Henry O. Havemeyer Quotes
Yes, we always do that. In the state of New York, where the Democratic majority is 40,000 and 50,000 we throw their way. In the state of Massachusetts, where the Republican party is dominant, they probably have the call. Wherever there is a dominant party [it] gets the contribution.
He was asked if his company made political contributions to both major parties:
Henry O. Havemeyer, 1847-1907, President, American Sugar Refining Company, Senate Testimony, 1894
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
He was chastising his own party’s House leadership for not allowing a promised vote on the emergency relief for Hurricane Sandy. Other emergency disaster appropriations had been made in previous years in days or weeks, but the aid for New Jersey, New York and Connecticut had been voted by the Democratic-controlled Senate but not in the Republican controlled House. The Republican House leadership had planned a vote after the Fiscal Cliff vote the previous evening before the end of the Congressional term. Then the speaker cancelled the vote infuriating Christie and many of the members of Congress. His reason was that there was opposition from the Tea Party Conservative wing of his own party who had just been badly beaten on the fiscal cliff legislation, and the Speaker was up for reelection by his own party caucus the following day. If the vote had proceeded, it would have passed with Democratic and some Republican support but with the opposition of the conservative wing some of whom noted that the states seeking the emergency aid had just recently voted for President Obama and they were opposed to more federal spending despite the fact that emergency aid had never before been subjected to such partisan criteria. After much pressure, the Speaker then committed to an up or down vote in the following Congress to the chagrin of some of the Tea Party members. But much self-inflicted damage had been done to the Republican Party. See {630994}.
In Lincoln’s age there was a serious ethical debate as to whether it was right for a candidate to use any money at all in a campaign regardless of source.
He like many other Americans had become dissatisfied with the religious, right wing fundamentalist ideology of the George W. Bush administration and the Republicans who controlled Congress until the election of 2006.
Florida had been hit by severe hurricanes over the years, and each time Congress has voted disaster aid. After Hurricane Sandy struck New York and New Jersey, Southern and Western members of Congress were reluctant to vote funds to New York and New Jersey for their natural disaster even though King and the New York Congressman had always voted for disaster aid in other parts of the country. Rubio, in particular, had voted against funds to New York and New Jersey. He was targeting the wealthy who he assumed would not be offended by his vote against disaster aid to New York but King was able to retaliate and block much New York money for Rubio.
At the time this was a very widely held, bipartisan view. See {634818} . Given statements like this, TR if he were alive today would never be able to get the Republican Nomination for President; nor could he obtain the Democratic Nomination because of his view on the military, expansionism, defense spending and war.
The 1963 Civil Rights Bill passage infuriated the Southern Racists, and the Republicans invited them to switch parties in revenge and by 1990 the shift was almost total.
See {640687}. He was then very worried about the influence of money in politics and was willing to risk his own reelection by limiting his contributions. And he was the Republican presidential candidate so his policy was particularly unusual. A century later money in politics had ballooned to a much larger problem as Taft’s action had little or no effect on the overall relationship between money and politics outside of his campaign.
Henry Osborne Havemeyer was an American industrialist, entrepreneur and sugar refiner who founded and became president of the American Sugar Refining Company in 1891.
