Hi Thomas -- you have made a good point and I have thought about your
question. Yes, I think I would be bothered if Meg Whitman was
supporting Hillary Clinton in a big way. EBAY is a funny company. It
has the usual top brass, the shareholders, and a third component, the
public that buy and sell on EBAY creating the product -- income. I
think an equal number of people in the "community" would be bothered if
the CEO of the company was out promoting Hillary Clinton for President.
Bottom line is -- it's better PR to avoid supporting a polarizing
figure when your constituency is dramatically polarized in opposite
directions. They really should think about biting the hand that feeds
them. Channing
On Jan 10, 2007, at 7:22 AM, Eyssell, Thomas H. wrote:
Well, you asked, so . . . I think you are definitely spinning your
wheels here. As you state, Meg Whitman has every right as a citizen to
support any candidate she chooses. Her position doesn't proscribe her
rights as a U.S. citizen. Describing her behavior as "flagrant" is
needlessly inflammatory - again, she has every right to support any
candidate she chooses, while staying within the bounds of federal law.
To take it one step farther, corporations have a long history of
supporting candidates who management feels will facilitate a good
climate for business. To be frank, I am more offended when I see a
large
corporation shoveling money to both sides in an election -- I see that
as a "flagrant" example of influence-purchasing.
One more question: would you be equally offended if Ms. Whitman were
supporting, say, Hillary Clinton?
-----Original Message-----
From: MoPo List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
channinglylethomson
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 1:10 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [MOPO] Off-Topic: Politics and Posters (EBAY's Meg Whitman and
Republican Nominee Mitt Romney) NY Times Article of 1/9/2007
I was reading the New York Times today and almost gagged on my coffee
as I read the following article on former Massachusetts Governor Mitt
Romney's hi-tech fundraising campaign for the Republican candidacy for
President in 2008:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/us/politics/09romney.html
If you take a look, EBAY Chief Executive Meg Whitman was working the
phones for the former Governor and is quoted in the article. The
reason I was distressed by this fact is that as an EBAY buyer and
seller, I have paid a fair share of fees toward the bottom line of the
company over the last 10 years. Much of all fees incurred eventually
end up in the bank accounts of the company's highly-paid Executive
officers. Meg Whitman is a voracious supporter of Mitt Romney,
unarguably the Republican positioned to the far right on the political
spectrum. Make no mistake, he is a right wing, Mormon, religious,
extremist candidate, not a centrist or moderate. So, inadvertently, I
am finding myself in the position of supporting Governor Romney in his
run for the candidacy via my contributions to Ms. Whitman's salary.
I realize that Meg Whitman has a right as a citizen (and within Federal
donation guidelines) to support any candidate she choses. However, I
do question the judgment of the company and of the Executives on board
in allowing her to so openly and flagrantly support such a candidate.
It's not really the money, in this instance, but rather her influence
and persuasiveness. Meg Whitman is a very powerful person, undoubtedly
one of the most significant business leaders in the world.
I question her judgment in this matter. Anyone have any thoughts on
this or am I just spinning my wheels by bringing it up here? My sense
is that many members of the so-called EBAY "community" would never
consider supporting such a candidate, inadvertently or otherwise.
Channing Thomson in San Francisco
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