"Special Interests" - Payback

[caroljane]

Who was the last President whose campaign was financed entirely by himself and his family and those who believed what he believed?

[Selene]

Who was the last President whose campaign was financed entirely by himself and his family and those who believed what he believed?

Carol:

My guess is that there never has been one. But the way you phrased it with the "those who believed what he believed" means precisely what?

I mean contributors who were looking for leverage in the administration probably always existed.

My solution is that all contributions of any size would be publicly listed on a website and any person or corporation that contributed to the campaign would not be permitted to be employed by any government agency and no contributing corporation could obtain any government contract for the duration of the Presidency.

Then we would see who contributes.

Adam

[Mike11]

Well put Selene.

Its weird how my left beliefs intersect with Objectivism sometimes. Get Big Business out of the State.

If only you Yanks met our Canadian example. John A, now that was a leader with financial integrity!

Edited April 23, 2011 by Joel Mac Donald

[caroljane]

Well put Selene.

Its weird how my left beliefs intersect with Objectivism sometimes. Get Big Business out of the State.

If only you Yanks met our Canadian example. John A, now that was a leader with financial integrity!

Well seid yerself, Sir J.MacDonald

[Selene]

Well put Selene.

Its weird how my left beliefs intersect with Objectivism sometimes. Get Big Business out of the State.

Thanks.

In the late 60's and early 70's when we were deeply involved in the anarcho-capitalist movements in NY City and, by extension, the formulation of the Libertarian Party in NY State, we would always get to the final point of difference between the left anarchists and the "ancaps" which was the existence of private property.

There were a plethora of good and great minds in these conferences, meetings, both above and below ground, but we would always get down to that sticking issue of private property.

Both "sides" agreed as to the state. My thought was then, and is now, that the left anarchist commune could exist in the ancap utopia, but the reverse was not true.

What are your thoughts.

Adam

Edited April 23, 2011 by Selene

[caroljane]

I also have a question for Joel, thinking of the historical forces that shaped Lincoln and Macdonald, and their similarities and differences; what did they think of each other (if they ever did)- or would have?

[Selene]

Wiki on Sir John A. for us uninformed Yanks!

Macdonald served just under nineteen years as Prime Minister, a length of service only surpassed by William Lyon Mackenzie King.^[135] Unlike his American counterpart, George Washington, no cities or political subdivisions are named for Macdonald (with the exception of a small Manitoba village), nor are there any massive monuments.^[136] A peak in the Rockies, Mount Macdonald at Rogers Pass, is named for him.^[111] In 2001, Parliament designated 11 January as Sir John A. Macdonald Day, but the day is not a federal holiday and generally passes unremarked.^[136] Macdonald appears on the present Canadian ten-dollar bill.^[137] He also gives his name to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, and to Ontario Highway 401 (the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway), though those facilities are rarely referred to using his name.^[136]

[caroljane]

Wiki on Sir John A. for us uninformed Yanks!

Macdonald served just under nineteen years as Prime Minister, a length of service only surpassed by William Lyon Mackenzie King.^[135] Unlike his American counterpart, George Washington, no cities or political subdivisions are named for Macdonald (with the exception of a small Manitoba village), nor are there any massive monuments.^[136] A peak in the Rockies, Mount Macdonald at Rogers Pass, is named for him.^[111] In 2001, Parliament designated 11 January as Sir John A. Macdonald Day, but the day is not a federal holiday and generally passes unremarked.^[136] Macdonald appears on the present Canadian ten-dollar bill.^[137] He also gives his name to the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, and to Ontario Highway 401 (the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway), though those facilities are rarely referred to using his name.^[136]

Well, he set the tone for our political leaders. Modest patriots doing their jobs.

[Reidy]

"Those who believed what he believed" carves out such a large exception as to make the condition vacuous. Obama took enormous amounts of money from the SEIU and other government employee untions which believed what he believed. Thus he would be the answer to your question.

[Selene]

"Those who believed what he believed" carves out such a large exception as to make the condition vacuous. Obama took enormous amounts of money from the SEIU and other government employee untons which believed what he believed. Thus he would be the answer to your question.

Not really because a lot of people and corporations contributed to his campaign for protection which is common in American politics.

Trump's exposure to contributing to Rahm "Frank Nitti" Emanuel and to Senator Charles "Lord of Scum" Schumer is a recent example.

Most corporations donate to both sides and consider it a cost of doing business.

Adam

We used to call it protection money, but, me being Italian deny that we ever were involved in that sordid practice

[Mike11]

The John A reference was about the "Pacific Scandal" in which John A used the railroad to buy elections, while the railroad used the elections to buy its monopoly.

Selene, as far as anarcho-capitalism and what not goes, those matters are well outside my knowledge, I can't comment.

Daunce, Lincoln and Macdonald, hmmmm. Two fish evolved from very different waters, not sure what he would have thought of him. At heart John A was not a man to take principled stands on anything, though he was part of a commercial and industrial society like Lincoln.