Bluewashing: Corporate Money Tries to Buy a Democratic Race

We all know about greenwashing, the term activists developed to describe deceptive corporate practice of claiming that self-serving policies and harmful products are somehow good for the environment.

Well, perhaps in this year of political change, when polls suggest that Democrats ranks will swell in the House and Senate, it is time to come up with a term for corporate "investment" in friendly Democratic primary candidates running in solidly blue states.

How about bluewashing?

Bluewashing would describe what happens when corporate interests that usually back Republicans suddenly start pouring money into a Democratic primary to support a supposedly "moderate" candidate. It's happening a lot this election season, as business groups seek to hedge their bets in a year when polls show voters are more inclined to back Democrats for House and Senate seats.

Take today's primary in Maine's 1st congressional district.

Democratic incumbent Tom Allen is leaving to run for the Senate.

Six Democrats are running to represent a region known for its strong anti-war, pro-environment and pro-worker sentiments.

Most of the candidates are solid progressives. Former Maine legislator Chellie Pingree -- who went on to serve as national president of Common Cause -- emerged early on as a front-runner with a campaign that boldly recalled her early opposition to the Iraq war and celebrated her support for ending that conflict and redirected money to help Maine workers and communities.

Through most of the race, Pingree's most serious challengers seemed to be Ethan Strimling, an activist state legislator, and Mark Lawrence, a prosecutor. Both Strimling and Lawrence shared Pingree's values. Indeed, the trio competed to out-progressive one another -- not just on war and impeachment issues that are popular with Maine Democrats but on trade and economic justice issues that are bedrock concerns in the state.

But as the primary approached, another candidate, former Republican Adam Cote, began attracting significant money and support from business interests.

For instance:

* Cote was endorsed by BIPAC, the pro-corporate political action committee.

* The Credit Union National Association PAC paid for $135,000 in mailings that favored Cote.

* Tony Payne, a former Republican congressional candidate who now heads the pro-business Alliance for Maine's Future, announced that he was switching parties specifically to vote for Cote. And he says that others have "done the same thing."

* Republican State Senator Karl Turner switched his party affiliation -- "for the moment," according to The Hill newspaper, which has been reporting on Cote's GOP backing -- in order to vote for the former Republican in the Democratic primary. Turner essentially acknowledges that he is part of a move by Republicans to nominate a Democrat they like to represent a district where a GOP candidate would have a hard time winning in the fall. "I'm the one that got outed," he says.

As the money and back-channel support has flowed to Cote, he's come up in the polls. An Iraq war vet who says he wants to bring the troops home and advances a number of other positions generally associated with Democrats, his tactic is to attack Pingree for being too tough in her criticism of President Bush.

Like Strimling and Lawrence, Pingree has endorsed efforts to hold Bush and Vice President Cheney to account for deceiving the American people about the reasons for going to war in Iraq and using their positions to attack political critics. That's hardly a radical stance in Maine. But if the progressive vote is divided in the primary, the bluewashers figure, they can elect a Democrat who is less likely to take strong, independent positions on the corporate-accountability (and trade policy) issues that most concern them.

With the approach of the primary, Cote began attacking Pingree, charging that she is too interested in renewing the role of Congress and restoring the system of checks and balances in Washington.

For her part, Pingree notes that Cote -- who only switched his registration from Republican to Democrat as he was preparing to enter this year's race -- is making himself a Democratic primary contender with "a tremendous amount of funding, a lot of it from groups that don't normally support Democrats."

That's bluewashing.

Comments (18)

1. Mr Nichols,

   The Dems are going to win big this year, likely with Obama in the White House.

   But you don't think they're going to turn into some mythical "anti-corporate" "solid progressive" Congress that's going to be anywhere close to where you, Ms vanden Heuvel, or "The Nation" is, do you? You can't be that naive.

   No, it'll be good, moderate, INCREMENTAL changes away from the Bush years. Nothing radical and nothing "sweeping".

   The idea that it will seems to be a shared fantasy of both the Hard Left and the Right.

   Posted by Mask at 06/10/2008 @ 08:44am

2. Bluewashng? Leave it up to the Republicans. The grand Old Party has become the new party of "Deception". As a former Republican, I'm truly ashamed of what they have become capable of. Deception is only the kindest word that can be applied.

   Posted by julien38 at 06/10/2008 @ 08:57am

3. Posted by julien38 at 06/10/2008

   julien, I think this is more about business interests and fundraising...

   than the Republican Party.

   Posted by Mask at 06/10/2008 @ 09:03am

4. '...Barack, for the second quarter in a row, has surpassed the fundraising prowess of Hillary Clinton. To be sure small online donations have propelled the young senator to the top, but so too have his connections to big industry. The Obama campaign, as of late March 2007, has accepted $159,800 from executives and employees of Exelon, the nation's largest nuclear power plant operator. ...

