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Democracy Now! reports via AlterNet
Ken Salazar is a former U.S. Senator from Colorado who now works at WilmerHale, one of the most influential lobbying firms in Washington. Some groups have criticized Salazar's selection due to his vocal support of fracking, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Keystone XL pipeline.
In addition to Ken Salazar, other leaders of the transition team include former Obama National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, Center for American Progress head Neera Tanden, former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, and Maggie Williams, the director of Harvard's Institute of Politics.
[...] WilmerHale [represents] corporate clients across the board--Cigna, for instance. Cigna is a healthcare giant that is fighting for a merger with Anthem. WilmerHale represents them, Delta Airlines, Verizon, investment firms, a mining company. So, WilmerHale is a major law and lobbying firm.
Ken Salazar is not a registered lobbyist at WilmerHale; he is a partner there. Interestingly enough, Hillary Clinton had published a year ago an op-ed deriding the revolving door where lawmakers leave office and become lobbyists or help special interests. And she had specifically said that she was concerned about lawmakers who go into that line of work, public policy work, for corporate clients, but do not register as a lobbyist, which seems to fit the description of Ken Salazar.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday August 19 2016, @03:31AM
...raise your dominant hand. Now beat yourself senseless with it.
Ye gods, I'm going to have to stick my nose in a vice before pulling that fucking lever in the voting booth.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Friday August 19 2016, @03:57AM
Or you could just do what I plan and write in the candidate of your choice.
And before anyone starts saying "Your throwing away your vote" does is really matter anymore?
I'll vote because I have a vote to cast, even if my choice doesn't win my vote WILL be counted as someone who didn't vote for HRC or Trump. So I get to keep my bitching rights for later.
A vote is like a coupon for a free dinner at your favorite restaurant, it is wasted only if you don't use it. It doesn't matter what you order as long as you order something you want.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anal Pumpernickel on Friday August 19 2016, @04:50AM
I don't know how anyone else can decide for you that your vote is wasted. To me, my vote would only be wasted if I voted for some authoritarian scumbag. People who whine about wasting votes might be projecting their own preferences onto others, in addition to being incredibly shortsighted.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 19 2016, @05:32AM
Eh, it's a part of the traditional self-flagellation that accompanies being disillusioned by the major parties (again) before you rationalize the hypocrisy of voting for them (again).
And as misery loves company, if you can convince others to join you, it doesn't seem quite so bad that you fell short of your ideals (again).
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday August 19 2016, @05:39AM
I was a Sanders girl from day one. But he's not running, and he's even told his supporters to vote Clinton. Much as I dislike her personally, the thought of the GOP getting to place anywhere from one to three Supreme Court justices makes my blood run cold.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 19 2016, @05:44AM
Yes, because of all the candidates running, Clinton is the most similar to Sanders, and there are high matters of grave importance to consider.
Hypocrite.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday August 19 2016, @04:54PM
Of all the candidates running who have a snowball's chance in Hell of winning. Fuck, I hate her. I'd much rather have Stein. But if we fuck this up and we get Trump, there ain't gonna BE a next time. We have to get Clinton elected and then make her entire term fucking miserable. It's our last chance to buy us some time.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 19 2016, @07:09PM
There are checks and balances that limit Trump.
Hillary has already demonstrated that she is beyond such things. Laws do not apply to a Clinton.
Trump is no Santorum, Perry, or Palin. He's actually pretty damn liberal if you look at his history and ignore the more-recent attention-seeking stunts.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday August 19 2016, @07:15PM
It's not ABOUT him, damn it, that's my entire point! He'll be another useless figurehead like Dubya the Flight-suited Chimp while the Cheneys and the Rumsefelds and the--ugh--even worse Dominionist types wreak holy hell on the country. They've long since figured out how to neuter or bypass the supposed checks and balances. And, again, Supreme Court. Imagine one to three people as bad as Scalia on the SCOTUS. Stop and think about what that would mean for us.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 19 2016, @09:05PM
For the long term, what is worse, 3 Scalia clones or letting in millions of people who think we should live with 7th century values?
Hint: see how it's going in Sweden and Germany.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday August 19 2016, @09:44PM
Both are game-over scenarios, but I don't think we're going to go the way of Europe. Three Scalias, however, is a guaranteed ticket to hell on earth in the US of A.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @02:12AM
Of all the candidates running who have a snowball's chance in Hell of winning.
By thinking that third parties have to win to make a difference, you have already failed and shown yourself to be clueless. As for your excuses, those are used every election without exception. There's never a time to vote third party because those excuses always apply, even if you try to pretend that this time things are really, really different.
But if we fuck this up and we get Trump, there ain't gonna BE a next time.
Bullshit hyperbole.
