Chamber of Commerce vows to punish anti-business candidates - Los Angeles Times - The Diigo Meta page

• 11 Jan 08
  

  Clay Burell

  Big Business going political social networking to defeat democrats?

  business democracy economics elections

• 08 Jan 08
  

  Brad Friedman
  • 
     
     "We plan to build a grass-roots business organization so strong that when it bites you in the butt, you bleed," chamber President Tom Donohue said.
  • the nation's largest trade association
  • Once a notably bipartisan trade association with a limited budget and limited influence, it has hugely increased its political fundraising and developed new ways to spend money on behalf of pro-business candidates.
     
     Under Donohue, the organization has also frequently aligned itself with GOP priorities.
  • Under a system Donohue pioneered, corporations contribute money to the chamber, which then finances attack ads targeting individual candidates without revealing the name of the businesses involved in the ads.
  • There has been pressure from lawsuits and government activist groups to require the chamber to reveal the source of its political funds and more details on its spending.
     
     Donohue is not inclined to do so.
  • If that agenda succeeds, he said, Democrats "will be gone from power for at least 40 years,

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