Posted on 06/19/2002 8:51:06 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Democrats See Corporate Misdeeds As Election Theme
Copyright © 2002, Dow Jones Newswires
By Rob Wells OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)-- The Senate's top Democrat thinks combatting corporate misdeeds is a winning election-year theme for his party.
"I think corporate accountability will be an issue in the election, with or without this legislation," Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., told reporters Tuesday.
He was referring to a bill the Senate Banking Committee approved, by a comfortable bipartisan vote of 17-4, that would create a new panel to inspect and punish accountants. The measure, sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., would also boost funding for securities regulators. Full Senate passage of the bill could come before the August recess.
The bill's passage comes three days after a Houston jury convicted the accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP of obstructing justice. It also comes as investor confidence has been shaken by the bankruptcy of Enron Corp. (ENRNQ), record keeping investigations of numerous companies, ranging from Tyco International Ltd. (TYC) to Global Crossing Ltd. (X.GBX).
The scandals are having an effect on investors. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released last week shows about 57 percent of Americans say they don't trust corporate executives or brokerage houses to give them honest information.
"I think this is larger than one bill," Daschle said. "It's larger than the actions that perhaps the Congress can take in one session."
How will a cleanup corporate America theme work on the campaign trail? David Lublin, associate professor of political science at American University, said it might dovetail with workers' concerns about the state of the economy.
"The Democrats are searching for issues, and they think this is one they can work with," Lublin said. The campaign season is still early and Lublin hasn't seen any candidates try out the theme of cleaning up corporate miscreants. Yet it would help Democrats contrast themselves with President George W. Bush, whose job approval ratings remain in the 80 percent range.
"This is what politicians do, is they try issues they think are winners," Lublin said. "If they catch fire, they will run with it."
Honesty in the board room? That all went down the toilet when we elected a president who managed to pillage Madison guarantee, sell our secrets to China for cash, lie before federal judges, throw missiles when his sperm ran out, and kill anyone who could implicate him in any misdeed. The man is directly quoted as saying, Always lie, never mix lies with truth. It will only come back to haunt you later on. HMMMM.....Now what do you think the corporate board room gleaned from the examples of the most poweful man in the world????? Corporate mis-deeds my backside.
I'm not sure what to do about defense-related agencies, which obviously must have access to their funds, but which I'm sure could never pass an audit (and which also have classified information issues.)
But what a hoot it would be to see all these Dems tap dancing and shuffling in the face of demands that the Dept of Education and the IRS be required to successfully pass a GAO audit or cease operations until they can.
Ah, yes. They have little to work with this year thanks to a preemptive President. Juggling domestic and international issues and he still has time to defuse the Dems methods of attack.
Sure is. Daschle is in 1932. He doesn't know Aunt Tilly has $10,000 in a Vanguard index fund, her nephew has a few stocks put away to help with the downpayment on his first house and 7 million government workers have ALL of their pensions invested in the markets (they pay no SS tax). Over half of America is invested one way or the other in the stock market. Attacking their investments is, as you say, suicidal.
What's even funnier is that the MEDIA HAS tried out the corporate malfeasance angle as a campaign issue - and it fell flatter that Dip Geckhardt's "what did he know and when did he know it" trial balloon. The Timmy Twins (Daschle and Russert) were SURE that Enron-Enron-Enron would be a wholesale winner for Dems this fall. When's the last time you saw "Enron" and "GOP" in the same sentence? Long LONG time.
Michael
A sign of PURE desperation. They have NO other angles from which to attack and they think the public has a memory of about 1 week, thus "Let's try it again" hoping to make it stck. You noticed they also waited until Global Crossing was rarely mentioned in the news anymore.
and for the sake of the markets and Capitalism, Bush SHOULD punish the hell out of the Enron creeps. This Democratic strategy will force Bush to do the RIGHT thing.
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