What Role Will Lobbyists Play in the Democratic Convention?

What Role Will Lobbyists Play in the Democratic Convention?

What Role Will Lobbyists Play in the Democratic Convention?

The Nation‘s Ari Berman dissects the corporate influence-peddling at this year’s Democratic convention.

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

By all accounts, the 2008 Democratic Convention will be a celebration
for the ages, but the enormous scale of the parties in Denver will not
merely be a reflection of Barack Obama’s historic candidacy. In the face
of increasingly stringent lobbying regulations, lobbyist-sponsored
convention parties have become the primary sites for corporate
influence-peddling within the Democratic Party.

On the eve of the convention, Nation political correspondent Ari Berman previews the behind-the-scenes wrangling that will occur at these closed-door affairs and highlights the conundrum they may pose for Barack Obama.

Will Di Novi

Check out more great Nation videos on our YouTube channel.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x