luck with that.

[bvar22]

117. If you ARE a 1%er,

....then Hillary IS "your gal".
Anyone who is NOT a 1%er is a fool for voting Hillary or another Republican.

[brooklynite]

119. Right...because ALL wealthy people are conservatives...

...and all working class people are liberals, right?

[bvar22]

129. There are outliers,

but it is safe to say that RICH people vote Republican. They didn't get RICH by being stupid,
and I've seen the long line of brand new Giant Escolades lining up tp get into Republican events

IT is a safe generalization.

When I was 10 year old, my father told me he would "beat my ass" if he ever caught me voting for a Republican.....UNLESS I had a MILLION (1959) dollars in the bank. THEN, he would understand. Anyone with less in the bank is a damned fool.

[brooklynite]

130. I know PLENTY of Rich people who vote Democratic...

...and more to the point vote for and financially support Democrats who advocate progressive policies.

As I've said, I have no issue with any of Sanders' positions; I simply question his ability to get elected to implement them, and I'm not prepared to let the Republicans get into office by virtue of a noncompetitive candidate.

[brooklynite]

131. I'd say this table shows a rather large number of "outliers"

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/wealth-poverty/income-upshot/behind-data-political-ideology-and-income

[bvar22]

132. So you are REALLY coming to DU insisting that...

..The Republican Party is NOT "The Party of the RICH?"


You won't find much support for THAT fantasy.


The Democratic Party I joined in 1966 WAS the Party of the Working Man.
Sadly, this is no longer true.

[brooklynite]

133. I think the Republican Party is many things...

...the Party of people for whom BEING RICH is important is one of them. Not necessarily the Party of people who HAPPEN to be rich.

[Luminous Animal]

134. A candidate CAN end mass incarceration AND support private prisons.

Currently, private prisons hold about 8% of the prisoner population. The way to appease the prison industrial complex while reducing incarceration is to accelerate the transfer of all remaining federal government run prisons to private interests.

[840high]

54. I had to read this twice to

make sure I read what I read. WTH?

[historylovr]

65. Right?

[rhett o rick]

90. Really? That's your explanation? And all Wall Street lobbyists are just eligible voters

looking to do their civic duty.

Many Clinton supporters like her because, in their words, she is tough. Clinton believes in smiting the devils in Iraq and she believes that the deadbeats need to be in prison. I haven't heard if she supports private prisons over government prisons but I am betting she does. Maybe you have some facts that I've missed.

Tough like the Margret Thatcher maybe.

[kenfrequed]

114. Donors expect things

Really, how is it that anyone really needs to tell you this?

[virtualobserver]

2. pro-incarceration for-profit lobbyists - what could be crazier?

That plumbs the depths of our money-driven politics.

[whatchamacallit]

8. Barney Frank says Hillary will need your vote to get money out of politics

Last edited Fri Jul 24, 2015, 02:25 AM - Edit history (1)

[virtualobserver]

9. yeah, our vote.... because our money wouldn't mean much to her n/t

[FlatBaroque]

12. We need more guns and missles

so we can end this war.

[betterdemsonly]

3. Her record of supporting laws that increase black incarceration rates by far the worst of bunch

O'Malley would be in second place. Bernie has consistently opposes broken windows and 3 strickes your out laws. O'Malley on broke the dlc mold by being against the dealth penalty, but otherwise supported both broken windows and 3 strikes your out.

[cstanleytech]

29. Personally I never understood the logic for the 3 strikes law and thought it flawed.

I could see if it was for major violent crimes like armed robbery or something along those lines but they have sent people to prison under that laws absurdly for things like shoplifting some vhs tapes.

[snagglepuss]

33. If I remember correctly 3 strikes law came upon the heels of

of prison privatisation.

[Le Taz Hot]

51. Three Strikes came about because of Mike Reynolds

whose daughter (I forget her name) was murdered by a person with a long prison record and it was argued that he was only out because of a lax criminal justice system. Reynolds is an ultra-right wing conservative and his daughter was white and the murderer was African-American but don't think there was any racism behind all this, no sirreee. They got it in during a Republican Administration. Iirc it was about 25 years ago or so.

