I don't know but maybe this explains some of their firearms policies.
Clinton Quiet About Past Wal-Mart Ties By BETH FOUHY, AP Political Writer
Fri Mar 10, 4:59 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060310/ap_on_el_se/hillary_clinton_wal_martNEW YORK - With retail giant Wal-Mart under fire to improve its labor and health care
policies, one Democrat with deep ties to the company — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
— has started feeling her share of the political heat.
Clinton served on Wal-Mart's board of directors for six years when her husband was
governor of Arkansas. And the Rose Law Firm, where she was a partner, handled many
of the Arkansas-based company's legal affairs.
Clinton had kind words for Wal-Mart as recently as 2004, when she told an audience at
the convention of the National Retail Federation that her time on the board "was a great
experience in every respect."
But in recent months, as the company has become a target for Democratic activists, she
has largely steered clear of any mention of Wal-Mart. And late last year, Clinton's
re-election campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from Wal-Mart, citing "serious
differences with current company practices."
As Clinton sheds her Arkansas past and looks ahead to a possible 2008 presidential
run, the Wal-Mart issue presents an exquisite dilemma: how to reconcile the political
demands she faces today with her history at a company many American consumers
depend upon but many Democratic activists revile.
"The interesting question is not just Hillary Clinton's history at Wal-Mart, but why it's
delicate for her to talk about Wal-Mart," said Charles Fishman, author of "The Wal-Mart
Effect," a book on the company's impact on the national economy. "Plenty of Democrats
denounce Wal-Mart, but there are also plenty of people who need it, love it and rely on it."
___
In 1986, when Wal-Mart's founder, Sam Walton, tapped Clinton to be the company's first
female board member, Wal-Mart was a fraction of its current size, with $11.9 billion in net
sales.
Today, Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer and largest private employer, with over
$312 billion in sales last year and 1.3 million employees or "associates" in the U.S.
alone. But recently, the company has drawn intense scrutiny for its labor practices —
from its wages to the lack of affordable health coverage for employees, to its stiff
resistance to unionization.
Throughout the 1980s, both Bill and Hillary Clinton nurtured relationships with Walton, a
conservative Republican and by far Arkansas' most influential businessman.
Among other things, Hillary Clinton sought Walton's help in 1983 for Bill Clinton's
so-called Blue Ribbon Commission on Education, a major effort to improve Arkansas'
troubled public schools. The overhaul became a centerpiece of Clinton's governorship.
And Wal-Mart's Made in America campaign, which for years touted the company's sales
of American products in its stores, was launched after Bill Clinton persuaded Walton to
help save 200 jobs at an Arkansas shirt manufacturing plant. The Made in America
campaign has virtually vanished in recent years, as the company's manufacturing has
gradually moved overseas — another point of criticism by many anti-Wal-Mart activists.
The Clintons also benefited financially from Wal-Mart. Hillary Clinton was paid $18,000
each year she served on the board, plus $1,500 for each meeting she attended. By 1993
she had accumulated at least $100,000 in Wal-Mart stock, according to Bill Clinton's
federal financial disclosure that year. The Clintons also flew for free on Wal-Mart
corporate planes 14 times in 1990 and 1991 in preparation for Bill Clinton's 1992
presidential bid.
___
Wal-Mart has little to say about Hillary Clinton's board service, and will not release
minutes of the company's board meetings during her tenure. Lorraine Voles, Clinton's
communications director, turned down a request for an interview with the senator.
Still, details have come to light over the years.
Bob Ortega, author of "In Sam We Trust," a history of Wal-Mart, said Clinton used her
position to urge the company to improve its gender and racial diversity. Because of
Clinton's prodding, Walton agreed to hire an outside firm to track the company's
progress in hiring women and minorities, Ortega said.
"These were things the company was not addressing and wouldn't have, had she not
pushed them to do so," Ortega said. "She's somebody who could definitely get things done."
