Wal-Mart boss Sam Walton funding Obama big time

Washington Examiner ^ | 10/22/12

[Evil Slayer]

Can we stop pretending that Barack Obama’s candidacy is some grass-roots uprising?

Obama’s campaign has outspent Romney’s campaign. The Democratic National Committee has outspent the Republican National Committee. While Romney’s SuperPAC (Restore our Future), has outspent Obama’s SuperPAC (Priorities USA), that $40 million Romney SuperPAC edge doesn’t come close to making up for the Obama campaign’s $180 million edge.

There is legally undisclosed spending going on here, and there’s reason to believe Romney benefits from more of it than Obama, but that’s not conclusive, and we don’t know how big Romney’s edge is in that category.

Obama argues that his fundraising success comes from small donors, but that’s not really true. One out of every five Obama dollars comes from the campaign’s biggest bundlers, the Center for Pubic Integrity reports. Those bundlers include the likes of Pfizer lobbying chief Sally Susman and financier Michael Kempner of the MWW group.

A full 85 percent of Obama’s SuperPAC money comes from his 20 largest donors (compared to 70 percent of the money raised by Romney’s SuperPAC), according to Russ Choma at the Center for Responsive Politics.

My favorite detail, though, is this Washington Times report by data hound Luke Rosiak: Wal-Mart Chairman Sam Walton has apparently given big to Obama’s SuperPAC.

This is at first surprising for a couple of reasons. First, the Waltons tend to be Republican. Second, the conventional wisdom is that megacorps like Wal-Mart are a Republican thing.

But Sam Walton gave the maximum $30,800 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2008, and $40,000 to the OVF this election.

Policy-wise, there’s plenty of reason for Sam Walton to like Barack Obama: 1.Wal-Mart endorsed the employer mandate in ObamaCare, which gives Wal-Mart an advantage by crushing smaller competitors. 2.Wal-Mart has profited from Dodd-Frank, which fixes the price Wal-Mart has cards.

[Wuli]

Walmart - a.k.a. majority China and Mexico importer

[Westbrook]

> Been looking for a good reason to boycott Walmart.

You’d better boycott Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Amazon, and Google, too.

They’re all big-time lib contributors.

[Westbrook]

> You’d better boycott Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Amazon,
> and Google, too.

And Apple and Microsoft, too.

[Biggirl]

Bad news, not many conservative businesse out there.

[Intolerant in NJ]

Makes sense after tonight’s report that Walmart is being sued by the Feds for violation of minimum wage and other labor laws - that’s how the ‘rat shakedown empire works - get hold of the government, use its powers not to help the people but to threaten convenient targets and wait for the money to come rolling in so the screws will be loosened - it’s infuriating.......

[StAnDeliver]

"This is at first surprising for a couple of reasons."

What kind of naif doesn't realize the 47% spend their government booty at Wal-Mart? Cooper looks like a kid (and no one is ever going to go wrong underestimating the intelligence of the Millenials or their attention span), but seriously...

[MHGinTN]

And graveyards ... Sam’s dead, Jim.

[ilovesarah2012]

In September 2011 EDF and Walmart were embroiled in controversy when North Carolina Watermen United, a group of roughly 200 commercial, recreational , longliner and charter fishermen, decided to boycott Walmart stores after the Walton Family Foundation contributed $36,341,561 to EDF and other nonprofits helping the Obama Administration to promote “catch share” fishing,[11] a program that allocates to fishermen a certain share of fish and eliminates their financial incentive to catch more than their share.[12] Critics of the practice argue that catch share fishing promotes efficiency but not conservation, and favors large fisheries with a great deal of stored capital over small operations. In an EDF document highlighting the organization’s agenda on ocean fishing, Sam R. Walton was quoted as saying: “We’re completely sold on EDF’s bold vision for using catch shares to bring oceans back to health while making sure that fishermen can still earn a decent good living.”[13]