Just for the record, we don't have private prisons in California. The union is too strong.

[zeemike]

42. The logic is clear.

Three strikes and you have filled a bed in your prison for the life of the prisoner and have profit for the rest of his life...permanent profit stream

[CrispyQ]

94. There are some things that are just morally wrong to profit from.

Locking up fellow citizens is one.

[zeemike]

95. Yep.

But in this age of unprecedented greed there are no limits to what can be profited on.

[appalachiablue]

126. Michelle Alexander's widely acclaimed book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration

in the Age of Colorblindness" (2010) exposed the enormous increase in the private, for profit prison industry population in the US in the last 20+ years. Alexander is a Civil Rights lawyer, advocate and legal scholar.

The New Jim Crow Website with a Book Lecture Trailer by the author.
http://newjimcrow.com/about/book-trailer

[zeemike]

128. That was interesting thanks.

But it just confirms what I already believe to be true.

But none dare call it a conspiracy because that would be a theory and that is not permissible.
But as long as you don't use the language of racism and say the N word no one can say it is done for that reason.

[1monster]

60. One guy in California got 25 to life for stealing a piece of pizza. Another for

shop lifting a pair of socks... And as he put it, they were just white socks. They didn't even have a strip.

[cstanleytech]

62. Well like I said it just seems absurd

for extremely minor crimes not to mention it seems like it would be unconstitutional but then again I think scotus got citizens united wrong also.

[grasswire]

4. disgusting corporate values

A disproportionate number of PoC are imprisoned in our penal "plantations" and Hillary Clinton is being financed by these modern-day overseers.

Sickening.

Thanks, Willy

[WillyT]

6. Anytime grasswire, Anytime...

[grasswire]

10. this is important

I'm gonna keep kicking it.

This is a total deal breaker for me. I'll work like hell to keep Hillary from being the nominee.

[grasswire]

5. fromthe comments section of that article

Great article, and last time I checked the majority owners of CCA were Vanguard Group and BlackRock, and the majority owners of Geo were Vanguard Group and Fidelity.

Now, what are the top four major investment firms which together have the controlling shares in the majority of major corporations in America (and also Europe, I believe)?

BlackRock, Vanguard Group, State Street (owned by BlackRock, but still retains the name) and Fidelity or FMR LLC.

Interesting, huh?

The historical monies in BlackRock would lead one to believe it is controlled by either the Rockefeller family, or else the Rockefeller and Cabot families.

Vanguard controls the Wellington Fund (advisor to the Wellington Fund is the Wellington Management Company, therefore financially interlocked with Vanguard), and since Vanguard is owned by their investors, the original majority investor in the firm which then changed its name to the Wellington Fund was (is?) the British branch of the Rothschild family. (While every random person always claims the Rothschilds own everything, this isn’t the case, but in this instance, it appears a probable.)

Fidelity is controlled by the Johnson family.

Three or four families, mainly Old Money, appear to be running the show?

All factually based input criticizing what I’ve written is welcome.

[WillyT]

7. Thank You For That...

[zeemike]

46. What a tangled web they weave

And then they practice to deceive.

[Zorra]

11. Here's why: The Clinton Dynasty's Horrific Legacy: More Drug War, More Prisons

Pandering to "tough on crime" politics and "war on drugs" rhetoric helped create the world's largest prison system. Has Hillary learned anything?
By Jeff Stein / Salon
April 13, 2015
snip----
Just before the New Hampshire primary, Bill Clinton famously flew back to Arkansas to personally oversee the execution of a mentally impaired African-American inmate named Ricky Ray Rector. The “New Democrat” spoke on the campaign trail of being tougher on criminals than Republicans; and the symbolism of the Rector execution was followed by a series of Clinton “tough on crime” measures, including: a $30 billion crime bill that created dozens of new federal capital crimes; new life-sentence rules for some three-time offenders; mandatory minimums for crack and crack cocaine possession; billions of dollars in funding for prisons; extra funding for states that severely punished convicts; limited judges’ discretion in determining criminal sentences; and so on. There is very strong evidence that these policies had a small impact on actual crime rates, totally out of proportion to their severity.

