And in 1988, when the George Bush and Michael Dukakis campaigns drafted the first secret debate contract--a "Memorandum of Understanding" that dictated who got to participate, who would ask the questions, even the heights of the podiums--the League declined to implement it. Instead, the League issued a blistering press release claiming, "the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter." The major parties, however, did not want a sponsor that limited their candidates' control. Consequently, the CPD was created to step in. Since the CPD took control of the presidential debates in 1988, the debates have been primarily funded by corporate contributions. Multinational corporations with regulatory interests before Congress have donated millions of dollars in contributions to the CPD, and debate sites have become corporate carnivals, where sponsoring companies market their products, services, and political agendas. Tobacco giant Phillip Morris was a major sponsor in 1992 and 1996. The major contributor, Anheuser-Busch, has sponsored presidential debates in its hometown of St. Louis in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. That the CPD has been able to raise millions of dollars in corporate contributions is not surprising. Frank Fahrenkopf and Paul Kirk, who co-chair and control the CPD, are registered lobbyists for multinational corporations. Kirk has collected $120,000 for lobbying on behalf of Hoechst Marion Roussel, a German pharmaceutical company. Fahrenkopf earns approximately $900,000 a year as the chief lobbyist for the nation's $54 billion gambling industry. As president of the American Gaming Association, Fahrenkopf directs enormous financial contributions to major party candidates and saturates the media with "expert" testimony extolling gambling's "many benefits." "We're not going to apologize for trying to influence political elections," said Fahrenkopf. "These are the guys," author George Farah points out, "deciding who gets to participate in the most important political forums in the United States of America."
And in 1988, when the George Bush and Michael Dukakis campaigns drafted the first secret debate contract--a "Memorandum of Understanding" that dictated who got to participate, who would ask the questions, even the heights of the podiums--the League declined to implement it. Instead, the League issued a blistering press release claiming, "the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter."
The major parties, however, did not want a sponsor that limited their candidates' control. Consequently, the CPD was created to step in. Since the CPD took control of the presidential debates in 1988, the debates have been primarily funded by corporate contributions. Multinational corporations with regulatory interests before Congress have donated millions of dollars in contributions to the CPD, and debate sites have become corporate carnivals, where sponsoring companies market their products, services, and political agendas. Tobacco giant Phillip Morris was a major sponsor in 1992 and 1996. The major contributor, Anheuser-Busch, has sponsored presidential debates in its hometown of St. Louis in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008. That the CPD has been able to raise millions of dollars in corporate contributions is not surprising. Frank Fahrenkopf and Paul Kirk, who co-chair and control the CPD, are registered lobbyists for multinational corporations. Kirk has collected $120,000 for lobbying on behalf of Hoechst Marion Roussel, a German pharmaceutical company. Fahrenkopf earns approximately $900,000 a year as the chief lobbyist for the nation's $54 billion gambling industry. As president of the American Gaming Association, Fahrenkopf directs enormous financial contributions to major party candidates and saturates the media with "expert" testimony extolling gambling's "many benefits." "We're not going to apologize for trying to influence political elections," said Fahrenkopf.
"These are the guys," author George Farah points out, "deciding who gets to participate in the most important political forums in the United States of America."
maybe someone reading here tonight didn't! ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
