Shamelessly Attacking Jill Stein

by Stephen Lendman

Physician turned activist/political aspirant Jill Stein says she "want(s) to be president to save the world because (Republicans and Democrats) are a front group for the 1%, for predatory banks, fossil fuel giants and war profiteers."

She continues devoting enormous time and energy, likely incurring considerable personal expense, traveling the country, speaking out forthrightly on major issues affecting everyone - challenging hugely destructive forces running America, affecting the rights and well-being of people everywhere.

At most, she'll get a tiny percent of the popular vote, no Electoral College ones that count. Yet on October 26, the right-wing Daily Beast unconscionably criticized her for investments she and her physician husband Richard Rohrer own - largely in mutual funds where millions of other Americans put their savings.

Claiming double standards because of large multi-nationals in these funds amounts to disgraceful bashing - while ignoring duopoly power high crimes at home and abroad. 

Should Stein and her husband stash their resources under the mattress to show opposition to corporate predation and greed?

Has anyone suggested Hillary and Bill divest their enormous wealth from corporate holdings they own - or any other political aspirant?

Stein responded, saying accusations "created an imagined conflict of interest." Saying she has links to Wall Street, war profiteers, Big Pharma and fossil fuel giants is a "blatant smear attack," she stressed.

"This disingenuous shaming exercise is an effort to silence dissent, and a blunt attempt to bully people into refraining from exercising their democratic rights to free speech and political action." 

Individual investors have no control over investment decisions made by managers of mutual funds they own. Yet Stein "(t)ook steps to divest from the worst of (her) holdings."

"Sadly, most of these broad investments are as compromised as the American economy," she said - "degraded as it is by the fossil fuel, defense and finance industries."

Her investments are a "far cry from the Clintons' backroom fundraising," their pay-to-play foundation racket, and Trump's "predatory economics."

Chelsea Clinton is "a director of the corporate owner of the Daily Beast, IAC." Its article deplorably "suggest(ed) that participating in the American economy is incompatible with working to change it."

Perhaps the Daily Beast's purpose was trying to get Stein supporters to switch to Hillary. Otherwise why bash a candidate with no chance of achieving a strong showing or influencing November's outcome.

Or maybe it's because of her progressive values deserving universal support - polar opposite the sinister aims of duopoly power running America.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. 

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. 

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