“I want to say a special thank you to every member of every labor union in this country who has stood by my side… throughout my career. Your fight is my fight, and it will always be that way.”

Former minority leader “Tricky” Dick Gephardt (son of a milk truck driver!) was quite fond of telling us while he was in Congress that Americans who had worked hard, played by the rules, and were successful had “won life’s lottery.” These days, the old time populist seems to be taking a cue from the presumptive Democratic nominee and has lurched BACK to the right in his retirement. Remember, Tricky Dick was pro life until he aspired for leadership within his party after his first couple of terms. From Wikipedia:

Since his election to the U.S. House in 1976, Gephardt’s political views gradually moved to the left. Originally, Gephardt was strongly anti-abortion and was viewed as a social conservative. He was initially extremely critical of the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling that legalized abortion. He wrote on the subject in 1984:

“Life is the division of human cells, a process that begins with conception. The (Supreme Court’s abortion) ruling was unjust, and it is incumbent on the Congress to correct the injustice… I have always been supportive of pro-life legislation. I intend to remain steadfast on this issue…. I believe that the life of the unborn should be protected at all costs.”

As we’ve noted before, the “defender of the working man” is apparently a capitalist now who has no problem working for the “evil corporations.” From Wikipedia:

The Hill reported that Gephardt was close to signing a contract to work for investment banking firm Goldman Sachs. Gephardt joined the international law firm of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP as Senior Counsel in June 2005.In his new capacity as Washington lobbyist, Gephardt, on behalf of the Republic of Turkey, has been actively lobbying against the House resolution condemning the Armenian genocide of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. While supportive of the resolution while in Congress, he now contends that facts need to be better known before any position is taken over this historical controversy.

Gephardt joined the EMBARQ Corporation Board of Directors in June 2007.

Current high profile lobbyist Gephardt is now advocating on behalf of his powerful clients for clean coal technology. From the Arkansas News Bureau:

Environmentalists have been barred from participating in an industry-sponsored conference that will examine Arkansas’ role in the development and use of clean coal technologies, a spokesman for the Sierra Club said Wednesday.

Former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and U.S. Rep Mike Ross, D-Prescott, are the scheduled keynote speakers for the Arkansas Clean Coal Technology Conference, set for today and Friday at the University of Arkansas Community College in Hope.

Glen Hooks, regional representative of the Sierra Club, said the Sierra Club and Audubon Arkansas asked to participate in the conference and provide alternative viewpoints but were told they could not.

“They said that’s not what this is about, they’ve already got the panel set up,” Hooks said. “So we were invited to attend but not necessarily to participate in the official part of the program.”

There is “not really any environmental representative on the panels at all,” Hooks said. Read more…

Ahhhh! We love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning!

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