Hastert and ... tobacco

Chris Burford cburford at gn.apc.org
Sun Dec 20 00:55:02 PST 1998



>>To lose one speaker, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks
>>like carelessness.
>
>Hey Chris, did you make this up? I'm adding it to my quotes and I don't
>want to site incorrectly.


>pms

Fraid not. Oscar Wilde. The Importance of Being Earnest:

"To lose one parent, Mr Worthington, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

At 03:13 PM 12/19/98 -0800, Michael Perelman wrote:
>Tobacco is only one of many, many corporate interests who have donated to
>the thugs. I doubt they are more beholden to tobacco than many of the other
>interests.

In the sense that campaign funding is now an issue both in the UK and the USA I agree. Not sure that they are always thugs - capitalism does not have to be literally criminal in order to exploit.

But the point about tobacco is that we have here evidence of a conspiracy to pervert the course of democracy. To continue the promotion by capitalists of an addictive commodity which kills people. In large numbers. So it is misleading to suggest in this context it is just one of many interests. Especially when the "Independent" Counsel is not independent of BAT. I know that capital ultimately has no country, but do you really want a British company promoting the impeachment of your president?

It has far more significance for the constitution than a president telling a white lie about an affair. This is the real "high" crime against the intention of the bourgeois founders of the constitution.

What evidence is there of Hastert's links with tobacco? After all if Congressman Henry Waxman is right that "the tobacco fleet of private jets has become the official airline of the Republican Party", it may be useful for the next speaker to have good relations with it. What are the best web-sites on this?

Does anyone know the clip of Hastert at the hearings on tobacco? What was the issue that led him to lose his healing calm?

Chris Burford

London.



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