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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThird Way: 'Majority of Our Financial Support' From Wall Street, Business Executives
http://www.thenation.com/blog/177569/third-way-majority-our-financial-support-wall-street-business-executiveshttp://www.thenation.com/blog/177569/third-way-majority-our-financial-support-wall-street-business-executivesThird Way's attacks on Senator Elizabeth Warren make the group sound like a stalking horse for Wall Street executives, there might be a reason for that.
At a demonstrated today outside the think tank's downtown D.C. office, Third Way senior vice president Matt Bennett conceded to Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) co-founder Adam Green that "the majority" of Third Way's donor support comes from the group's board of trustees, most of whom are from the finance sector.
As TheNation.com and others have pointed out, the majority of Third Way's trustees are finance industry executives, many of whom might have a vested interest in using a surrogate to attack Warren. Warren, who Time magazine calls the "new sheriff of Wall Street," has demanded greater regulation of the industry. Many of the trustees listed on the Third Way website hail from an assortment of private equity firms and other investment businesses. Others work indirectly, like Third Way trustee Thurgood Marshall Jr., whose professional website at the public affairs firm Bingham Consulting lists his work as "government relations" on issues concerning, among others, "banking regulations."
Bennett explained to Green that the majority of donors to his group "write us personal checks," so the much of the Wall Street money comes from individuals, not institutions. To be sure, Third Way also counts on other corporate donors. As we've reported, many companies maintain ties to Third Way, which was formed as a bulwark against economic progressivism within the Democratic Party, to advance their interests in Washington. For instance, both Qualcomm and Humana list their donations to Third Way as part of each company's lobbying budget.
Third Way sparked the demonstration by authoring an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal last week titled "Economic Populism is a Dead End of Democrats." Third Way's Jon Cowan and Jim Kessler explicitly called out Warren's proposals for expanding Social Security through taxes on higher income individuals. Though polls show rampant support for these policies, many critics believe there were ulterior motives for the opinion column. Expanding Social Security would not only end up expanding benefits for seniors, but would also force Third Way's trustees to pay slightly more in taxes.
Vincardog
(20,234 posts)truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)bvar22
(39,909 posts)and raise another +100.
calimary
(81,322 posts)duffyduff
(3,251 posts)They need to be purged from the party.
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)duffyduff
(3,251 posts)liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)People vote with their wallets, and the more third way democrats go along with the republicans in giving our money away to the 1% the less votes third way democrats are going to get.
merrily
(45,251 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)I'm sure they have the best interests of the People at heart.
mindwalker_i
(4,407 posts)to scream and whine about people who don't let them gamble with everybody else's money. Can't say it wasn't obvious to begin with, but it's nice to see them admit it.
Every "political action" group should have to disclose how many wall street dicks are in their mouths.
Phlem
(6,323 posts)-p
merrily
(45,251 posts)artistic choice.
Phlem
(6,323 posts)But so much crap's been thrown at me by zombie centrists around here that after a while one's knee jerk reaction is to duck.
It goes all the way back to Obama's election, and when there's a call out, you become the most wanted/hated on this site.
Been calling out his bullshit for the longest time and after a while you get sick of the hate.
What do you do when you throw red meat out for the knuckle dragger's?
-p
maybe I should post that in here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/110220129
Oh never mind.
mstinamotorcity2
(1,451 posts)the wrong way.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)bankrolled by corporate interests.
When your child or your party has an infiltrating, malignant tumor, you do not pledge loyalty to the tumor because it is now part of your child.
You excise it.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Never would have thunk it.
Phlem
(6,323 posts)You've known all along, and we've been there to support you. I'm glad your my voice cause I personally can't stand the hate. I've grown up with it and have PTSD from it, so I can't take it for long. But you, I don't think I've ever seen an angry post from you and if it did happen, I totally missed. Keep it up Manny, your a gem.
-p
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)But fortunately I suck at expressing myself.
Thanks for the kind words.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)LOL.
It might just be me who got the ad, don't know if it's for everyone.
Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)one big corporate commercial and the ad was therefore redundant.
Dragonfli
(10,622 posts)Using "Third Way" as the new vehicle for Republicans pretending to be Democrats to destroy the party from within.
It looks like it's time to re-brand yet again.
Any ideas as to what the DLC/Third-Way/New Democrats will start calling themselves after the change?
They need front groups to write Republican policies for our fake Democrats to relabel "progressive" and implement, I wonder what the new name will be and if we should start a pool on what it will be.
There are so many more Heritage laws yet to be passed, Social Security still needs attacking and free trade agreements yet that they need for Corporate control to be complete, a new front group must be made!
I suggest "The Progressive Council for Pragmatism" - PCP is easy to remember and the word progressive is used, The DLC likes to use "Progressive" when naming right wing policy groups so I will buy this square in the pool if someone gets it going.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Americans for a Modest Proposal.
reformist2
(9,841 posts)That's one quick way of getting the "third way" types out of the party!