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The Hillary Wal-Mart Videos
April 09, 2008 5:07 PM
The Center for Public Integrity has released two videos tying Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, to Wal-Mart, a company on whose board she once served, though she has distanced herself from the company in recent years because of its unpopularity among some labor unions and other groups.
But even though Clinton in 2005 returned a $5,000 contribution from Wal-Mart for her Senate re-election campaign, she was as First Lady of Arkansas close to Sam Walton and the executives of Wal-Mart.
The first video shows Sam Walton in 1991 at the grand re-opening of the company’s original store in Rogers, Arkansas.
"You are one of the finest lawyers, legal persons, that I've ever met or I've known," Walton effuses. "Without any question, you’ve added more to our board than any person we’ve ever had on that board.”
Says Clinton, after Walton calls her on stage, “I’m so proud of this company, and everything it represents. Anytime I travel and I tell people I’m from Arkansas...Wal-Mart’s on top of the list, and everybody wants me to tell them about Wal-Mart and Sam Walton and Helen Walton and all of the Wal-Mart associates. It makes me feel real good about what we’re able to do and what we can show and the sort of leadership we’re given.”
The second video is of Clinton cutting the ribbon.
Wal-Mart has been asked to release the minutes of its meetings during the era that Clinton was a paid director of the company, but it has refused. And Clinton has for the most part been fairly mum on the topic; her six years as a director of the country's largest company is not mentioned on her campaign website.
**
Wal-Mart seems to be a sensitive topic for the Clintons.
The website WakeUpWalMart.com, funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, blames the company for "lowering wages, forcing good paying American jobs overseas, and cutting costs with total disregard for the values that have made this nation great. Wal-Mart has needlessly exploited illegal immigrants, faces the largest gender discrimination lawsuit in history, forced workers to work in an unsafe environment, and -- incredibly -- broken child labor laws."
On January 21, during the Democrats' contentious South Carolina debate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said that when he was a community organizer in the 1980s and "was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart."
Clinton struck back, saying that she had been fighting Republican ideas "when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."
Obama subsequently included a page on Clinton and Wal-Mart on his campaign website.
Soon afterward, Clinton's husband, the former president, defended her wife's participation on the Wal-Mart board, as ABC News' Kate Snow, Sarah Amos and Jennifer Parker reported in January.
"When she was asked to go on the board of Wal-Mart, they had no women in positions of management, and they had no environmental profile," former President Bill Clinton told voters in Lexington, SC. "And she was asked if she would serve and try to help them become more environmentally sensitive, and she agreed to do it."
Bill Clinton heralded the environmental progress the company made, spurred by his wife. "Even Wal-Mart's strongest critics agree that it's one of the leading forces for trying to help make America more economically independent on the energy front," he said. Then-Arkansas First Lady Hillary Clinton had less success, however, pushing the company to put more women in positions of senior management.
Accounts suggest that she was not active fighting the company's opposition to labor unions.
- jpt
UPDATE: Brian Ross and the investigative unit took a look at Clinton's time on the Wal-Mart board in January. Read it HERE and watch the Good Morning America report HERE.
April 9, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (47)
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I shop at Wal-Mart every day.
Posted by: Musha | Apr 9, 2008 7:15:12 PM
So what nothing else could found on her this story is the pits.
Posted by: Bishop | Apr 9, 2008 7:12:04 PM
Rogers AR. is a very small town Wal-Mart is nothing like it is today in the 70's it was where people could get a few pleasure's in life Sam Walton was a fine man being the typical white person poor in AR. it was a blessing.The world has evoledand so has wal-mart
Posted by: Bishop | Apr 9, 2008 7:00:31 PM
"This was 27 years ago. Walmart was not what it is today."
No, it was worse. It had a total disdain for unions and and women workers. Hillary provided them with the legal advice they needed to translate this disdain into 'acceptable' contracts for Walmart workers.
Posted by: lawyer | Apr 9, 2008 6:42:18 PM
Bill and Hillary's ethics in a nutshell: as long as they pay, it's very much OK.
Posted by: hadda | Apr 9, 2008 6:36:51 PM
This was 27 years ago. Walmart was not what it is today. She was on the board of directors. How many women were working on the board at WalMart, or other companies at that time?
Posted by: svsolis | Apr 9, 2008 6:36:33 PM
WestCoastMessenger,
Your initials WCM stand very well for
Wal and Clinton-Monger or Wal and Clinton-Mart.
What do you prefer?
Posted by: Lance D. | Apr 9, 2008 6:35:01 PM
You extreme leftists can hack away all you want at Hillary for working to improve Wal Mart. There's not a person here who can't say they haven't shopped there.
========================================
Lauren shops at WalMart.
