Why the CBC-PAC Endorsed Hillary and Snubbed Bernie

For those of you who were paying attention, former civil rights activist and Martin Luther King Jr. right-hand man John Lewis announced that the Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee (which is a subset of the Congressional Black Caucus itself) was endorsing Hillary Clinton.  During this endorsement announcement, John Lewis mentioned that he never saw Bernie Sanders being a civil rights activist back in the 60s.  He made it a point to take some very pointed shots at Bernie Sanders.  To all Sanders supporters, these accusations sounded like cheap shots, given that Sanders has a well-documented history of fighting for the African American community.

What you probably didn't know is that there is a very specific reason that the CBC-PAC endorsed Hillary Clinton and not Bernie Sanders and it has shockingly little to do with the candidates' records in civil rights.  After perusing the members of the CBC-PAC, it becomes crystal clear that their motivation had much more to do with the fact that the 20-member board of the PAC contains lobbyists.  They are not just any lobbyists either.  Here is a brief list of the lobbying connections of the CBC-PAC:

• Daron Watts: Daron is a lobbyist for Purdue Pharma. Purdue Pharma is the maker of the highly addictive opioid OxyContin.
• Mike McKay & Chaka Burgess: McKay and Burgess are lobbyists for the student loan giant Navient.  Navient is a spin-off from Sallie Mae.
• Albert Wynn: Wynn is a lobbyist for the tobacco industry, specifically for Lorillard Tobacco, the maker of Newport cigarettes.

In addition to these members of the CBC-PAC, some of the fundraisers for the PAC (in the most recent fundraising cycle) include:

• Vic Fazio: Lobbyist for Corrections Corporation of America, which is a major owner of for-profit prisons and is owned by Republican leader Thomas Beasley.
• David Adams: Lobbyist for Wal-Mart, which is the biggest gun distributor in the United States.

Finally, there is one more major corporate connection:

• Hazel Dukes: Head of the NAACP who also had a big hand in paving the way for Wal-Mart stores to be opened in New York City.

Hazel was the one who criticized Bernie in saying that he was not a factor in the fight for civil rights.

Now, take all of that information and consider the that Bernie Sanders has centered his campaign around fighting Wall Street and forcing Corporate America to be accountable and pay their fair share of taxes, directly impacting Wal-Mart and Lorillard.  He has singled out the pharmaceutical industry for their exorbitant and arbitrary drug costs, directly impacting Purdue Pharma.  He has said that he wants free college for all students who want to go, directly impacting Navient.  He has said we should be ashamed of ourselves for the number of people we imprison and has stated solemnly that we will not be the world leader in imprisonment by the end of his presidency, directly impacting Corrections Corporation of America.

Finally, take into consideration that many people in the Congressional Black Caucus such as Keith Ellison have stated unambiguously that they were not asked for their input on this endorsement and they do not endorse Hillary Clinton.  Is it really hard to figure out what's going on here?

In the end, it's all about money.  And this is why campaign finance reform is the most important issue of our time.  The money from Corporate America will cause people in any level of power to do their bidding in exchange for their money.  Corporate America has an incredibly deep reach and can dictate the issues candidates even talk about, much less where they stand on the issues.

Bernie Sanders does not play this game.  He does not take corporate money.  He does not have ulterior motives.  He could take their money and be another politician who makes claims about the middle class, while actually passing legislation that only benefits corporations.  He chooses not to.

And this is just one example.  Believe me, there are many, many more.

Sources:

• https://theintercept.com/2016/02/11/congressional-black-caucus-hillary/
• http://www.cbcpac.org/