There is also very strong evidence that these policies contributed to the immiseration of vast numbers of black (and also white) Americans at the bottom of the economic ladder, according to the well-known conclusions of journalists, academics and other criminal justice experts. Federal funding for public housing fell by $17 billion (a 61 percent reduction) under Bill Clinton’s tenure; federal funding for corrections rose by $19 billion (an increase of 171 percent), according to Michelle Alexander’s seminal work, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.” The federal government’s new priorities redirected nearly $1 billion in state spending for higher education to prison construction. Clinton put a permanent eligibility ban for welfare or food stamps on anyone convicted of a felony drug offense (including marijuana possession). He prohibited drug felons from public housing. Any liberal arts grad with an HBO account can tell you the consequences for poor, black American cities like Baltimore. As Alexander writes, “More than any other president, [Clinton] created the current racial under caste.”

As recently noted by Reason.com, Hillary actively lobbied for the aforementioned criminal justice reforms as First Lady and, as a New York senator, voted to expand grants that dramatically scaled up police involvement in anti-terror and homeland security efforts. She also said things like this, in support of a crime bill that would impose Draconian new sentencing provisions:

“We need more police, we need more and tougher prison sentences for repeat offenders. The three strikes and you’re out for violent offenders has to be part of the plan. We need more prisons to keep violent offenders for as long as it takes to keep them off the streets.”

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/clinton-dynasty-horrific-legacy-more-drug-war-more-prisons

Black Lives Matter.

(Courtesy of a hidden post by woomewithscience)

[hifiguy]

15. As usual, Zorra, you hit the nail squarely on the head. nt

[WillyT]

99. + 1,000,000,000... What You Said !!!

Thank you...

[appalachiablue]

127. The Struggle Continues, The New Jim Crow/Slavery by Another Name

[seveneyes]

13. Broke, Broker, Broken

[hifiguy]

14. As surprising as the sun rising in the east.

They wouldn't be forking over the cash unless there was something juicy waiting for them in return - namely $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[CharlotteVale]

17. Doesn't sound "complicated" to me at all. Sounds crystal clear.

[pnwmom]

18. Capitol Counsel is a large firm that represents many corporations,

including Amgen, Hilton, and Cisco Systems.

But let's pretend they only represent private prisons.

[WillyT]

20. She Could Refuse Their Money... She Has More Than Enough...

As a matter of principle...

[pnwmom]

23. Sorry, I don't believe in unilateral disarmament. The Rethug will probably have twice

as much to spend as Hillary anyway, since the Koch brothers have already pledged to donate a billion between the two of them.

Until Citizens vs. United is overturned, those are the rules.

[WillyT]

24. So... You Will Accept Money From ANYBODY ???

I doubt it.

[cstanleytech]

30. Hey if the Koch brothers want to give me a billion I will gladly accept it, I didnt say I would

support any law they wanted or favored but I will gladly take their money off their hands and then buy a nice little island and move to it

[Man from Pickens]

57. Why would they offer you anything if they didn't expect you'd play along?

HRC has demonstrated that she's willing to do absolutely anything, no matter how heinous, to reward a major donor - such as throwing black people in prison en masse, or starting wars that benefit no one but arms dealers, or lifting the brakes that previously prevented the banks from completely blowing up the economy.

[cstanleytech]

61. Hey I can dream that they would be stupid enough to offer me that much money cant I?

[tazkcmo]

96. And it would be a dream. n/t

[pnwmom]

41. No. But this is a large lobbying firm that represents many companies.

It misrepresents them to call them Private prison lobbyists as if they have an exclusive relationship with them.

[WillyT]

100. It's Called DIVESTMENT... And It Worked Pretty Good With South Africa

Putting one's money, with one's morals.

[pnwmom]

101. Oh, right. Maybe you should talk to Bernie about that.

Hillary is not the only one who has had to make compromises.

Show me a politician who has never compromised, and I'll show you a one-termer.

http://muckraker-gg.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-lockheed-and-sandia-came-to-vermont.html

On October 2, 2009 Senator Bernie Sanders made one of his classic fiery speeches on the floor of the US Senate. This time Vermont's independent socialist was taking on Lockheed Martin and other top military contractors for what he called “systemic, illegal, and fraudulent behavior, while receiving hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money.”

