Company Finds Clinton Useful, and Vice Versa

[True_Blue]

Corning Inc., one of upstate New York's largest and oldest employers, has supported Republican candidates for so long that its chairman once joked that it had not raised money for a Democrat since 1812.

But since Hillary Rodham Clinton was elected to the Senate in 2000, Corning and its mainly Republican executives have become one of her largest sources of campaign contributions. And in that time, Mrs. Clinton has become one of the company's leading champions, delivering for it like no other Democratic lawmaker.

In April 2003, a month after Corning's political action committee gave $10,000 to her re-election campaign, Mrs. Clinton announced legislation that would provide hundreds of millions in federal aid to reduce diesel pollution, using, among other things, technology pioneered by Corning. It was one of several Congressional initiatives Mrs. Clinton has pushed that benefit the company.

And in April 2004, Mrs. Clinton began a push to persuade the Chinese government to relax tariffs on Corning fiber optics products, inviting the Chinese ambassador to her office and personally asking President Bush for help in the matter. One month after the beginning of that ultimately successful effort, Corning's chairman, James Houghton, held a fund-raiser at his home that collected tens of thousands of dollars for her re-election campaign.

more....
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/12/nyregion/12hillary.html?ex=1302494400&en=224ffa23dd8611c9&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[IChing]

1. Company Finds Clinton Useful, and Vice Versa

By MIKE McINTIRE and RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
Published: April 12, 2006
Corning Inc., one of upstate New York's largest and oldest employers, has supported Republican candidates for so long that its chairman once joked that it had not raised money for a Democrat since 1812.

But since Hillary Rodham Clinton was elected to the Senate in 2000, Corning and its mainly Republican executives have become one of her largest sources of campaign contributions. And in that time, Mrs. Clinton has become one of the company's leading champions, delivering for it like no other Democratic lawmaker.

In April 2003, a month after Corning's political action committee gave $10,000 to her re-election campaign, Mrs. Clinton announced legislation that would provide hundreds of millions in federal aid to reduce diesel pollution, using, among other things, technology pioneered by Corning. It was one of several Congressional initiatives Mrs. Clinton has pushed that benefit the company.>>>>>snip

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/12/nyregion/12hillary.html?ei=5088&en=224ffa23dd8611c9&ex=1302494400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1144813618-TAQDDUD/ks+N/KiCgzJiGg

[Emma G]

2. So--which came first,

the chicken or the egg? A Repub-contributing company upstate suddenly the beneficiary of Clinton senatorial largesse, oh my, or Her Royal Clintoness scouting upstate for support fastens on the already-in-the-red company and thus "attracts support" by that same largesse? Oh, how funny, how just amazingly delightful is our gal Hill. She sure has a nose for corporate $--which is really OUR money, we rank and filers, just trickled down. Good for the goose/good for the gander, etc. And yep, it's the NY Times' daily Hillary story. They should just start a new column: HillaryNewsMetro, and for us upstate hicks, HillNewsAnythingAboveYonkersNotIncludingChappaqua. Because, after all, Hillary R Us. NY Hearts Hillary. Our North Country Champion and Protector of Jobs. Maybe we could just run her on BOTH party lines this year and in 2008, thereby saving a lot of confusion?

[msgadget]

3. Hmmmm.... n/t

[cleofus1]

4. hillary is the bomb

even though i blindly adore her...i have to admit she is quite the fox in the henhouse...but i do applaud her for furthering the cause of diesel pollution reduction and the entrance of american industry into chinese financial markets...bravo!

[Rose Siding]

5. Did that only benefit execs, or did it provide jobs to New Yorkers?

It doesn't *sound* good, but after all, we don't have much left in the way of manufacturing jobs. I can't really oppose efforts to keep it.

snip>
Corning, a Fortune 500 company, has 26,000 employees worldwide, and its major presence upstate is one of the bright spots of an economically battered region. The company makes glassware and ceramics used in fiber optics, diesel emission controls and liquid crystal displays.