And now a word from your congressman
by digby
It's been a while since I featured Congressman Grayson here, but this was too good to pass by without a mention. It would appear that the pre-eminent Village dowager, Cokie Roberts, has taken exception to his opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership trade pact. In fact, she was incensed that the hippies would even deem to involve themselves in such important grown-up issues. Grayson responds and, as always, pulls no punches. He patiently explains why the TPP is yet another assault on the middle class and why Democrats must oppose it. And then he reveals why Cokie is such a compromised messenger:
And now we get to the heart of the matter, today’s lesson in how Washington, D.C. works – for people like Cokie Roberts. And her brother.
Why is Cokie Roberts ignoring the trade deficit, that 800-billion-pound gorilla in the room? Could it possibly be because her brother’s law firm represents a slew of multinational corporations and foreign governments who stand to benefit from the TPP? In just the Middle East, that firm’s client list includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. That was good enough for Cokie’s brother’s firm to take in a whopping $40 million in lobbying fees in 2013 alone.
Cokie’s brother’s firm has represented scads of multinational corporations who just can’t get enough of “free trade agreements.” Last year alone, Goldman Sachs poured $480,000 into the coffers of that firm. Citigroup tossed in another $300,000. And Halliburton and Exxon Mobil shelled out tens of thousands of dollars, too.
(If you question whether Cokie Roberts would bend over backwards to help her brother’s lobbying firm, then consider this: Dianna Ortiz is an American nun who was tortured and raped by the Guatemalan junta. Cokie Roberts’s brother’s law firm represented the Guatemalan junta. Cokie Roberts claimed on the air, with no basis whatsoever, that Ortiz had fabricated her story. Ortiz then proved it in court, and won a $5 million judgment.)
Cokie Roberts’s attack against me is designed to discredit not only me, but also to discredit the concerns of ordinary Americans — like you — in order to protect the Washington elite: corporate lobbyists, corrupt insiders, millionaires and billionaires, multinational corporations, big banks, the Halliburtons and Exxon Mobils of the world, and other economic aristocrats who would benefit from these “free trade” giveaways. In short, the people who think that they own us.
Shhhh. You're not supposed to mention that sort of thing in polite company. Even though it's all true. Roberts has a special role in the Village --- she's the "common sense gal" whose views are supposed to reflect the concerns of the average American. Seriously. Which is why it's especially important to expose the various interests and connections Roberts actually has so that her schtick as DC's golden girl next door doesn't go unchallenged. Grayson is one of the few to have the guts to tell it like it is.
You can donate to Grayson's campaign here.
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