Among other crimes, Sanders mentioned how Lockheed had defrauded the government by fraudulently inflating the cost of several Air Force contracts, lied about the costs when negotiating contracts for the repairs on US warships, and submitted false invoices for payment on a multi-billion dollar contract connected to the Titan IV space launch vehicle program.

A month later, however, he was in a different mood when he hosted a delegation from Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia is managed for the Department of Energy by Sandia Inc., a wholly-owned Lockheed subsidiary. At Sanders’ invitation, the Sandia delegation was in Vermont to talk partnership and scout locations for a satellite lab. He had been working on the idea since 2008 when he visited Sandia headquarters in New Mexico.

SNIP

[WillyT]

104. Good To Know... Thanks... Still Trust Bernie Over Hillary Though...

[bvar22]

120. If a subsidiary of Locheed is involved in trying to solve our energy problems,

I will support THAT.
If LOckheed would get out of the Killing & War Business, it would be even better.

[pnwmom]

121. I agree. My point is that EVERY politician, including Bernie, has to make political compromises.

And he did when he courted a Lockheed subsidiary.

[bvar22]

122. A Lockheed "subsidiary" working to solve our energy problems?

I support that too.
I don't support the parent company. Subsidiaries are NOT the Parent Company.

These are some of the most brilliant and far thinking engineers America has to offer.

[azmom]

19. They are making millions off of my brothers and sisters

Operation Streamline has been hugely profitable to the private prison industry. Since the announcement of Operation Streamline, the United States federal government has spent an estimated $5.5 billion incarcerating undocumented immigrants outside the civil immigration system, exceeding an annual commitment of more than $1 billion for the first time in history this past year.xl According to 2011 per- diem profit margins, incarcerated immigrants (not including those in civil detention) provide prison companies with an estimated $246,561 in daily profits, or roughly $90 million per year.xli Revenues provided by the federal government to just two private prison companies in 2011 exceeded $1.4 billion, more than double the corresponding figure from 2005.xlii



Shame on them and shame on Hillary for taking their dirty money.

[bvar22]

118. Profiting off of Human Misery.

I don't see how they sleep at night.
"It takes a Village to raise a Child"

It takes a sociopath to jail minorities for money.

[azmom]

123. And to top it all off , these fuckers

Avoid paying Corporate income taxes

The real estate investment trust (REIT) loophole allows private prisons, billboard companies, casinos and other companies claim that they are making money from rents to avoid paying the corporate income tax.

[George II]

21. And they just keep digging up the dirt, eh?

[WillyT]

25. If You Ain't Dirty... You've Got Nothing To Fear...

[George II]

28. I farted in church last weekend, I guess I'm a bad Catholic.

[Cosmic Kitten]

36. For Profit Prison is the reason for INCARCERATION NATION

Millions of PoC incarcerated for profit.

Taking those bundled funds
would make the candidate
a bad human being.

Profiting from human misery
is an immoral, foul deed.

[George II]

45. As has been noted on this site and elsewhere a million times...

...a candidate has no control over those who solicit donations for them.

Let Hillary Clinton know about your concerns, I'm sure she'll do something about it. Proclaiming outrage here won't do much good at all.

[kenfrequed]

116. Why?

Why should I bother writing letters and trying to make noise about every single objectionable donation she has received? I think they speak more a pattern of behavior and an expectation of who she is going to go to work for. Rather than waste my time trying to convince her campaign to give back the money to every bankster and prison-merchant I think I will just use my time supporting the candidate who has had over 70% of his donations from people that have put forth less than $200.

[George II]

125. Knock yourself out.

[Plucketeer]

38. Did you leave a little something in the plate?

God will forgive - even if those in nearby pus don't

[George II]

43. Don't know if you're old enough to remember, but George Carlin called it "the one cheek sneak"!

[Plucketeer]

66. LOL!

I doo.

[CelticWarrior1]

55. No you're not

As long as you didn't lean sideways and have it ricochet off the pew and echo off the ceiling, you should be fine. 3 Hail Mary's and 3 Our Fathers should cure you of any guilt.

