December 17, 2007
Newspaper decides not to endorse John Edwards over corporate criticisms
The Des Moines Register decided not to endorse John Edwards this time around. (The paper endorsed him in 2004.) This was their primary rational:
"Edwards was our pick for the 2004 nomination. But this is a different race, with different candidates. We too seldom saw the `positive, optimistic' campaign we found appealing in 2004. His harsh anti-corporate rhetoric would make it difficult to work with the business community to forge change."
Key Points:
John Edwards has been critical of big-corporate lobbying as an interference in the democratic process. While I can’t agree with Edwards on every issue, he is right on target here. Corporations funnel billions of dollars each year to politicians in both parties, manipulating our trade policies, immigration policy, and health care system.
We have to remember that corporations are, at the end of the day, just another special interest group---like labor unions, various ethnic lobbies, and religious factions.
The Des Moines Register has set a dangerous precedent here. Will marching in lockstep with the corporate bosses become a litmus test for future candidates? While America is primarily a capitalist, free-market state, leaders of both the right and the left have seen fit to reign in corporate power on occasion.
Teddy Roosevelt went after the trusts around the turn of the century because they concentrated wealth in the hands of a few, created inefficiencies, and ultimately threatened the survival of the free-market system. The Reagan Administration encouraged Japanese automobile manufacturers to build plants in the U.S., rather than simply exporting vehicles from Japan.
What is good for business is often what is good for America, but not always. John Edwards has accurately noted that corporations have become too powerful in the political process because they can throw dollars at any issue. Kudos to Edwards for taking a stand.