========================================
Posted by: WestCoastMessenger | Apr 9, 2008 6:22:40 PM
35 years of experience!
But you just have to nitpick. Oh, did I tell you that I worked for Walt Mart during that time!
Oops, you really got me there.
Posted by: Lance D. | Apr 9, 2008 6:16:18 PM
This is YEARS ago. Who cares. I don't care if she was involved Walmart in the past and I am an Obama supporter.
I don't hold Walmart against Hillary.
Posted by: Maritza | Apr 9, 2008 5:56:13 PM
Says Clinton, after Walton calls her on stage, “I’m so proud of this company, and everything it represents. Anytime I travel and I tell people I’m from Arkansas...Wal-Mart’s on top of the list, and everybody wants me to tell them about Wal-Mart and Sam Walton and Helen Walton and all of the Wal-Mart associates. It makes me feel real good about what we’re able to do and what we can show and the sort of leadership we’re given.”
UNTIL SHE KNEW SHE WANTED TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT
THEN SHE KNEW SHE WOULD HAVE TO THROW THEM ASIDE. SHE WOULD NEED THE UNIONS ON HER SIDE IF SHE EVER WOULD STAND A CHANCE TO WIN.
SHE THREW THEM FROM THE BUS AND THEN PROCEEDED TO RUN THEM OVER WHEN SHE RETURNED THEIR $5000.00
LIKE I HAVE SAID BEFORE ANYTHING TO WIN
AT ANY AND ALL COSTS
Posted by: LAUREN | Apr 9, 2008 5:53:00 PM
Where's the lie?
Posted by: LOM | Apr 9, 2008 5:52:53 PM
Clinton is so busy trying to throw the kitchen sink at Obama that she loses track of why she is in this campaign to begin with...to get votes...and her actions over the last month should tell her something......
Posted by: Sam | Apr 9, 2008 5:48:24 PM
Everyone knows that Clinton was on the wall mart board.
Everyone doesn't know how many fundraisers Rezko had for Obama or which days he sat in the pews of his American hating church.
The latter would be news. The Walmart issue was old 16 years ago.
And by the way, they aren't the largest company in American because working Americans hate Walmart. Unions don't like Wallmart. Americans do.
Posted by: s.b. | Apr 9, 2008 5:43:06 PM
PA VOTERS ARE SEEING AND LEARNING.
RIGHT ALONG WITH THE UNIONS.
SOME PEOPLE THINK IF THEY GET HILL THEY WILL GET BILL BACK . I WONDER IF THEY STILL WANT THE TWO OF THEM? ANOTHER TRADE DEAL. 800,000.00 COLOMBIA PAID BILL . SO LETS PLAY DEVILS ADVOCATE HILL GET THE PRESIDENCY . BILL GETS TO PILLOW TALK TO HER EVERY NIGHT I WONDER HOW LONG IT WOULD BE BEFORE COLOMBIA TRADE DEAL WOULD SUDDENLY BECOME A GOOD THING.
Posted by: LAUREN | Apr 9, 2008 5:41:58 PM
Wow -- MSNBC has a negative article on Obama. Specifically, about his flip-flop on campaign financing. This might be a real miracle.
Posted by: S | Apr 9, 2008 5:39:43 PM
You are one of the finest lawyers, legal persons, that I've ever met or I've known," Walton effuses. "Without any question, you’ve added more to our board than any person we’ve ever had on that board.”
SHE MUST HAVE HELPED OUT IN SOME WAY TO GET SUCH RAVE REVIEWS. SILENTLY HELPING TO NOT LET THE UNIONS IN?
THERE IS JUST TO MANY TO COUNT WHY THE UNION JUST MIGHT SWITCH SIDES. I WONDER IF THEY REGRET SUPPORTING HER YET? I AM SURE THEY WILL
Posted by: LAUREN | Apr 9, 2008 5:35:57 PM
cappamore, good point. WalMart was a good company when Hillary was associated with them; Rezko was always a low-life when Obama associated with him.
Posted by: HoosierSue | Apr 9, 2008 5:32:18 PM
On January 21, during the Democrats' contentious South Carolina debate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said that when he was a community organizer in the 1980s and "was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart."
Clinton struck back, saying that she had been fighting Republican ideas
REALLY ISNT UNION BUSTING SOMETHING THAT THE REPUBLICANS DO.
SHE SCREAMS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS HOW COME SHE DOESNT SCREAM FOR WORKERS RIGHTS..YOU KNOW TO UNIONIZE?
WOW SHE IS STRICKING OUT ON ALL FRONTS.
Posted by: LAUREN | Apr 9, 2008 5:32:08 PM
Hilliary caught in another lie, what--Did the sun come up this morning too?
Posted by: ha! | Apr 9, 2008 5:27:46 PM
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