Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Bernie Sanders and the Clinton Wall Street Speeches

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by Gaius Publius

The recent Clinton Wall Street speeches article by Zaid Jilani has been covered in these pages (see excerpts below), but I want to make one additional point. I think the voters need to see what she said because (a) she's historically been too close to Wall Street for many voters' comfort, and (b) what she said to them is likely a strong indication of what she will do as president, especially given the speeches' closed-door nature.

Who knows? Maybe all she said was, "Cut it out or I'll make you cut it out." I would actually love to know that this was the case, and so would many Democratic voters. 

Again, this is not trolling, this request, but in the public interest; very much in the public interest, in fact. It's also in her interest if these speeches are entirely innocent, entirely anodyne.

There has been some call for their release, but that call has to come, in my opinion, from somewhere very high in the media at least, and preferably from the Sanders campaign itself. Meaning, from Bernie Sanders or Jeff Weaver, speaking on air and on the record.

What Sanders Should Ask For

If the Sanders campaign does request the release of these speeches, they should request all of them. For example, as Jilani notes below, she gave three speeches to Goldman Sachs and two to Deutsche Bank. Her message to each institution, to the extent there is one, is in the sum of the speeches, not in just one (for example, a ribbon-cutting ceremony with some remarks appended).

He should also ask for their immediate release, not a release delayed until after Super Tuesday, for example. After all, the Clinton campaign insisted (and rightly in my view) for a release of the Sanders health care plan prior to the Iowa primary. The same is true here.

About Those Speeches

Here's the gist of Zaid Jilani's article at The Intercept on Clinton's Wall Street speeches (my emphasis to note multiple speeches to two institutions):
Hillary Clinton Made More in 12 Speeches to Big Banks Than Most of Us Earn in a Lifetime

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders this week assailed rival Hillary Clinton for taking large speaking fees from the financial industry since leaving the State Department.

According to public disclosures, by giving just 12 speeches to Wall Street banks, private equity firms, and other financial corporations, Clinton made $2,935,000 from 2013 to 2015 [see graphic above] ...

Clinton’s most lucrative year was 2013, right after stepping down as secretary of state. That year, she made $2.3 million for three speeches to Goldman Sachs and individual speeches to Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments, Apollo Management Holdings, UBS, Bank of America, and Golden Tree Asset Managers.

The following year, she picked up $485,000 for a speech to Deutsche Bank and an address to Ameriprise. Last year, she made $150,000 from a lecture before the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. ...
There's more at the link.

The Sanders campaign should not do this as an aid to themselves. After all, it's not certain who the release of these speeches will aid. They should do it as an aid to the public, so we can put this question to rest before voting.

(Blue America has endorsed Bernie Sanders for president. If you'd like to help out, go here; you can adjust the split any way you like at the link. If you'd like to "phone-bank for Bernie," go here. You can volunteer in other ways by going here. And thanks!)

GP
 

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4 Comments:

At 12:12 PM, Blogger VG said...

Great article.

I had bookmarked a better youtube than this, but I just discovered that it now has the black screen of death. From the second Dem debate.

In substitute, this is the best I can find for now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JyKo3AlpxQ

Clinton's statements re: Wall Street (apart from the 9/11 stuff)

1) I've laid out a very aggressive plan to reign in Wall Street.

2) I've got a comprehensive tough plan

3) That's why my proposal is much more comprehensive than anything else that's been put forth

Uh, have I missed something? If I have, please tell me where I can read the details of Clinton's aggressive, comprehensive, tough plan that is more comprehensive than anything that has been put forth.

And, yes, I'd surely like to read Clinton's Wall Street Speeches.

 
At 1:50 PM, Blogger Gaius Publius said...

Thanks for the video. Great resource and a good watch.

GP

 
At 9:20 AM, Blogger VG said...

Also, I had missed this

https://theintercept.com/2016/01/23/clinton-goldman-sachs-laugh/

Video is in article, but stand alone link is:

https://vimeo.com/152786370

 
At 7:45 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you want hilbillary's propaganda wrt her wall st. plan, look on their web site.

Essentially, she "will regulate them"... except that would require actually, you know, doing stuff that costs money and could be arbitrary and ignored when bribed sufficiently... just like everything is now. You want fraud in elections, defund and castrate the SEC. You want banks to remain dens of fraud? forget to regulate them; grant waivers; pretend Sherman is not a, you know, law!!! etc.

There was not all good news out of the WHITE STATE OF IOWA for the 99.99%.

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/dave-johnson/65810/some-surprises-and-warnings-in-the-iowa-numbers

I'm hoping the weather was so bad that it suppressed caucusing among Ds. But I'm flummoxed at the breakdowns by category. It might prove that white Ds in Iowa are largely rich or just morons. Not sure. I kind of see why women would support hilbillary (she's a she and Bernie isn't handsome like JFK). But the other breakdowns that favored hilbillary worries me.

What disappoints me the most is the drop in turnout. Bernie needs to increase turnout by a quarter or a third in order to win AND bring in more progressives with him. If turnouts stay low... well, nice job hilbillary, obamanation and harriet reid and Pelosi/hoyer. You've successfully crushed the D base into permanent disaffection.

 

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