POPULISTS THREATEN FATCATS

The major reason I will probably vote for Edwards in the primary is his stance on another culture of corruption, Wall Street. The sub-prime debacle is the latest demonstration of the greed, dishonesty and incompetence of the Masters of the Universe and we need to overhaul the system. Huckabee's populism also threatens the anti-tax fanatics in the GOP yet he can truly be said to be a fine man and a fine Christian. He represents a serious schism between the Fundies and the Norquist crowd.

Corporate elite fear candidate Edwards
Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:06pm EST
(EXCERPTS)

By Kevin Drawbaugh - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ask corporate lobbyists which presidential contender is most feared by their clients and the answer is almost always the same -- Democrat John Edwards.

Open attacks on the business elite are seldom heard from mainstream White House candidates in America, despite skyrocketing CEO pay, rising income inequality, and a torrent of scandals in corporate boardrooms and on Wall Street.

But this year Edwards is not alone. Republican candidate Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, sometimes also rails against corporate power and influence, tapping a populist current that lies just below the surface of U.S. politics.

One business lobbyist, who asked not to be named, said Edwards "has gone to this angry populist, anti-business rhetoric that borders on class warfare ... He focuses dislike of special interests, which is out there, on business."

Another lobbyist said an Edwards presidency would be "a disaster" for his well-heeled industrialist clients.

"My sense is that Obama would govern as a reasonably pragmatic Democrat ... I think Hillary is approachable. She knows where a lot of her funding has come from, to be blunt," said Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Stanford Group Co., a market and policy analysis group.

But Edwards, Valliere said, is seen as "an anti-business populist" and "a trade protectionist who is quite unabashed about raising taxes."

"I think his regulatory policies, as well as his tax policies, would be viewed as a threat to business," he said.

"The next scariest for business would be Huckabee because of his rhetoric and because he's an unknown."