[WillyT]

71. Did You Go To Confession Over Your Fart ???

[Omaha Steve]

47. Ya at the same blog goes after Hillary too...OOPS!

And there is more. Still want to go there?

#ClintonEmails — Hillary doubles down on teh stupidz: http://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2015/03/clintonemails-hillary-doubles-down-on.html

The cult of Hillary grows — anti-populist human bites dog: http://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-cult-of-hillary-grows-anti-populist.html

[pnwmom]

44. So he's not as pure as some people think. Thanks for the info. n/t

[Cosmic Kitten]

34. Clinton's INCARCERATION NATION

[WillyT]

37. Wonder What Will Happen If BLM Gets A Load Of This ???

[Maedhros]

111. One would think that they would have already known of Hillary's long and illustrious

association with the prison-industrial complex. I find it surprising that they haven't said something already, given the blatant racism rampant in the prison industry. One look inside a Federal Supermax prison should piss off anyone with a conscience.

[AtomicKitten]

39. Payback for her husband's "tough on crime" policies producing mass incarceration.

Nothing to see here folks.

[cantbeserious]

40. HRC - A Friend To Corporations In Need

eom

[bvar22]

50. ....even if it means locking up minorities in "Private" Prisons For Profit.

[font size=4] Hey!
Its FREE TRADE!
[/font]

(Free Trading in Human Misery)

[cantbeserious]

52. ^^^ THIS ^^^

eom

[Cheese Sandwich]

49. I think Hillary will strengthen the private prison industry to pay these gentlemen back.

Private for-profit prisons are actually a horrible idea in my opinion.

[HooptieWagon]

58. Im sure the expect her to fill their profit prisons...

Why else would they be donating?

Question is: who are they going to incarcerate? Minorities, perhaps?

[ibegurpard]

63. of course they are

[historylovr]

64. K &R

[azmom]

68. They exploit tax loopholes too.

REITs are a special tax designation for companies that focus on real estate holdings. CCA was able to make the successful claim to the Internal Revenue Service that the money they collect from government entities for holding prisoners is essentially the same as rent

[WillyT]

69. Late Nite Kick !!!

[sabrina 1]

70. 'Tacked left'. You are either there or you are not. And if you only

tack left during campaigns, don't expect the Left to buy it.

[sabrina 1]

73. The Private Prison Industry is a stain on this nation. She should

refuse to accept a dime from them. I hope one day it will be abolished, no Private entity should be running prisons, the incentive is to fill them up, and the Tough on Crime policies were intended to do just that.

[WillyT]

74. + 1,000,000,000 - What You Said !!!

[grasswire]

75. Bill Clinton's p olicies...

...which Hillary supported.

[Scuba]

76. /\_/\_This right here_/\_/\

[Zorra]

81. +1 nt

[artislife]

83. private prison is not far from private war

Two or probably the same, entities making money off of human misery. It is in their financial interests to keep feeding their profits. This is the drive of our society.

[bvar22]

92. Did you mean "Tough on Crime"....

...or Tough on Minorities.


I can't understand the support for the Clintons from minorities.
They have been one of their worst enemies.

[sabrina 1]

113. Definitely tough on minorities, no question, as Sanders has repeatedly

talked about, the incarceration rate of poor minorities is a disgrace. I do not think there is much support for the Clintons among minorities, DU is not representative of minorities. It is a partisan blog, so partisanship is what I expect to find on partisan blogs.

The internet is a much bigger place now than it was and if I want to know what minorities think about the current system and politicians in general, I do not come to DU for that, I go and have done so for years, to the many, many minority blogs who are far more involved in actual ACTION than blogs whose main purpose is to get their party members elected.

[MisterP]

97. it's the same model for everything: school for profit, prison for profit, military for profit

and then everyone sits and wonders where they got all these lobbyists from and why they try to pack their rooms with as many "revenue streams" as they can

[Babel_17]

77. Needs to be addressed by the HRC campaign (nt)

[sabrina 1]

84. This is why we need debates. All these issues need to put before

public in a setting where candidates cannot rely on scripted responses, REAL DEBATES, where they cannot rely on their hundreds of advisers to 'frame' their responses. Where they required to speak to the PEOPLE directly, to respond to the questions people ARE asking alone, without props, without memos, without waiting to 'unveil our policies in a few weeks'.