EDF’s president, Fred Krupp, has a track record of helping corporations develop sustainable practices. His critics, however, suggest that he is more concerned with courting corporate donations and helping companies to greenwash their operations. In 2007 he worked with then-Walmart CEO H. Lee Scott on the company’s green campaign, and, despite his claims that he would not accept foundation money, has received millions of dollars (via EDF) from the Walton Family Foundation.[14] In 2006 Krupp opened an EDF office across the street from Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville , and took Lee Scott on a “global warming field trip,” visiting farms in Kansas and climatologists in New Hampshire.[15] Walton is said to have recused himself from talks on the Walmart work.[16]

National Geographic: Walton is on the Council of Advisors for National Geographic.[17] In 2008 he participated in an arctic expedition along with National Geographic staff, high profile environmentalists and scientists, business leaders, journalists, and politicians like Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn. EDF’s Fred Krupp also attended the expedition. [18] The trip’s purpose, ostensibly, was to investigate and discuss the effects of climate change.

http://walmart1percent.org/family-tree/sam-r-walton/

[Leroy S. Mort]

. His son is Samuel Robson Walton or Rob, and Sam R. Robson is the grandson. Both have contributed to Obama, but it's the last one who took it further.

Rob Walton, the current chairman, Never contributed to Obama. With the exception of Blanche Lincoln, his contribution record is pure R.

S. Robson Walton - contributions

The grandson, Sam Walton,who doesn't work for WalMart is a bit of a leftie apparently and has a history of giving to Obama.

This a poorly researched article that's being spread innocently, or maybe not so innocently.

[ConservativeInPA]

Show Walmart how much we appreciate it. Stop doing business with Walmart. If you keep giving your money to those how are aligned against you, you we always come up on the short end.

I am seriously considering not doing business with Walmart. Years ago, I forgot exactly what year, but it was leading up to the assault weapons ban, K-Mart stopped carrying firearms, ammo, etc. I haven't been back since. I haven't missed them either.

I went to Walmart last Friday on the way home from work to pick up some .22 LR for shooting on Saturday. It was locked up in a display case and no one was there to unlock it. That is not an anti-gun thing, just poor customer service. A sales clerk did come but I directed him to a customer already waiting. The waiting customer was buying a hunting license. The sales clerk had no clue what to do. I left the store.

Recently, I stopped shopping at Dicks Sporting Goods because they require ID to be scanned to purchase shooting related products. I was buying a gun sling, There is no federal, state or local law that requires that. I am 48, I look like I am 49, I don't show ID to buy things unless there is a law. Dicks no longer receives my business.

Boycotting Walmart will require some advanced planning. but I am willing to do it.

[AlexW]

“Of course if Obama gets another 4 years, all of us will be poor and only be able to afford to shop at Wally World”
__________________________________________________
Duhhhh. That’s why he supports Obozo.

[funfan]

Well it seemed as if the price point is good
at least from the commercials I have seen.

[KoRn]

I’m SURE Wal-Mart just loves all of the ‘Food Stamp’ and .gov handout money brought in by the ‘FSA’.

[hosepipe]

Sam Walton is riding a Tiger in China..
How does he get OFF?.... You know... ALIVE?..

[madison10]

It’s Sam Walton’s (founder of Wal-mart) grandson. The son doesn’t even go by the name Sam, he goes by Rob and is conservative. C’mon, media, get it right.

[wrencher]

The Costco CEO hosted an Obama fundraiser too.

[x]

Thanks for the clarification. I had different information, but it looks like it’s hard for everybody to keep these Sams and Robs and Waltons separate.

[Tea Party Terrorist]

Exhibit A for death taxes.

[madison10]

The Democrat/Liberal in the Walton family is Sam Walton’s (Wal-mart founder)grandson. The grandson is NOT the CEO of Wal-mart, he runs a bunch of liberal/green/PC companies. Most likely HE was the Obama supporter not Sam (Rob) Walton who is currently running Wal-mart.

[familyop]

After the main street mobsters and their local government friends drop their crazy planning regulations and zoning regulations against small manufacturing shops on rural properties, I’ll stop going to Walmart. Until we see smokestacks, buy un-local. ;-)