ABC News has published a list of what they call the “Top 8 Most Powerful Businessmen Influencing Politics.” It is a testament to the success of the Occupy Wall Street movement that a mainstream news organization is even attempting to tackle this issue.
Prior to OWS there was nary a peep about the appalling and dangerous wealth gap in America. The pundits and politicians had a single-minded focus on deficits and ignored the larger question of how they accumulated throughout the Bush administration via tax cuts for rich, off-the-books wars, and irresponsible deregulation.
The Occupy movement has completely shifted the debate to the more relevant issue of economic equity and the abuse of power by corporations and their wealthy proponents. That shift is the reason that ABC News has, for the first time, published a list of One Percenters who influence politics. Unfortunately, the list is woefully incomplete:
- Koch Brothers
- George Soros
- Warren Buffett
- Jeffrey Katzenberg
- A. Jerrold Perenchio
- George Kaiser
- Howard Schultz
ABC seems to be going out of their way to be non-partisan. The problem with that approach is that the ranks of the wealthy are not themselves non-partisan. Here are a few more Republican power brokers that ABC omitted – and every one a billionaire:
- Rupert Murdoch
- Philip Anschutz
- Sumner Redstone
- Donald Trump
- Steve Wynn
- T. Boone Pickens
- Arthur Blank
- Meg Whitman
- Richard Scaife
The noticeable leaning of wealthy businessmen to the conservative side ought to have been acknowledged by ABC. This is especially true given that so many of them are their colleagues in the media. It is particularly conspicuous that ABC left Rupert Murdoch off of their list given that he may be the world’s most prominent influencer of politics with both his blatantly biased news enterprises and his personal generosity toward conservative causes.
Other than these egregious omissions, it is encouraging to see the mainstream press starting to recognize the imbalance in this nation’s economic and political systems. And for that we can thank the Occupiers.
Frankly, I was shocked T. Boone Pickens didn’t make their original cut- his desire to influence politics is not exactly covert- he’s purchased many high profile ads that prominently feature his name. And he’s every bit as into it as the not nearly as upfront Koch Bros.
Another biggie from Vegas: Sheldon Adelson (Venetian).
Are we really even sure Trump is a republican? I can’t ever see myself trusting anything that guy says about absolutely anything. Why’d they only do 7??