Clinton Quiet About Wal-Mart Ties

[timbnyc44]

Can't we have Dems in the Senate who aren't ashamed of their past?

The AP just posted a story about Hillary Clinton's 6 years on the board of Wal-Mart. Apparently, she doesn't remember much of what she did when she was there:

"That was a long time ago," she said recently when asked if she had done anything about the company's health care policies while she served on its board.

That comment was met with disbelief from Jonathan Tasini, a longtime labor organizer mounting a longshot challenge to Clinton in New York's Democratic Senate primary.

"Voters would find it a strained argument to believe that the senator who prides herself on intelligence and knowledge of detail can't recall any details in this case. It just strains credulity," Tasini said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_on_el_se/hillary_clinton_wal_mart;_ylt=AmLjFynyuTJdp6Yysy0qTgOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

[BootinUp]

1. Oh, uh welcome

thats a pretty slimy article you got there.

Kind of a dupe too.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2158262#2158393

[Coexist]

3. also cross-posted in another thread

on buying American.

[babylonsister]

2. To me, this is a non-issue. So she was on the board

years ago, so what? The repugs are still chasing their tails, trying to dig up dirt that just doesn't exist.

[crikkett]

4. with all due respect

I was on the board of a nonprofit 8 years ago and I can't remember much about it at all, except fireworks surrounding a particular person whom I thought was trying to undermine the org. I remember that the meetings were so dull (except for fireworks) that I dreaded them.

Of course I can't put myself in her place. But I think her statement is believable.

Thanks
C

[DS1]

9. I don't

I can remember the gist of all policy/strategy meetings for the company I worked for 6 years ago.

And I was usually high every night, so I think Hillary's full of shit on this one.

I'm sick and tired of this "I don't remember" crap in Washington, it's unacceptable.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. 6 yrs ago is a lot different from 20 yrs ago

[Mr Bungle 34]

5. Exhibit Q5

If I were making an excell spreadsheet listing all the reasons I hate Hillary thats how far along I'd be. Even if she could win the Presidency (which I don't think she can) it would be another case of losing while winning.

[mattclearing]

7. Great, let's bash Democrats!

Welcome to DU, I think. :eyes:

[John Barrett]

13. Is HILLARY The Democratic Party?

My hopes are that the Democrats will nominate an individual in 2008 that TRULY sees America and American workers as their top priority. This country is being flushed down the toilet by greedy corporate interests.

Sorry, I see the Clinton's as compromised on these issues. Bill with NAFTA and the UAE deal, and now Hillary with Wal-Mart tells me that big business has had too much influence with the Clintons. Maybe there aren't any candidates left that have a righteous motive and agenda for most Americans, as opposed to self interests.

[Beaverhausen]

15. Hillary returned campaign contributions from Wal-Mart recently

Did you even know that? or is this 15 year old story more important to you?

[mattclearing]

18. I don't disagree with you.

But either Clinton has a hell of a lot more credibility on corporate responsibility than any member of the Republican Party, bar none.

[John Barrett]

23. Agreed....Bush Has No Credibility

I'm an independent. I could easily lean Democratic especially in view of the giant sucking sound that the GOP has perpetrated upon America in the name of free trade, outsourcing and insourcing with illegal immigration.

I'm suspicious that Hillary is not going to look out for Americans any more than her husband did by passing NAFTA, which has caused much loss in USA jobs to Mexico and Canada. By the time the election rolls around in 2008 I can promise you that free trade, loss of American standard of living, and illegal immigration will be the major issues that decide the Presidency. If the Democrats run a candidate that doesn't take a clear stand on these issues they may not win.

If they do, they will win by a landside.....and that's a promise. Kerry had a chance to win by a landside on this and he blew it, probably because he is a corporate man just like Bush (maybe not quite as much).

[obnoxiousdrunk]

12. Hi Mr Bungle & timbnyc44...

Welcome to DU. How is that upcoming war on Easter going ?

[mattclearing]

6. Yeah, we know about this.

Nice attempt at stirring shit up, though.

:eyes:

[Catherine Vincent]

8. Did you know....

That your president is a MORON?

[leftofthedial]

10. it would be nice to have a Dem or two in the Senate

who give a shit about working people

[NYCGirl]

11. Of course, when she was on the board, under Sam Walton, Wal-Mart

was a completely different kind of company, and was actually an example of good management and good business practices.

[John Barrett]

17. Wal-Mart Was An Asset....Once

Yes there was a time when Sam Walton ran Wal-Mart for Americans, that the company was an asset to the USA. It's a big time loser for us now and any candidate that has ties won't get my vote.

