Campaign stunt launches a corporate 'candidate' for Congress

[cory777]

Source: The Washington Post

By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 13, 2010

Murray Hill might be the perfect candidate for this political moment: young, bold, media-savvy, a Washington outsider eager to reshape the way things are done in the nation's capital. And if these are cynical times, well, then, it's safe to say Murray Hill is by far the most cynical.

That's because this little upstart is, in fact, a start-up. Murray Hill is actually Murray Hill Inc., a small, five-year-old Silver Spring public relations company that is seeking office to prove a point (and perhaps get a little attention).

After the Supreme Court declared that corporations have the same rights as individuals when it comes to funding political campaigns, the self-described progressive firm took what it considers the next logical step: declaring for office.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/12/AR2010031204127.html?wprss=rss_business

[PDJane]

1. Yep.

Read this in January......on Beltway Blips, Daily Kos.....and Keith Olbermann did something on it, I think.

Beltway blips has some of their tongue-in-cheek advertisements. http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/video/murray-hill-incorporated-is-running-for-congress/

[WCGreen]

2. I am Murray Hills accountant and Eric is one of my closest friends..

We go back a long time and he is really a smart guy who came up with this idea to bring the whole Supreme Court ruling into reality.

[dmr]

5. !

:thumbsup:

[northernlights]

19. Wow! Thank you!!!!!

:thumbsup: :yourock: :applause:

And please send this to Eric: :hug:

[myrna minx]

28. Excellent.

Does he need any volunteers?

[WCGreen]

40. I'll be talking to him on Monday about his taxes so I will mention

the desire to volunteer...

[Ready4Change]

29. Awesome idea!

My only prayer is that they don't succeed, as in win an election and take office, thus allowing Halliburton, Exxon, to do the same supported by precedent.

[zeemike]

31. I dissagree....the effect would be a wake up call to America.

when a corporation actually won a seat in congress.

[Occulus]

52. The danger in this is if nobody cares.

This has the potential to set a nation-destroying precedent. I realize this is tongue-in-cheek and is being done as a wake-up call, but with the current makeup of our society overall (and perhaps especially the SCOTUS)... this could set a very, very bad precedent.

If it ever looks like there's a win in the wind, the candidate needs to withdraw, even if it's on election night. An actual win would be a very bad thing.

After all, nobody wants to see a Congressman Monsanto or a Senator WalMart. Strike that. There are plenty of people who would want to see such a thing, which is why this can't ever be made a reality.

[zeemike]

59. I think people would be so shocked by it they would revolt.

And we would have a constitutional amendment that defines person hood passed in record time....and that should be our goal.

[plantwomyn]

75. Unfortunately

the Democrates would probably have Stupak write the definition.

[skyounkin]

70. Just like the photos of Abu Gharib woke up

America?

No- I hope they don't win- but even if they did- it would not wake up Americans.

I think this country is in a reality coma.

[zeemike]

73. Point taken.

It may be too late to change things as long as the young people are mesmerized by the glitter and shine.

[harun]

49. Brilliant, we got your back!

[AnnieBW]

67. Are you Caroline's ex?

I'm a friend of hers. Great job, dude!

[dcpropagandist]

78. Yes I am

thanks! and thank you for your support! Follow me on Huffington Post as well. Here's a link to my most recent blog about our campaign.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-klein/student-pirgs-in-naive-po_b_490214.html

[wryter2000]

71. Awesome!

What a fabulous idea. Tell him wryter2000 give him a big :thumbsup:

[The Wizard]

30. This is an old one

Just shows the viability of the Washington Post as news source.

[boppers]

3. Awesome. Do they need campaign volunteers?

Maybe phone banking?

[nvme]

4. i WILL KNOCK ON DOORS!

THE GOTV efforts are vital

[Control-Z]

6. Now this is something DU could get involved in.

'Murray Hill is looking to franchise'

We should find, or form, a least one corporation in every state to run for office. I think there is the potential here to actually make an impact. At the very least, it would force the supreme court bastards to address the merits of their decision.

"It's an opportunity to see this court opinion play out to its logical conclusion."

In the meantime, -- and found its first taker: Computer Umbrella of Sterling. The company is planning to run in Virginia's 10th Congressional District.

A Murray Hill tool kit available for other corporate aspirants includes a model news release, talking points and templates for other campaign materials.

"If your campaign conforms to Murray Hill Inc.'s exacting standards," the company says, "your materials may use our logo and official graphics, which tell the world you are an affiliate of the leader in corporate civil rights."

