MAGA vs. the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

American Thinker.com ^ | May 14, 2019 | Peter Skurkiss

[Kaslin]

The general public typically equates the Chamber of Commerce with local Mom and Pop businesses in their area which meet for networking and mutual support in local chapters across the country. This is erroneous. According to the Hill:

While local chambers cater to the needs of car dealers and restaurant owners, the national Chamber operates as the lobbying arm of large corporations that have never met a big government program they did not like.

They are weapons dealers pushing billion-dollar battleships and telecommunication lobbyists protecting slow Internet at the world's highest prices. They are lobbyists for pharmaceutical companies, big banks, and Wall street traders who treat the American people as gullibles to be fleeced without mercy.

Even seasoned politicians are susceptible to having misconceptions about the Chamber. Former U.S. senator Jim Demint admits he naively thought it was lobbying for free enterprise and creating a better business environment for everybody. Now he says, "I pronounce them part of the swamp." Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich), a conservative, adds, "I believe in free markets and am against cronyism and corporate welfare, and they [the U.S. Chamber of Commerce] support those things."

[DIRTYSECRET]

Dump it.

[Uncle Miltie]

Chamber wants illegals to keep your wages down.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

They also are a BIG Lobbyist AGAINST any meaningful Immigration Reform, in order to protect the cheap labor offered by Illegal Immigrants. They are the biggest reason are Immigration laws suck.

[bray]

US Chamber of Commies

[logi_cal869]

Got that right. I am rather hostile to our local Chambers and the people who are regulars to their clique-ish meetings...

[Vigilanteman]

Oh, big time! Once upon a time, in the early administration of Bush I, they would actually tell us with a straight face that illegal aliens would extend the life of social security because they would pay into the system and never collect.

Who remembers that? The theory was that they would make their money, then go home and develop their own countries.

[bray]

Ours too, they have not seen a spending big gummit bill they did not support.

[RedStateRocker]

I don’t trust ANY large organization.

Once you get an entity where everyone doesn’t know everyone else, you can assume it to be corrupt and of malevolent intentions.

Corporations, Government departments, Unions- they ALL behave the same. Once you get a group larger than a decent sized country or rock band, they should be assumed to be evil.

[Swordmaker]

Many years ago I worked as a District Manager for the US Chamber of Commerce, selling small businesses on the idea the chamber was representing them. My area covered Northern California and Northern Nevada. We had “Rah Rah” meetings where the upper management talked about “selling the sizzle, not the steak” and getting out before the “daze wore off.” We talked to small business people about how the US Chamber was representing their small business interest before Congress and lobbying for them.

One day there was a tax bill before Congress that would have given small business a substantial tax cut and I learned that the US Chamber was quietly lobbying against the bill behind the scenes. . . Because it didn’t give any tax cuts to big corporations. That day I quit being effective as a representative for the US Chamber. A week later I called the National Federation of Independent Businesses and asked if they wanted me. They did. I never had a moments doubt about what I told small business people about what the NFIB did for them.

[Revolutionary]

A RINO runs the place; nuff said.
The Republicans have been dependent on their money for too long. Need to convince businesses to dump the CoC.

[Zathras]

If you drill down to the membership of the Chamber, you see more than 50% are Obama supporters.

[Lurker]

After the election President Trump pretty much told a COC representative to go **** himself.

I doubt he’s changed his mind about them.

L

[Tucker39]

If I may.....That sentence would be much stronger with the addition of one comma.

Chamber wants illegals, to keep your wages down.

The illegals don’t knowingly want to keep your wages down. They are merely the Chamber’s TOOL for doing it. Where there are illegals, there are low wages.

[Still Thinking]

Yup. Or Chamber of Cronies.

[Mogger]

Many years ago I worked as a District Manager for the US Chamber of Commerce, selling small businesses on the idea the chamber was representing them.

Ditto, in New Hampshire.

I quickly figured out it was part of what we now call "the swamp".

A "mafia" selling protection against the government goons that wasn't actually doing anything for small business.

Once I figured it out, could not lie to folks about it either.

[vette6387]

It’s true name is the U.S. Chamber of Communists!

[COBOL2Java]

Oh, big time! Once upon a time, in the early administration of Bush I, they would actually tell us with a straight face that illegal aliens would extend the life of social security because they would pay into the system and never collect.

Who remembers that? The theory was that they would make their money, then go home and develop their own countries.

---

I remember that bilge. It was 100% unrefined horse manure.

[datricker]

In total they spend the most on lobbying. They dwarf Google, Boeing Amazon combined at least the last couple years. You don’t see it because all the chapters file separately. I want to say that recorded spend near 60 million on lobbying in 2017

[COBOL2Java]

The U.S. Chamber of Criminals will do its damndest to make sure the Trump loses in 2020.