US corporations support both parties: Analyst

An American political analyst and activist in Maryland says corporations in the United States support both the Republican and Democratic Parties, knowing whoever wins will serve their interests.

Myles Hoenig made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Friday while commenting on a report which says American investment bank Goldman Sachs is on track to be one of biggest contributors in the US presidential race again this year, with $794,609 chipped in so far.

“It’s no surprise that Goldman Sachs, the investment bankers, have given campaign contributions to both parties’ candidates. On the Democratic Party side, Hillary Clinton has been a long-time recipient of their support. Under Bill Clinton’s administration, Goldman Sachs did extremely well,” said Hoenig.

“For the Republicans, we see similar support. Bernie Sanders has refused such corporate contributions and Jill Stein of the Green Party has never received nor solicited their support. It’s part of their platform not to receive corporate donations,” he added.

“The reason for Goldman Sachs supporting both sides is not different than many other major corporations and robber barons cozying up to both the Republicans and Democrats. They’re simply hedging their bets that whoever wins, they’ll win,” he stated.

“During a contentious election in Maryland in 2006 both gubernatorial candidates received near equal amounts from a major utility company. Not surprisingly, the Democratic candidate was Martin O’Malley, now candidate for US president. One of them was going to win and Baltimore Gas and Electric knew it would have a willing agent in the capital working on their behalf,” the analyst said.

“We do see some industries favoring one party over another but mostly, they spread their contributions far and wide. A recent headline showed how many foreign policy experts are supporting Clinton and attacking Sanders for his position on how to deal with ISIS [Daesh]. However, many of them are with the armaments industry. They might not be giving to Sanders during this campaign, but Sanders is especially friendly to them in his state of Vermont,” he said.

The analyst stated that “capitalist system requires that the two major parties serve the interests of Goldman Sachs and all industries. According to Politico, nearly $7 billion was spent by all candidates, parties and outside groups for the 2012 presidential election. That will dwarf this cycle. The vast majority of the sum was spent by corporations and PACs, often paid by the super wealthy individuals who are restricted from giving large amounts directly to campaigns.”

“Every election cycle there is a call for electoral finance reform but all changes have eventually evolved into what we are seeing today,” he concluded.

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