Arkansas Blog

Seems I remember one of our bloggers mentioning that Hillary was somewhat critical of WM.

Funny, you seem to forget, maybe on purpose that Hillary and Bill were on the Walmart payroll at one time, "The Clintons also benefited financially from Wal-Mart. Hillary Clinton was paid $18,000 each year she served on the board, plus $1,500 for each meeting she attended. By 1993 she had accumulated at least $100,000 in Wal-Mart stock, according to Bill Clinton's federal financial disclosure that year. The Clintons also flew for free on Wal-Mart corporate planes 14 times in 1990 and 1991 in preparation for Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential bid."

More on the link.

I just think it's very hypocritical of her to criticize her former employer since she benefited do handsomely from it.

I've benefited handsomely from former employers and felt free to criticize them anyway.

To me, it would be a problem if Hillary refused to criticize Wal-Mart because she had been on the board at one point. That kind of thinking - that friendships and the good old boy club are more important than competence or ethics - has hurt our country severely.

Little Rock isn't exactly rural Arkansas, Hillary.

I will almost have to agree with CJ on this one....sorta. I think Hillary should have spoken of being on the Wal-Mart board at one time before she gave this answer.

But it is clear that she criticized Wal-Mart at the debates and I agree with what she said. I also realize one seeking high political office from Arkansas must walk a fine line and not be careless in their bashing of the largest company in the world based in Bentonville.

I am hoping that Wal-Mart is currently reexamining itself. The 800 lb elephant in the room should figure out they're too big to knock off now. So they have the luxury of going back and fixing the bad things they've done over the years. Wal-Mart can afford to quit acting like a small town 5-10 cent store and stop monitoring their employees sex lives.

They can afford to pay their employees more and in doing so have less to fear from unions. They can afford health care for all their employees. They can quit moving into small towns and selling drugs at a loss until they kill their competition. They should admit most of their stuff is junk made in China and drop their All American BS.

It will be 100 years before someone comes along to do to them what they did to Sears and Penney's. So relax Wal-Mart.....you're in show business.

Maybe someone like Josh Marshal at Talking Points Memo will take the time and effort to build a giant flow chart that shows the hundreds of connections every candidate has with big business. You can bet every single one of them, except the old guy from Alaska maybe, is connected to the hilt.

If each one was tattooed with the logos of every company they were connected to......they'd be covered head to toe. Yet another reason to think about publicly funded campaigns.

It is impossible to get to the top of the heap without selling your soul to someone like Wal-Mart. Impossible! And that's why our elected officials go off to DC to work for THEM and not US.

>I just think it's very hypocritical of her to criticize her former employer since she benefited do handsomely from it.<

If you are stupid enough to confuse a BOD member with an 'employee' you need some help.
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We hear day after day about wal-mart and the acts they do, sexual and racial suits, along the cia like intell group they employ.

although helping the nw ar community significantly me thinks they are too big. i believe there is a disconnect with middle management and the upper folks re: what is ethical and allowed. meaning i hoping that wal-mart doesn't break the law purposely to get ahead while knowing the legal costs make it worthwhile. what's two or three suits in something if it makes money. that's the problem i have.

i do know that their legal team in known for skirting the discovery process and angering judges in the process. they are not above the law i just hope it's middle managers doing this and not the big dogs so to speak.

Here's the thing Gary....if the big dogs made it clear that the legal team's actions were unacceptable, they wouldn't be doing it. That the "lower level" folks think it's OK means they have no fear of reprimand from the higher ups.

It would be nice if the message from Hilary was that when she WAS on the board, she tried to make things better....of course, I'm not sure she did so.

>>they are not above the law i just hope it's middle managers doing this and not the big dogs so to speak.<<

gary, I appreciate your concern. Often many good deeds done by "Walmart" in NWA are actually done by the employees contributions while corporate gets credit. Actually , everything any corporation does in a charitible way is done by the employees since they make the profits for corps in the first place.

But about your "middle management" query...there is NO AUTONOMY in Walmart until you are very close to the top. Every middle managers' action is approved by someone higher up the food chain. Don't be confused when those higher up the food chain start blaming those lower down..that's just the way of modern bureaucracies. ..or simply put--shit flows downhill.
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>>It would be nice if the message from Hilary was that when she WAS on the board, she tried to make things better....of course, I'm not sure she did so.<<

EY Hillary is DLC all the way. If she commands the Oval Office don't expect much change save for stuffing religion down our throats and foreign aid packages. As DBI aptly noted all of them are marked with Corporate stamp of approval.
Hillary's court appointees may be more feminist but that's about the only change you will see, if we get to see it.

Barack is frightening to Corporations-R-Us. He raises millions just like Hillary but limits it to $100 donations from millions of voters. Think how terrifying this is to McDonald Douglas, Big Pharmie,
Haliburton, Blackwater, Viacom-CBS, etc.
I expected a big smear campaign directed at Hillary but instead I see Rwing pundits talking about how she has it wrapped up and will likely be president. How strange!
Then a few weeks ago it made sense, esp when Barack's numbers came in and his campaign finances were revealed. That young black fellow from Chicago is likely more frightening to Corporations-R-Us than JFK was to the H.L.Hunt family.
Who do they fear the most? Just watch who Lush Gumball trashes the most

This had to be a tough question for her. If she agrees that WalMart is good for America, she will upset the far left wing nut who hate corporate America or anyone who has more money than them.

If she agrees that it is bad for America, then she is kicking her home state in the stomach and pissing away all those corporate dontations that she will need to be the leading player in the primary.

I thought she dodged it well!