   The Illinois-based company also helped Obama's 2004 senatorial campaign. As Ken Silverstein reported in the November 2006 issue of Harper's, "[Exelon] is Obama's fourth largest patron, having donated a total of $74,350 to his campaigns. During debate on the 2005 energy bill, Obama helped to vote down an amendment that would have killed vast loan guarantees for power-plant operators to develop new energy projects the public will not only pay millions of dollars in loan costs but will risk losing billions of dollars if the companies default." ... Clearly Senator Obama recognizes the inherent dangers of nuclear technology and knows of the disastrous failures that plagued Chernobyl, Mayak and Three Mile Island. Yet, despite his attempts to alert the public of future toxic nuclear leaks, Obama still considers atomic power a viable alternative to coal-fired plants. The atom lobby must certainly be pleased....' -- 4 July 2007 -- CounterPunch.org -- Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank

   'It's difficult to know who to trust in life. Then again, the guy with the horns and the hooves should have been a no-brainer.' -- The Onion -- 5 June, 2008 -- Page 14

   Posted by HonestLiberal at 06/10/2008 @ 09:30am

5. Huh, I find the utter lack of commentary on the fact that this "bluewashed" republican is running on a platform that endorses the vast expansion of executive power to be very disturbing. Seriously people, what? We have a guy running for congress, in Maine of all places, advocating the slide towards dictatorship in the US, and he's winning votes. This is disturbing.

   Posted by shadow master at 06/10/2008 @ 10:00am

6. The idea that it will seems to be a shared fantasy of both the Hard Left and the Right.

   Posted by Mask at 06/10/2008

   Watch Obama move right for the general. His speech before AIPAC the other day is an example. I agree that anyone expecting sweeping changes is going to be disappointed. After all, this race is brought to you by the political monopoly that is already in bed with corporate interests.

   Posted by OneVote at 06/10/2008 @ 10:12am

7. Posted by HonestLiberal at 06/10/2008

   "What we do in dungeons needs the shades of day. I stole the candles from the chapel. Jesus won't begrudge them and the chaplain works for me."--Henry II, "The Lion In Winter"

   Posted by Mask at 06/10/2008 @ 10:23am

8. WOW!!! Is Mr. Nichols saying campaign donations are made by those who want to foster their own self-interests. I always thought the big money came from a sincere belief in political ideology. Thanks for opening my eyes, John.

   John Nichols,you innocent thing you, I have a homework assignment.

   Prior to 1996 corporate and special interests donations were weighted toward the Democrats. After that year, the bulk shifted to Republicans. Now, Democrats are again receiving a larger share.

   Can you find out why that happened?

   Posted by RAGGEDSTEP at 06/10/2008 @ 11:41am

9. Posted by HonestLiberal at 06/10/2008

   Keep chirping there buddy. Your race is lost already if you were pushing for Clinton. I would like you to tell me which of those candidates running received NO money from corporate interests? Going as far back as Dennis.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 06/10/2008 @ 12:31pm

10. I stole the candles from the chapel. Jesus won't begrudge them and the chaplain works for me."--The Lion In Winter"

    MASK,

    Didn't you know that Jesus works for Bushco and is a neocon? Therefore, W has taken all of the candles and hidden them on his ranch to keep the dungeons nice and dark.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 06/10/2008 @ 12:38pm

11. Posted by Wolfgang1 at 06/10/2008

    I'm sure some candle-bearing LVLIB of the past said electric lights are a "socialist plot" and there's "tons of scientific evidence (generously funded by the American Candle-maker's Consortium) that there's no danger of fire from candles and electricity is a pie-in-the-sky idea!"

    Posted by Mask at 06/10/2008 @ 12:46pm

12. ....that there's no danger of fire from candles and electricity is a pie-in-the-sky idea!"

    Posted by Mask at 06/10/2008

    ....and the sun is the work of the devil for it shineth it's light upon W's work and dothen't hide from thine masses the deeds doneth to thy masses. Praise be to God, I mean, Dicketh Cheney.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 06/10/2008 @ 12:57pm

13. well,

    i think politicians should wear NASCAR style jackets with all their corporate sponsors logos......

    that would be transparency.

    and given people's need to feel "branded" (ouch!),

    it would probably be good for business.

    Tuesday, June 10, 2008 9:32:13 PM

    Posted by frosty zoom at 06/10/2008 @ 1:11pm

14. MASK,

    I think I know the prayer uttered in Livlibs sermons on bible thumping day. Here goes....

    Our W, which art be in the White House, Hallowed be his name, His kingdom has come, and his will is being done, In Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea as it is in the U.S., Give us this day our daily oil, and forgive us our trespasses, a as we don't forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation unless we can get a few more bucks out of the deal, and deliver us from the socialistic commie dems, for thine is W's kindgom, and the power and the greed, for ever and ever and ever and ever and ever....Amen

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 06/10/2008 @ 1:18pm

15. time warpation!

    Tuesday, June 10, 2008 9:39:18 PM

    Posted by frosty zoom at 06/10/2008 @ 1:18pm

16. '...And it's even more complicated than that, because delegates are divided by district.In Nevada, for example, Hillary Clinton got 51 percent of the votes and Barack Obama got 45 percent, but Obama received more delegates --13 to Clinton's 12. What this means is that the little colored "check mark" that most media outlets put next to the name of the "winner" of each state could have been justifiably put next to both Clinton and Obama's names in Nevada -- since Clinton won the popular vote but Obama won the delegates. The same could be said about New Hampshire, where each won nine delegates....' -- http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/15121446.html

    '...Advocates of abolishing the electoral college say that it is undemocratic to elect a president who receives fewer popular votes than another candidate who wins more electoral votes....' -- Washington Post -- 8 December, 2000

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 06/10/2008 @ 1:50pm

17. Adam "Turn" Cote should please blue dogs & bluenoses alike. After all, he "was" a repub?

    Posted by Sorelish at 06/10/2008 @ 2:45pm

18. http://www.votenic.com, the red, white and blue washing of biased, slanted polls.

    Posted by votenic at 06/10/2008 @ 4:08pm