If you haven’t noticed yet, and unless you’re completely oblivious there’s really no way not to, big business doesn’t like Bill Halter.
Last week we related how the United States Chamber of Commerce had bought television air time in Arkansas to support Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln. Ms. Lincoln is in a tough primary fight with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who has the backing of more liberal Democrats in Arkansas, as well as labor unions and other progressive organizations. The primary is May 18, and the race is considered by at least one local observer a toss-up.
At the time, we explained that the Chamber declined to share with The Agenda exactly how much it was spending on the ad. However, the business lobby was happy to tell the Federal Election Commission. (It’s not just a good idea. It’s the law.) So we will belatedly report that the Chamber spent $300,000 to produce and distribute the ad.
Meanwhile, a another self-identified business group has joined the Chamber in backing Ms. Lincoln (or at least in opposing Mr. Halter). Americans for Job Security, a “pro-growth, pro-jobs” organization that claims to represent “businesses, business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the country” (but declines to describe them further), has produced a 30-second commercial that contends a company for which Mr. Halter served as director “exported American jobs to India.” In the spot, Indians, in colorful Indian costumes, and over a distinctly Indian soundtrack, “thank” the lieutenant governor for bringing jobs to Bangalore. Unions backing Mr. Halter and some left-wing blogs, such as Firedoglake, have blasted the ad as racist, and even Ms. Lincoln called it offensive, although she essentially made the same charge in her own ad, albeit less colorfully.
There’s a reason why big business is piling on in this race. There’s a reason why they’re telling lies about outsourcing and bashing Halter for something they actually support as part of their unpopular agenda. It’s because they know the party is over if he wins. And it’s not just because Bill Halter is a real Democrat that will stand up for poor, working, and middle-class Arkansans/Americans. If he beats Blanche Lincoln, and wins in the general election against a pro-big business Republican, then the whole dynamic across the country changes. No longer do Democrats have to be “centrist”, meaning a stooge for the corporate agenda, to win in conservative areas. Bill Halter’s election will show that Democrats can win by being progressive populists, even in the South. And that, my friends, will be the death nail for the pro-big business status quo in this country. So what are you waiting for? Donate to Bill Halter on ActBlue and help get him along the finish line.
And you know, if I were Bill Halter, I’d be putting out an ad right now highlighting these groups opposition and WHY they are opposing him.
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