[Jayhawk Lib]

14. I do not blame her

for being quiet about her connections with Walmart. I am sure she is hoping that it goes away.

[madinmaryland]

16. Did anyone read the entire artical?

..snip

Bob Ortega, author of "In Sam We Trust," a history of Wal-Mart, said Clinton used her position to urge the company to improve its gender and racial diversity. Because of Clinton's prodding, Walton agreed to hire an outside firm to track the company's progress in hiring women and minorities, Ortega said.

"These were things the company was not addressing and wouldn't have, had she not pushed them to do so," Ortega said. "She's somebody who could definitely get things done."

In fact, Clinton proved to be such a thorn in Walton's side that at Wal-Mart's annual meeting in 1987, when shareholders challenged Walton on the company's lack of female managers, he assured them the record was improving "now that we have a strong willed young lady on the board."

Clinton was particularly vocal on environmental matters, pressing the company to boost its sale and use of recycled materials and other "green" products.

Garry Mauro, who served with Clinton on a Wal-Mart environmental advisory committee, pointed to many successes, such as persuading the company to establish recycling centers and sell products like recycled oil and long-life light bulbs.

"Hillary had real impact — when she had an idea, things got moving," he said. "When she resigned from the committee, it stopped having any innovative ideas and stopped being effective."

.snip

Looks like she may have made a positive impact on Walmart while she was there from 1986-1992.

[Hobarticus]

21. Why read the article, when I get outraged by the headline???

I'm with ya.

;-)

[zbdent]

19. Big deal . . . Bush can't remember much about the first 40 years

of his life . . . alcohol and coke, you know . . .

And nobody remembers him around his National Guard days . . .

[Hobarticus]

20. Or, you can read the whole article, that always is helpful...

Not being an apologist, but there's much more to the story, my friend:

In 1986, when Wal-Mart's founder, Sam Walton, tapped Clinton to be the company's first female board member, Wal-Mart was a fraction of its current size, with $11.9 billion in net sales.

Today, Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer and largest private employer, with over $312 billion in sales last year and 1.3 million employees or "associates" in the U.S. alone. But recently, the company has drawn intense scrutiny for its labor practices — from its wages to the lack of affordable health coverage for employees, to its stiff resistance to unionization.

Throughout the 1980s, both Bill and Hillary Clinton nurtured relationships with Walton, a conservative Republican and by far Arkansas' most influential businessman.

Among other things, Hillary Clinton sought Walton's help in 1983 for Bill Clinton's so-called Blue Ribbon Commission on Education, a major effort to improve Arkansas' troubled public schools. The overhaul became a centerpiece of Clinton's governorship.

And Wal-Mart's Made in America campaign, which for years touted the company's sales of American products in its stores, was launched after Bill Clinton persuaded Walton to help save 200 jobs at an Arkansas shirt manufacturing plant. The Made in America campaign has virtually vanished in recent years, as the company's manufacturing has gradually moved overseas — another point of criticism by many anti-Wal-Mart activists.

-snip-

Bob Ortega, author of "In Sam We Trust," a history of Wal-Mart, said Clinton used her position to urge the company to improve its gender and racial diversity. Because of Clinton's prodding, Walton agreed to hire an outside firm to track the company's progress in hiring women and minorities, Ortega said.

-snip-

In fact, Clinton proved to be such a thorn in Walton's side that at Wal-Mart's annual meeting in 1987, when shareholders challenged Walton on the company's lack of female managers, he assured them the record was improving "now that we have a strong willed young lady on the board."

Clinton was particularly vocal on environmental matters, pressing the company to boost its sale and use of recycled materials and other "green" products.

Garry Mauro, who served with Clinton on a Wal-Mart environmental advisory committee, pointed to many successes, such as persuading the company to establish recycling centers and sell products like recycled oil and long-life light bulbs.

"Hillary had real impact — when she had an idea, things got moving," he said. "When she resigned from the committee, it stopped having any innovative ideas and stopped being effective."

[Mr Bungle 34]

25. Busted

Nope, didn't read the article, just the headline. I let my blind hatred for Hillary make me look like a fool. Touche....

[warrens]

22. Things were different when she was there

It was still a mainly rural, small-town operation. Most of its employees were women whose husbands worked in local factories (most now closed). It was basically a second income, and the wives had medical coverage through their husbands, etc. So to be fair, Wal-Mart benefits were hardly an issue until they started building supercenters and moving to urban centers.