Chamber of Commerce Appreciates “Tone” of Administration
By: David Dayen
January 11, 2011
The US Chamber of Commerce is quite pleased with the new tone coming out of the White House. I guess they prefer their Democrats compliant, who knew?
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U.S. Chamber of Commerce Praises New White House Tone
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
January 11, 2011
The chamber’s president, Thomas J. Donohue, delivering the trade group’s annual State of American Business address on Tuesday morning, applauded “a new tone coming out of the White House,” which he said had “addressed some of the business community’s immediate concerns.”
Mr. Donohue said the chamber welcomed the appointment of William M. Daley as President Obama’s chief of staff and of Gene B. Sperling as director of the National Economic Council.
“The new people will be helpful,” Mr. Donohue said. He described Mr. Daley as “a real pro.”
But on Tuesday, Mr. Donohue mixed pledges to keep fighting those battles with a more conciliatory tone, expressing hope that the group could work with the White House on shared priorities like free trade deals, infrastructure investment and immigration reform. Mr. Donohue even included a few notes of qualified praise for the administration in his prepared remarks, for example applauding its approach to educational reform.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/chamber-praises-new-white-house-tone/ But while the Chamber has commented on the White House’s tone, nobody has commented on the Chamber’s. For instance, most of this speech was dedicated to supporting the repeal of health care reform. Previously, the Chamber said it would not spend money on the push for repeal. Donohue vowed to, if not repeal, scale back financial reform, and block the EPA from carrying out a Supreme Court order to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Donohue also denounced “the regulatory state” in his remarks. This is while they have joined up with those dedicated to roll back regulations on virtually every front imaginable for the past two years. Christy Seltzer of US Chamber Watch emails, “The US Chamber’s campaign against so-called ‘excessive’ regulations, in the last few years alone, has brought us: 29 deaths in the worst mining collapse in decades, the worst oil spill in environmental history, and the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression.”
So in the give-and-take of the Chamber of Commerce, they’re going to continue to fight every single agenda item of the Administration, and in return, the Administration will hire people friendly to their interests to get on their good side.
http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/01/11/chamber-of-commerce-appreciates-tone-of-administration/