Willian Cohen

[erpowers]

Last night ABC Nightly News referred to William Cohen as a former Republican Congressman. I am not sure whether they said he was in the Senate or the House. Cohen was also the Defense Secretary under Clinton. So is Cohen a former Republican Congressperson in that he was once in Congress and a Republican or is he a former Republican who changed to a Democrat? I ask this question in that yesterday I found out that Cohen is married to a black woman. I have no problem with this it would just surprise me to see a white Republican married to a black woman.

[SoCalDem]

1. He's always been a republican. Clinton felt the need to kiss up

to the conservos because of the furor they raised about his own military history, so he appointed a republican to head up the defense dept..to shut them up.. Cohen is rather moderate, and did not stab Clinton in the back, so the repubes probably don't like him much

[cosmicdot]

6. Republican

a global corporatist imo ... I think they currently sit on both sides of the aisle ...

As an elected official, he claimed to be independent and moderate

apparently, both current Maine Senators worked for him at one time or another

Who knows what all his name is associated with, i.e., Corporate Boards and what not ... they come and go ...

In 2001, he joined Thayer Capital Partners' board of advisors. Thayer is the private equity investment firm which once was, and still may be, chaired by Frederic V. Malek, one of Poppy Bush library foundation's trustees, an interesting list of its own (google Fred Malek + Nixon for background) ...

Cohen is on the International Advisory Board of Barrick Gold ... the company Poppy Bu$h once worked for post-presidency and helped to get US gold mines on the cheap (search GregPalast.com) ... Bill Clinton's friend Vernon Jordan is on the same Barrick Board, and Thayer Board as well ... small world in the Board room
http://www.barrick.com/files/docs_annual/2004_Shareholder%20Information.pdf

He is currently the Chairman and CEO of The Cohen Group http://www.cohengroup.net/, an international strategic consulting business

He has been a co-director at Empower America, a policy advocacy group (including such notables as William J. Bennett, Jack F. Kemp, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick) which, in 2004, merged with Citizens for a Sound Economy to form a new organization named FreedomWorks, headed by Dick Armey (you can Dick hear speak here - yikes! http://www.freedomworks.org/know/index.php -- sort of a right's MoveOn?

EmpowerAmerica's board of directors has been described as a blue-ribbon panel of right-wing pro-corporate Republicans, and the organization itself as a stepchild of the Heritage Foundation. Its popular training sessions for reactionary candidates have enhanced the success of the pro-business theocratic right in recent years.

http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientprofile.php?recipientID=523


"He has been chairman of the William S. Cohen Center for International Policy and Commerce at the University of Maine. Secretary Cohen has other directorships with NASDAQ, IDT and Cendant Corporation Inc and has served on the advisory boards of large multinational firms including Intel, Barrick Gold International and BrazilInvest. He is a former U.S. Secretary of Defense and has served in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives."
http://www.head.com/corporate/supervisory_71.php

He once was on the Board of Global Crossing (they've had curious track record); and Board of Advisors of MIC Industries Inc.

As Secretary of Defense in the Clinton Administration, he helped direct the United States military actions in Iraq and Kosovo, including the dismissal of Wesley Clark from his post as NATO Supreme Allied Commander.


As you've noticed, opinions vary.

Google around for additional info. Draw your own conclusions.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Bill Cohen was a Republican senator from Maine

His wife was a TV personality in Boston and maybe other Eastern markets (Janet Langhart.)
Maine Repubs tend to be of the moderate variety like Collins and Snowe. Cohen is still a Repub as far as I know. He is a white Christian (Catholic, I think) whose father was Jewish. His family was working class. He's an interesting guy and owned by no one.

[KharmaTrain]

3. Cohen Was Also A Senator

Always has and been a Repugnican.

I heard someone ask him that exact question a couple years ago and he said he still was (at that time) a registered Repugnican. He represented Maine...home of Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe...two of the more moderate repugnicans.

[wishlist]

4. William Cohen, former U.S. Senator, is a moderate Republican

As far as I know he has never changed his party affiliation to Democratic.

[Old and In the Way]

5. He's a good man.

He voted articles of impeachment against Nixon out of committee as a Republican in the Watergate Scandal.

Sadly, there are few Bill Cohen's left in the Republican Party. They are pretty much all rubber stampers for whatever evil this criminal administration dreams up.