Those Clinton/Wal-Mart ties explained
You might remember this:
"In 2005 she returned a $5,000 donation from the company's PAC, severing most of her political ties to the company and putting an end to a long, cozy relationship that dated back to her days in Arkansas."
http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/hillary-clinton-costco-walmart
That was because:
"former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is courting top labor leaders, picking up union endorsements and criticizing Republican efforts to undercut unions as she runs for president"
Sadly, though that was all just optics:
"Jose Villarreal, Clinton's treasurer, has deep ties to the Democratic establishment. A San Antonio-based consultant and former partner at the powerhouse legal and lobbying firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Villarreal has long served as a trusted Clinton adviser and has had leadership roles on five consecutive Democratic presidential campaigns. At the State Department, Villarreal sent Clinton’s team messaging advice and served as the commissioner general for the United States’ pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo -- a role that earned him ambassadorial rank from President Barack Obama.
What makes Villarreal's role in the Clinton campaign intriguing is that he has remained within the orbit of the Waltons, America's richest family, even as Clinton has worked to downplay her own six-year term on the board of Walmart, the country’s largest private-sector employer. While Villarreal was on Walmart’s Executive Advisory Council until at least 2013, Clinton’s official campaign website biography makes no mention that she sat on the company’s board from 1986 to 1992."
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/hillary-clinton-walmart_n_7714918.html
And how do the Waltons feel about this two-faced approach?
Pretty good actually... Because Wal-Mart has been trying to get Clintons elected president for decades:
"Associated Press reported in 2006 that Mrs. Clinton was paid $18,000 annually plus $1,500 for each meeting she attended as a board member. The Clintons had $100,000 in Walmart stock, which was put into a blind trust after the 1992 election. 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.
The ties between the Clintons and the Walton family continue to this day. Alice Walton, the daughter of Wal-Mart’s founder Sam Walton, is a big supporter of Hillary Clinton becoming the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016. According to filings with the FEC, Alice Walton gave $25,000, the maximum allowed under federal law, to the super PAC Ready for Hillary. According to Clinton Foundation’s disclosures, the Walmart Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation each have given between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation."
http://www.progressivepress.net/hillary-clinton-was-a-wal-mart-director-for-6-years/
But that's not all:
"Walmart is headquartered in Arkansas. Clinton once served on its board. And Alice Walton gave Clinton's Democratic National Committee Victory Fund $353,000 in December -- a contribution just made public in filings Sunday."
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/03/politics/new-hampshire-democratic-town-hall-what-to-watch/index.html
I wonder why?
"Former secretary of state is the only Democratic presidential candidate who has not come out in support of a $15 minimum wage"
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/18/walmart-protesters-hillary-clinton-campaign-brooklyn
Really? I mean how much would that really cost Wal Mart?
Well... Some people say 10 Billion.
http://prospect.org/article/how-walmart-could-afford-pay-15-hour
So at a time when Wal Mart is having to close hundreds of stores across the country, to protect profits, a few hundred thousand to the Democrat that's against 15/hr wages is a small investment in potentially a huge return.
Of course talking out of both sides of her mouth is par for the course:
"If you don’t start out trying to get universal health care, we know--and our members of Congress know--you’ll never get there. If a Democrat doesn’t stand for universal health care that includes every single American, you can see the consequences of what that will mean. It is imperative that we have plans, as both John and I do, that from the very beginning say, “You know what? Everybody has got to be covered.”
- Hillary Clinton 2008