I would happily join any effort made in my city, county, state.

[cliffordu]

7. I am SOOOOOO game for this....

:rofl:

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

33. Yes! A Murray Hill Inc. set up in every state...

...a corporation that is totally out for their own self agrandisement and private/personal profit. Murray Hill Tennessee, Murray Hill Ohio, Murry Hill South Dakota (we almost have one already, only his name is John Thune) and on down the list of states. Imagine 50 Murry Hill's running for election in each of the states. Maybe then folks will begin to have their eyes opened as to just who owns the folks they been sending to DC.

[corpseratemedia]

8. "and all the Murray Hills voted ney"

[caseymoz]

9. Ingenius. But with our luck SCOTUS will rule it constitutional. nt

[rhett o rick]

17. But who will challenge it? nt

[GinaMaria]

23. anyone who doesn't like the way Murray Hill votes in congress

will challenge it. Especially if this organization is progressive.

[rhett o rick]

44. I dont think so. I think a bigger corp will take Murray on in the next election. nt

[66 dmhlt]

26. Well, of course they will.

[SkyDaddy7]

61. Like the photo!!

It tells the true story of our country!

[JustAnotherGen]

10. Classic!

:rofl: Good for them for putting it right in the SC's face! :-)

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

11. I'm waiting for the scandalous affair to come to light

This is awesome!

[wial]

12. I'd like to own part of this person

so he/she can pick cotton for me. How do I go about it? A "share" if you will? Oh what that's illegal?

[AlbertCat]

42. If a corporation is a person, then a person is a corporation, right?

I can have a satellite company (a dependent) overseas to take advantage of all those tax breaks can't I? Open an office in the Bahamas?

[proReality]

13. Beautiful! n/t

[MicaelS]

14. This is soooo delicious n/t

[TxVietVet]

15. Here's the perfect way to show the conservanazis

that their ideology will play out in real live. Roberts and Allioto are facist true beleivers if they stand behind their ruling. It's opening to absolute control of government by multinational corporations.

Sieg heil, roberts. :puke:

[Roland99]

16. Yeah, this sounds great to us but what if this were a brain-dead tea-bagger doing it?

We'd be up here foaming at the mouth at the consequences.

[rhett o rick]

18. Is Murray old enough to hold office? nt

[Massacure]

20. No.

If only we could get a corporation that was at least 25 years old to run.

[lobodons]

41. Officers are old enough

Corporate officers could fulfill that requirement.

[WatchWhatISay]

21. Does Murray Hill have a wide stance?

Does he live on C-Street? Does he like to go hiking on the Appalaichan Trail? Was he in the Navy? Does he have a special place in his heart for interns?

Then he just might have what it takes?

[karynnj]

35. "Was he in the navy?"

Eric Massa could well have been a problem had he been a professor at a college, a teacher at a high school - say coaching a team, or a manager at a big company.

It is offensive that having been in the Navy is added in with the others. There are many men of integrity, who were in the Navy. You just insulted - Wes Clark, John Kerry, Joe Sestak, John Warner, Jim Webb, Bob Kerrey, Dick Lugar and likely many others who don't deserve it.

[AlbertCat]

43. There are many who hike the Appalachian Trail who have integrity!

But I wouldn't want to get such a huge chip on my shoulder.

:eyes:

[TankLV]

46. Oh for fuck's sake - take a chill pill!

Maybe next time we can use the Catholic Priesthood if it's OK with you...

Last time I checked - you weren't the hall monitor here - and thank god for that!

Get a fucking sense of humor already...

[rhett o rick]

22. Cant this backfire? What if Exxon decides to run? Or Blackwater Xe? nt

[GinaMaria]

24. They already own the votes in congress

why campaign outright when they can just use a front man or woman?

[rhett o rick]

34. Because they can. nt

[AlbertCat]

45. Cant this backfire? What if Exxon decides to run? Or Blackwater Xe? nt

Let 'em. Then someone will challenge them, One way or another, it will be challenged.

[rhett o rick]

58. So the SCOTUS will hear it or not. If they do, they will most likely aprove.

Where do we think we are going with this?

[fascisthunter]

25. this will never work...

the corporate America, has way more money. Playing their game is an automatic loser.