It's our last chance to buy us some time.
You'll be doing the same thing next time too, because you don't give any incentive for the large parties to put forth better candidates.
Stop thinking about the results of the very next election and think in the long-term.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday August 20 2016, @03:44AM
I *am* thinking long term. You saw what kind of damage Chimpy McDumbfuck allowed his cabal to do to the country from 2000 to 2008; we can't survive another round of that. By the next election I hope I'm going to be out of this lunatic asylum of a country, anyway; I've had enough.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @11:47AM
I *am* thinking long term.
No, you're thinking about short-term negative consequences, not getting rid of the two party system that caused these problems in the first place and will cause even worse problems in the future. You don't do that by voting mindlessly for evil scumbags because the other guys are even worse. That's what a majority of voters have been doing for a long, long time, and look at where it has got us.
You saw what kind of damage Chimpy McDumbfuck allowed his cabal to do to the country from 2000 to 2008; we can't survive another round of that.
I did, but I seriously doubt America couldn't survive another round of that, even if something similar did happen.
See, this is going to happen every election. People will always say they can't vote third party or else the really, really evil person will win.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday August 21 2016, @02:18AM
I understand your point, I really do, and want SO BADLY to vote Sanders or Stein. This isn't the time, though. What I think needs to happen now is for Clinton to "win" and then have her entire term made into a living Hell as an entire country full of people, goaded on by the aforementioned two candidates working together, CONSTANTLY barrage her and the Senate. She either listens to the will of the people or quits.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 21 2016, @01:04PM
This isn't the time, though.
Since you made that comment about Bush, it will never be time. There's always a chance of [Insert Candidate From Really Evil Party Here] screwing everything up.
What I think needs to happen now is for Clinton to "win" and then have her entire term made into a living Hell as an entire country full of people, goaded on by the aforementioned two candidates working together, CONSTANTLY barrage her and the Senate.
Here's what will really happen: She'll win and it will be business as usual, with all the same corruption and authoritarianism.
I'll be voting third party and no one is going to stop me. I'll hold responsible everyone who didn't follow suit.
(Score: 3, Informative) by TheRaven on Friday August 19 2016, @08:41AM
And before anyone starts saying "Your throwing away your vote" does is really matter anymore?
Exactly. If both candidates are bad, but one is definitely less bad, then it might be worth voting for the lesser of two evils. If they're just differently bad, then you may as well vote for someone you actually want to get in: they won't, but maybe they'll get enough votes that next time around you can convince a critical mass of voters that they have a chance.
sudo mod me up
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Friday August 19 2016, @02:53PM
Even if third parties don't have a chance, the republicrats and the democans look at where the votes they didn't get went. Voting for a third party encourages them to move their position towards the highest polling third candidate, to stop that third party from "stealing their votes".
Hence, voting third party is not "throwing your vote away". In fact, it is arguably more influential than voting for for one of the 'big two'.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Friday August 19 2016, @06:14PM
Arguably voting for either Trump or Clinton is throwing your vote away. I have no reason to believe that they'll do anything that they've promised whereas Johnson and Stein will at least make a serious effort of making good on as many of their proposals as possible.
Clinton folds more than a Chinese dry cleaner and Trump has set a record for the number of positions he's taken. I believe right now he's taken at least 2 positions on every possible situation.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Friday August 19 2016, @04:01AM
Not wanting to cause actual pain to, you know, myself, I decided to wail away on a nearby Hillary supporter.
Curiously, it only took one whack before they were rendered senseless. Can you explain?
(In fairness, no whacks were needed for the Trump supporter.)
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday August 19 2016, @04:28AM
Yes: they're either half-dead with despair already, or they're not actually any smarter than the average Republican.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday August 19 2016, @02:54PM
So, the family and i are wrapping up an 8,000 mile, 4-wk roadtrip around America (i wanted the kids to see it in one piece, before it falls apart). We saw too many Trump signs to count, and a lesser number of Bernie signs. Not even in the bluest of the blue areas (Seattle, San Francisco, etc) did we see one Hillary sign. Well, in northern New Mexico we did see one, "Hillary for Prison 2016," but i don't think that counts.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday August 19 2016, @03:15PM
Most Clinton supporters are smart enough to not engage with the internet rage machine.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Friday August 19 2016, @06:20PM
Or more likely, most Clinton supporters don't really care, they just don't want to have Trump win.
She's a woman, she's not Trump and that's really the main reasons why people are voting for her. She's promising more of the same corruption and incompetence that we've had.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 19 2016, @06:16AM
Just write in Snowden. Anything else at this point is a wasted vote. No matter who wins the outcome is shit; may as well fill up the stats on the bullshit candidates just to show the world we're all well aware our system is a runaway train.