That’s Siva Vaidhyanathan who writes at his blog, Sivacracy, and also pinch hits for Eric Alterman at Altercation. Today he poses two questions to our mutual Senator from New York, Hillary Clinton.
And good ones they are:
* What are you going to do to get our troops out of Iraq? You have come out against the Murtha proposals for redeployment of our troops to the edges of the theatre, thus forcing the Iraqi government to push harder for self-sufficiency and removing the chief targets of insurgent wrath. But what’s your plan? Surely it falls between Murtha’s informed and responsible plan and Bush’s reckless lack of a plan. But what is it?
* What are you going to do to get Wal-Mart to stop blocking port security measures? You served on the company’s board of directors. Don’t you have enough juice there to convince Wal-Mart that the safety of millions of New Yorkers is kind of important? If something very bad happens because Wal-Mart blocked efforts to inspect cargo coming into New York Harbor, we will certainly hold the company accountable. And we will hold you accountable as well. Well, those of us left alive would hold you accountable.
Let’s look at those questions in reverse order, shall we?
(cont. below)
Perhaps like me, you were unaware that Walmart was actively working to oppose increased security measures at our ports. Sounds crazy, I know, but it’s true:
Wal-Mart and its Washington, D.C., lobbyist, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), have systematically undermined America’s security by working to defeat or weaken rules to make America’s seaports and supply chains safe from terrorist attacks. A new report by the AFL-CIO, Unchecked: How Wal-Mart Uses Its Might to Block Port Security, documents their efforts since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to ensure that “security requirements should not become a barrier to trade.”
On port security, that representation has included pressuring Congress to reject requirements for “smart containers” and electronic seals on cargo coming into the United States, independent and regular inspections of supply chain security practices, container-handling fees to help finance port security measures and requirements to let U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) know what is being shipped in and from where it is coming.
The report goes on to document Walmart’s efforts, including passage of a watered down “voluntary” security program that Walmart lobbyists obtained. Essentially our port security is based on a “honor system” rather than a comprehensive law enforcement and national security effort to block potential terrorist threats from coming in through our ports.
Not that I’m terribly surprised by Walmart’s actions (Profits before Country is their motto, I’m sure), but I was surprised to find out that Senator Clinton, my Senator from New York, site of the largest terrorist attack in our history, used to sit on Walmart’s board of directors. So, considering her connections and current position, why hasn’t she had a friendly chat with Walmart executives to persuade them to stop endangering our nation’s security? At the very least, you’d think she’d speak out against Walmart’s lobbying efforts to weaken port security.
Sadly, I think I already know the answer to Siva’s first question for Senator Clinton: What are you going to do to get our troops out of Iraq? That’s easy: absolutely nothing. She’s so concerned about her prospects for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008, that she has simply refused to take any stand at all with respect to our troop levels in Iraq. Afraid of being tarred with Republican chants of “cut and run” she’s been the ultimate waffler.
She will wait until it’s quite clear which way the wind is blowing before coming out in favor of any plan for Iraq like the one proposed by Congressman Murtha. No, Hilary Clinton will not do anything for our troops in Iraq other than offer them insincere platitudes of her support for their mission. There’s about a hair’s breadth of difference between her position on Iraq and that of Joe Lieberman, President Bush’s favorite kissing Dem.
But I do wish she’d speak up about Walmart’s callous disregard of our port security. I mean, she made a stink about that Dubai company that is operating our ports, so why not raise the same complaint about what Walmart has done to obstruct port security? Considering the risk to New York City from a bomb or other terrorist weapon smuggled in via container ship, it seems the least she could do.