Sadly, often it's a major corporate interest which causes political change

[AP]

in the US.

In the 1860s, railroad interests got behind the Republican party, bringing them to power. Slavery wasn't the issue that got them elected, but because corporate interests put Republicans in power, they were able to make their anti-slavery positions law.

It was the oil industry that got behind the democrats a couple decades later when the Republicans were protecting coal.

Even Clinton came to power thanks to the financial support of the hi-tech industries in CA and elsewhere who felt that Bush's protection of other economic interests was preventing them from seeing their innovations reap financial reward.

One thing that had me worried about Kerry was that I didn't see a single powerful corporate interest really feeling like it had a stake in his election.

Ron Reagan Jr's speech, and recent news about how the coalition of old people and biotech industries which want to research stem cell science are starting to support Kery make me think that Kerry might have found the nascent corporate interest which could fill his sails with enough wind to get past Bush.