Corporate Lobbyists Manage Our Presidential Debates

Corporate Lobbyists Manage Our Presidential Debates

Corporate Lobbyists Manage Our Presidential Debates

Why aren’t the candidates asked about corruption or the influence of big money? Maybe it’s because the men running the debates are lobbyists. 

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

Three debates have gone by, and to this date, neither a candidate for president or vice president has been asked about some of the biggest issues facing voters this cycle.

Which candidate will prosecute the financial crimes that led to the disaster in 2008? Who has the best plan to deal with the climate crisis? Poll after poll shows Americans are frustrated with the corrosive levels of corruption and big money in DC, but the moderators have refused to bring up ethics reform. America’s War on Drugs—which has contributed to tens of thousands of deaths in Mexico, racist stop-and-frisk policies in New York, and crackdowns on medical marijuana users across the country—is apparently too taboo of a topic as well.

Why are our debate moderators so reluctant to bring up controversial topics that affect the future of our country? What’s behind this wall of silence?

Maybe it’s worth considering that the men behind the nonprofit managing our presidential debate system are corporate lobbyists.

Take Mike McCury, the Democratic co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates. McCurry, a former White House press secretary for President Clinton, works as a Partner at Public Strategies Washington, a Beltway lobbying firm.

McCurry doesn’t disclose all of his clients, but his website lists a number of corporations, including Bain Capital, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Lockheed Martin Corporation, the US Chamber of Commerce and Anheuser-Busch. One could argue that McCurry’s work for the beer lobby—which benefits from not having to compete with other drugs, like marijuana—might be a conflict of interest given the debate’s refusal to bring up the failed War on Drugs. (McCurry’s lobbying client, Anheuser-Busch, also helped underwrite the last presidential debate, providing free beer to the journalists at the event.)

Worse, McCurry doesn’t even reveal his entire client list. I took a look at Department of Justice records, and McCurry’s company is also currently being paid over $132,026 to lobby for the Mexican government on issues relating to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations. Wonder why none of the debates have covered the TPP—which could have huge implications for the economy?

Frank Fahrenkopf Jr, the Republican co-chair, is the head of a lobbying coalition of casinos and related gambling industries. Fahrenkopf—who was paid $1,920,561 in 2010, according to IRS records—represents firms like Las Vegas Sands Corp, MGM Resorts International, Morgan Stanley, KPMG and Goldman Sachs. Fahrenkopf’s group spends millions on K Street lobbyists and attorneys—retaining even Ropes & Gray, the law firm in charge of Romney’s non-blind trust—to influence federal policy on issues ranging from Internet gambling to tax and labor policy.

Americans deserve a real debate; one that shines a light on our biggest challenges and forces the candidates to draw real distinctions. It’s less than reassuring that we have K Street shills managing our only substantive public forum.

Allison Kilkenny notes another issue missed from the debates: home foreclosures.

Thank you for reading The Nation!

We hope you enjoyed the story you just read, just one of the many incisive, deeply-reported articles we publish daily. Now more than ever, we need fearless journalism that shifts the needle on important issues, uncovers malfeasance and corruption, and uplifts voices and perspectives that often go unheard in mainstream media.

Throughout this critical election year and a time of media austerity and renewed campus activism and rising labor organizing, independent journalism that gets to the heart of the matter is more critical than ever before. Donate right now and help us hold the powerful accountable, shine a light on issues that would otherwise be swept under the rug, and build a more just and equitable future.

For nearly 160 years, The Nation has stood for truth, justice, and moral clarity. As a reader-supported publication, we are not beholden to the whims of advertisers or a corporate owner. But it does take financial resources to report on stories that may take weeks or months to properly investigate, thoroughly edit and fact-check articles, and get our stories into the hands of readers.

Donate today and stand with us for a better future. Thank you for being a supporter of independent journalism.

Thank you for your generosity.

Ad Policy
x