"In many cases has been a corporatist..."

[cthulu2016]

Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) has labeled President Obama a "corporatist." In an interview, Schweitzer criticized Obama for moving to the right as president, saying that for much of the last five years he had been a corporatist. He also warned that Hillary Clinton could do the same thing if she becomes president.

“The question that we have is, will it be the Hillary that leads the progressives? Or is it the Hillary that says, ‘I’m already going to win the Democratic nomination, and so I can shift hard right on Day 1,'" Schweitzer said in an interview with The Weekly Standard.

"We can’t afford any more hard right. We had eight years of George Bush. Now we’ve had five years of Obama, [who], I would argue, in many cases has been a corporatist,” the former governor said.

Schweitzer is seen as a possible White House contender in 2016 as well, and he did nothing to bat down that idea in the interview.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/193210-schweitzer-2016-run-something-im-interested-in

[KentuckyWoman]

1. I have never understood the disenchantment with President Obama

He's pretty much done what he said he'd do. I don't know what everyone was listening to prior to the 2008 election but it was pretty clear his stance is just a little bit more like an old time Republican than it is progressive Democrat.

short memory maybe?
wishful thinking maybe?

Candidate Obama, and now President Obama obviously believes corporations have a roll to play in solving some of our economic problems. He's willing to give them a much larger say in how we move out of this mess than I certainly would give them.

Don't get me wrong, I like President Obama - quite a lot really. He's managed to do some really good things for "Joe Six Pack" - astonishing considering all the fit throwing the Republican obstructionists have done.

[Larkspur]

2. I've never understood the blind support for President Obama

I only voted for him in the Dem Primary because he wasn't a Clinton. But he ended up hiring Clintons to fill his first term Admin.
The Clintonistas are whores for corporate interests and they blinded Obama from the truth about how Wall Street was screwing Main Street.

I agree with Schweitzer on his criticism about Obama following a corporatist path. Hillary will do the same unless Progressives put pressure on her. I for one will not donate to Hillary's campaign. She favored H-1b visa holders taking American Tech jobs, like mine, away from American citizens.

[Scuba]

6. +1,000

[KentuckyWoman]

15. But see, you and I understood what we were voting for.

Not sure how to took my comment so want to make sure I clarify..... I didn't mean that I think anyone who disagrees with President Obama and voted for him is disenchanted.

Schweitzer seems like he expected an anti-corporate progressive, didn't get one, and is now unhappy about that..... a complaint I've heard before and in my short time on DU have seen a bit. That's what I mean by disenchanted - the folks who convinced themselves of something that was never true to begin with and think they were mislead. Maybe a better word for that.....

[el_bryanto]

4. I was never particularly enchanted with him either

I mean he's clearly better than any republican would be - and the change in style in a few areas has been nice, but he's never been the sort of guy to really upset the status quo.

Bryant

[Bigmack]

5. I haven't been enchanted...

... by any of the Dem candidates/hopefuls .... well, maybe Eugene McCarthy and Howard Dean.

I would never vote for a Repub, and I would never sit out an election, either.

I vote Dem because that candidate will hopefully do the least harm to working people.

A Repub...? How much harm can they do..? Two words: Reagan.... Bush...

It's good... fun even... to argue amongst ourselves about which Dem is the least corporatist and most progressive, but let's never lose sight of the plans the Repubs have for us.

[politichew]

3. How does Schweitzer find time to criticize someone with all that blood on his hands?

[Larkspur]

8. Like Vermont, Montana has one of the lowest gun related deaths in the nation

When he was governor, he served his people, who were mainly gun rights supporters.

This is an issue that he will have to address with the Dem Progressive base if he decides to run for Prez.

[Scuba]

7. Thank you Brian Schweitzer, who deserves the (D) after his name.

[reformist2]

9. I love it. People need to know 'Corporatist' is a very polite word for...

[polichick]

10. True dat.

[hfojvt]

11. like Schweitzer is NOT a corporatist?

and what kind of a question is that

"The question that we have is, will it be the Hillary that leads the progressives?"

Does he mean, is Hillary gonna pretend to be progressive during the primary? She's gonna run away from Bill and her own record?

Just like Schweitzer is apparently running away from his own record and pretending to be a fiery progressive.

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=105170

[Larkspur]

17. He publicly supports overturning SCOTUS' Citizens United ruling

MT had a 100 year old law called the "Montana's Corrupt Practices Act" which banned corporate funding of state legislators. This law was overturned by SCOTUS' Citizen's United ruling.

Brian Schweitzer, Montana Governor, Throws Support Behind Overturning Citizens United

[The_Commonist]

12. Of course Mr. Obama is a corporatist.

Is there a question about this?
He's certainly not a Muslim Nazi Commie Socialist.
The stock market clearly loves him, even if the stockholders don't.

[progressoid]

13. "Oops, did I say that outloud?"

[Demo_Chris]

14. He is a corporatist. Not exactly a mystery.

[ProSense]

16. Montana's Democratic governor slams ‘jackasses’ in DC for Keystone delay

Montana's Democratic governor slams ‘jackasses’ in DC for Keystone delay
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/212439-montana-gov-slams-anti-keystone-jackasses-in-dc

I love how people throw around the term "corporatist."

"Schweitzer said in an interview with The Weekly Standard. "

Isn't that a RW rag?

Warren 2016!

[Larkspur]

18. I like Schweitzer a lot but oppose him on Keystone XL

The article you cite says that the pipeline will also carry oil from Montana and North Dakota to refineries, so I think that is why as Governor he supports the completion of the Keystone XL pipeline.

But unlike the Rethugs, Schweitzer is open to developing alternative energy sources. He doesn't think that they are mature enough to wean the nation off of oil, but he does support developing them. His main focus was to wean the nation of off foreign oil, so we don't have to send our kids to wars over oil. That's why he supports the Keystone Pipeline.

[geek tragedy]

19. Brian Schweitzer (D-Stillwater Mining)

HELENA – Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said he is enjoying his new position as chairman of the board of Stillwater Mining Co. and is acquiring a bigger stake in the company as some compensation for his part-time job.

“I love it,” Schweitzer said in an interview last week. “I love what we’re doing there. It’s a great company. I’ve got other business pursuits too. Life is good.”

Schweitzer now owns 39,703 shares in Stillwater Mining Co., the state’s largest publicly traded company. The stock closed at $11.91 a share on Friday so his stock was worth $472,863.

...


In February, Schweitzer joined forces with a New York hedge fund, the Clinton Group, to mount what turned out to be a successful hostile takeover of Stillwater Mining’s board of directors. They contended the board had mismanaged the company, pointing to its investment of $450 million in a copper mine in Argentina, a move they argued jeopardized jobs in Montana.

Frank McAllister, the company’s former chief executive officer and board chairman, retired in June after the board takeover and losing his job as chairman.

http://missoulian.com/news/local/schweitzer-owns-k-stake-in-stillwater-mining/article_344dbf12-023e-11e3-9300-001a4bcf887a.html

Schweitzer ought to be a little more circumspect about pissing inside the tent (too funny about his hedge fund buddies being named Clinton).

[Larkspur]

20. So he helped take over a mining company that threaten job losses in Montana

and then helped it remove the liability that threatened those jobs.

Sounds more like an entrepreneur than a corporatist.

[geek tragedy]

21. That's one perspective.

Another is that he teamed up with Wall Street vampires to procure a cushy management job with a mining company while overriding the explicit preference of its unionized work force.