The truth is if you believe in something and have acted on those beliefs throughout your lifetime, you need no props, aides, scripts, memos or time to unveil your opinions.

Let's have the debates, without scripted questions. With questions based on what we know from poll results on the issues, are the concerns of the people, on the issues and on the candidates OWN records on those issues.

[raouldukelives]

80. They know where the bread is buttered. nt

[LiberalAndProud]

91. When pieces like this are posted, I do the google and look for the candidate's policy position.

I was unable to find a quote from Hillary on this issue, but I was intrigued by this article.

Much has been written about the use of the War on Drugs to intentionally disenfranchise poor people and engineer the centralization of political and economic power in the U.S. and globally, including an explosive rise in the U.S. prison population. The purpose of this story is not to repeat this fundamentally sound thesis. For those who are interested in more on this topic, I would refer you to my article and audio seminar “Narco Dollars for Beginners” as well as Michael Woodiwiss’ book Organized Crime and American Power (University of Toronto Press, 2001) and their associated bibliographies.

What most people miss is the extent to which the day-to-day implementation of this intentional centralism is deeply pervasive and therefore deeply bipartisan. It receives the promotion and support from all political and social spectrums that make money by running government through the contractors, banks, law firms, think tanks and universities that really run the government.

And then there is this.

We need to fix this.

[WillyT]

102. Silence IS... Golden...

[Sheepshank]

93. Since privatization is the generally the final solution and call from the Republicans......

I'd take this as a sign this group doesn't think that a Republican can win the Whitehouse. It's a sign that they think they can buy $44,000 worth of favors, from a person who can make $200,000 from a 45 minute speaking engagement.

It's a confirmation that Bernie supporters are as hypocritical as they can get when in comes to a candidate having control over what ever organization decides to fund raise on their behalf. Bernie is always innocent, Hillary always nepharious.

The most inane OP today...congrats.

[WillyT]

103. LOL !! - Man... Thanks For The Spinnado !!!

[Sheepshank]

105. Aren't you the one trying to spin $44,000 as buying all sorts of favors?

Your creativity is misguided, but awesome.

There doesn't seem to be much of a limit to the contortions Sanders supporters will go to to try and and manufacture Hillary outrage. Must be nervous about something, are we?

The fact of the matter is that the op is much ado about nothing

[WillyT]

106. So... The Truth Is Now Spin ???

Link: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2178532-clintonbundlers.html

[Sheepshank]

107. Making a mountain out of a molehill is spin.

Tell me...just how much privitization do you think $44,000 will buy?

[WillyT]

108. So... If The KKK Surreptitiously Slipped $25,000 To Hillary's Coffers... THAT Would Be Ok ???

[Sheepshank]

109. It's also spin to presume a candidate has control of outside fundraising

Not buying your strawman. The continued spin is rendered ineffective.

If this were the case, you'd be throwing a tantrum over Bernie's PAC and its financing irregularities for which they were fined. I don't see you throwing a tantrum. One may say it hypocritical not to be throwing a tantrum over one candidate while clearly doing so for another.

[WillyT]

110. And One Can Simply Turn the Money Back... Why Would One Want Tainted Money...

[Sheepshank]

112. And perusing Open Secrets, Bernie accepted money from Energy and Finance industries

And those very same industries contributed significantly more money to Republicans. Why would industries that predominantly support Republicans be donating money to Bernie? Why did he accept their money?

You want to raise really incredibly inane arguments, I can find the same kind of crappola on Bernie. But in the DU realm of reality it's only Bernie supporters that bring up this type of inane crap and try to pass it off as a real conspiracy.

So you forgot to answer the question....just how much prison privitization are they going to buy with
$44,000? You really want everyone to believe that $44,000 is going to buy nationwide re-writes of laws to privatize all prisons? Really? Good god.

[PatrickforO]

124. We need to END private prisons ASAP. The profit motive and corrections DON'T mix.

This is the war on drugs gone mad. It is inexcusable that we have the highest incarceration rate in the world, and unconscionable that minorities are disproportionately affected by it. Do we want business as usual.

NO.