[lunasun]

27. Don't give 'em any ideas!!!!

Plenty of People would love to vote for Pepsi vs. Coke as opposed to "boring" people debating issues imo

[GreenStormCloud]

32. They can solve the age issue by buying out some small 25+ yr old company. N/T

[Nancy Waterman]

36. Campaign stunt launches a corporate 'candidate' for Congress

Source: Washington Post

Murray Hill might be the perfect candidate for this political moment: young, bold, media-savvy, a Washington outsider eager to reshape the way things are done in the nation's capital. And if these are cynical times, well, then, it's safe to say Murray Hill is by far the most cynical.

That's because this little upstart is, in fact, a start-up. Murray Hill is actually Murray Hill Inc., a small, five-year-old Silver Spring public relations company that is seeking office to prove a point (and perhaps get a little attention).

After the Supreme Court declared that corporations have the same rights as individuals when it comes to funding political campaigns, the self-described progressive firm took what it considers the next logical step: declaring for office.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/12/AR2010031204127.html?hpid=topnews

---

This is hilarious and brilliant. A "corporation" in Maryland is running as a Republican to oppose Chris van Hollen
and take the Citizens United ruling to its logical and ridiculous conclusion. If you read all the way to the end, there is also a Virginia company that will soon be doing the same thing. Murray Hill wants to start a franchise.

[SpiralHawk]

37. "We luvs us some Murray." - The Supremos (R)

"This is a great new development in republicon homelanderism. Too bad about you Americans and shit like that. Please deliver our payoff in unmarked bills. Smirk."

- The Supremos (R)

[xchrom]

38. Recommend!

[CK_John]

39. Murray Hill is not old enough and check its birth cert.

[Ozymanithrax]

47. At some point this will go to court.

It will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court handles such a case. How do you legally allow a corporation to have Freedom of Speach and strip it of other rights.

[harun]

48. I am afraid they will find a way!

[Ozymanithrax]

50. In a way, we are not defining exactly what corporate personhood is,,,

and redefining what it is to be human.

[harun]

55. I am afraid of that answer. For if we leave it up to the corporate

fascists they will define personhood as someone contributing to the profit of corporations.

[bongbong]

51. Great!

It's a great idea, but I hope whoever is doing it has deep pockets to pay lawyers when it is challenged so it can go up the chain of courts and appeals to the SCOTUS (AKA, Supreme Crooks Of The USA)

[Spazito]

53. LOL, the 'candidate' already has a YouTube ad, already viewed

172,797 time! I just love this, it is going to be fascinating to follow!

YouTube Link to ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHRKkXtxDRA

[progressoid]

65. And a Facebook page with 3800 fans!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Murray-Hill-Inc-for-Congress/314963396608

[Wizard777]

54. If the legal person is disqualified. They should hold a press conference to announce.......

That Murry Hill Inc. was so despondent over the disqualification he committed suicide. They should take his Articles of Incorporation to the State Medical Examiner for an autopsy. When the M.E. refuses to autopsy the Article of incorporation. They should start rumors that Murry Hill was Murdered and there is an official cover up by the state. Then they could run an obituary. Hold a funeral for him and bury his articles of incorporation in a grave with a Grave Stone. It would be great if they had some subsidiaries of Murry Hill Inc. Then the grave stone could read.

Here lies Murry Hill Inc.

Legal person and loving parent corporation.

:shrug: Why the hell not? If they are going to do it they might as well go all the way with it.

:rofl:

[TatonkaJames]

56. If this happens

that would mean there would me more then the constitutional amount of members in congress first of all; also, what would stop as one other DU member asked from the corporations, "as persons" marrying each other which would be against polygamy laws ? (I have no doubt if this scenario did occur it would be Mano a Mano; see Rep Massa ;-))
This country is really messed up.

[Paulie]

57. So the novel "Jennifer Government" comes true.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Government

So we'll start taking our surname for the company we work for, the school we attend when little. Genealogy is going to be such fun!

[James48]

60. An interview with the Candidate-

hear the interview with the candidate- it's pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAxbZ67p5pA

The corporation is filing to run for the U.S. Congress, in the republican primary for the 8th District for Maryland.

Too good.

[RufusTFirefly]

62. A real-life version of a story line in Ralph Nader's novel

Life imitates art. Good for them!

[colsohlibgal]

63. Hit You In Your Face Satire

Whatever it takes... a nice step after the great "Billionaires For Wealth Care",however some are amazingly slow to catch on. There is still a pretty big percentage of everyday right wingers who still think Colbert is one of them. Republicans do tend to suffer from irony deficiency. But maybe it can wake up enough democrats.

[ArcticFox]

64. I think the age requirements will bar this particular corporation, but

the right to run for public office is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, so a corporation over age 25 would present a real legal question in light of Citizens United.

See Stiles v. Blunt, 912 F.2d 260, 265 (8th Cir. 1990) (recognizing “the right to run for public office”), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 919 (1991); Flinn v. Gordon, 775 F.2d 1551, 1554 (11th Cir. 1985) (“e certainly had a constitutional right to run for office and to hold office once elected . . . .”), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1116 (1986); Washington v. Finlay, 664 F.2d 913, 927-28
(4th Cir. 1981) (recognizing “he irst mendment’s protection of the freedom of association and of the rights to
run for office, have one’s name on the ballot, and present one’s views to the electorate”), cert. denied, 457 U.S. 1120
(1982); Newcomb v. Brennan, 558 F.2d 825, 829 (7th Cir.) (holding that the “plaintiff’s interest in running for Congress
and thereby expressing his political views without interference from state officials . . . lies at the core of the values
protected by the First Amendment”), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 968 (1977).

String cite taken from Greenwell v. Parsley, 6th District Court of Appeal (2008) (http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0332p-06.pdf)

[progressoid]

66. HA HA HA! They're running as a Republican!

The firm "wanted to run as a Republican because we feel the Republican Party is more receptive to our basic message that corporations are people, too," Klein said, adding that his client has no particular beef with Van Hollen.

:spray::spray::spray::spray::spray::spray:

[northofdenali]

76. ROFL! Makes my spouse's "draft" idea even more apt-

as we all are well aware that most neocons not only avoid military service, they do so actively.

Just checked on the laws of failing to register for Selective Service (snip):

The maximum penalty for failing to register with Selective Service is a $250,000 fine and up to five years in prison. Failure to register will cause ineligibility for a number of federal and state benefits including:

•FEDERAL JOBS
A man must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of the Federal government and the U.S. Postal Service. This applies only to men born after December 31, 1959.

•STUDENT FINANCIAL AID
Men who are not registered with Selective Service cannot obtain Federal student loans or grants. This includes Pell Grants, College Work Study, Guaranteed Student/Plus Loans, and National Direct Student Loans.

•CITIZENSHIP
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) makes registration with Selective Service a condition for U.S. citizenship, if the man first arrived in the U.S. before his 26th birthday and was required to register.

•FEDERAL JOB TRAINING
The Workforce Investment Act (formerly JTPA) offers important job-training opportunities. This program is only open to those men who register with Selective Service.

•STATE JOBS, LOANS, AND TRAINING
Most states have added additional penalties for those who fail to register with Selective Service.

•STATE DRIVER'S LICENSE LEGISLATION
As of May 16, 2002, 19 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia have enacted driver's license laws supporting Selective Service registration. They are Oklahoma, Delaware, Arkansas, Utah, Georgia, Hawaii, Alabama, Florida, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Illinois, Ohio, South Dakota, Mississippi, Idaho, Virginia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands.

http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/wars/a/draft2.htm

I just wonder how it would work. And why no one on OUR side isn't exploiting it, as well as the registering for candidacy thing (which I think is hysterically funny, bound to happen, and hope like hell they have the guts to follow through)...........

Kicking this one again. More DU'ers need to pay attention to this issue; it's a HUGE one, IMO.

[420inTN]

68. Sorry, but Murray is only 5 years old and must be 25 yrs old to run. n/t

[northofdenali]

69. GO FOR IT!

My husband thinks we should take corporate personhood a little farther...

Every person is designated male or female at birth, right? And in this country, male persons are REQUIRED BY LAW to register with the Selective Service at the age of 18. So wouldn't a male person in the form of a corporation be required to register? And if they didn't, wouldn't they, as a male person, be just as guilty of a felony as an individual male person would?

For that matter, if the draft returns, would every able-bodied member of that corporate personhood be required to serve? Unless, of course, the corporate personhood declared itself gay under DADT and wasn't allowed to (and I wouldn't put it past them).

Impeach the Supreme Court 5. Period. Get rid of these assholes.

K&R

[BrklynLiberal]

72. coooool!!

[James48]

74. BREAKING SCANDAL-

I heard today that Murry Hill was seen boarding a plane for South America-

Merger talks- with SARAH LEE!

And ANN TAYLOR knew NOTHING about it!

[New Dawn]

77. K&R - Ingenious.

[ProudDad]

79. Ads by Google

Ad Google subjected us to in the middle of the OP...click on link...

http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/imgad?id=CJCt2YWdo6qHJBCsAhj6ATII346Jtbvytwg

[Jimbo S]

80. Waiting for the "birthers" to start squaking.