正文
高盛改变支持对象 不再力挺奥巴马
When Barack Obama ran for president in 2008, no major U.S. corporation did more to finance his campaign than Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
2008年奥巴马(Barack Obama)竞选总统时,高盛集团(Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)对其竞选活动的资助为美国大公司之最。
This election, none has done more to help defeat him.
而在本次总统选举中,在帮助击败奥巴马方面则没有谁比高盛更卖力了。
Prompted by what they call regulatory attacks on their business and personal attacks on their character, executives and employees of Goldman Sachs have largely abandoned Mr. Obama and are now the top sources of money to presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the Republican Party.
高盛的高管和员工们说,奥巴马对高盛的业务发动了监管攻击、对他们的人格发动了人身攻击。受此推动,他们在本次大选中已基本上抛弃了奥巴马,现在成了共和党总统候选人罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)和共和党的最主要资金来源。
In the four decades since Congress created the campaign-finance system, no company's employees have switched sides so abruptly, moving from top supporters of one camp to the top of its rival, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of campaign-finance data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
《华尔街日报》对无党派机构响应性政治中心(Center for Responsive Politics)所汇编的竞选活动资助数据进行分析后发现,在美国国会建立竞选活动资助体系以来的40年中,还没有哪家公司的员工曾经如此突然地改变过自己的支持对象,从一个阵营的最大资金支持者转变为了其敌对阵营的最大资金支持者。
Employees at Goldman donated more than $1 million to Mr. Obama when he first ran for president. This election, they have given the president's campaign $136,000伟less than Mr. Obama has collected from employees of the State Department. The employees have contributed nothing to the leading Democratic super PAC supporting his re-election.
奥巴马第一次竞选美国总统时,高盛的员工向他捐助了100多万美元。而在此次大选中,高盛员工对奥巴马竞选活动的捐助只有13.6万美元,比奥巴马从美国国务院(State Department)工作人员中募集的捐款还要少。高盛员工没向牵头支持奥巴马连任的民主党超级政治行动委员会(PAC)捐助过一分钱。
By contrast, Goldman employees have given Mr. Romney's campaign $900,000, plus another $900,000 to the super PAC founded to help him.
与此形成鲜明对比的是,高盛员工捐助给罗姆尼竞选活动的资金已经达到90万美元,此外还向为帮助罗姆尼当选而成立的超级政治行动委员会捐资90万美元。
Underscoring the magnitude of the reversal, Goldman has been the No. 1 source of campaign cash to Democrats among companies during the 23 years the Center for Responsive Politics has been collecting such data.
在响应性政治中心收集竞选活动资助数据的23年中,高盛曾一直是美国企业中向民主党人竞选捐资最多的公司,这彰显了高盛此次政治立场的转变是多么巨大。
In interviews with more than a dozen past and current Goldman executives, many said they felt betrayed by Democratic lawmakers and the White House, for years considered friendly allies. Several Goldman executives said they didn't want to speak out publicly against the president, and that their donations speak for themselves.
在记者采访的十几位高盛前任和现任高管中,许多人都说他们觉得被民主党国会议员们和白宫出卖了,而他们多年来一直认为后者是自己的盟友。高盛的几位高管说,他们不想公开表态反对奥巴马,他们的捐资行为可以代表他们的态度。
Jim Donovan, a banker formerly in charge of Goldman's relations with Bain & Co., the private-equity firm run by Mr. Romney, helped draw his colleagues' attention to the GOP candidate. 'As a longtime friend to Mitt and Ann, I can attest that his conviction and strength on fixing the U.S. economy is compelling as are his values,' said Mr. Donovan, who handles Mr. Romney's personal investments. 'That is why there has been such a strong outpouring of support for Mitt from all sectors.'
曾负责高盛与贝恩公司(Bain & Co.)关系的银行家多诺万(Jim Donovan)帮了罗姆尼一把,将高盛员工的注意力转移到了罗姆尼身上。多诺万当时与之打交道的贝恩公司由罗姆尼运营。他说,作为罗姆尼夫妇的老朋友,我敢保证,就像罗姆尼的价值观一样,他在解决美国经济问题方面的坚定性和力量也是非常令人信服的;正因为这样,罗姆尼才会从方方面面得到如此强大的支持。多诺万负责为罗姆尼打理个人投资。
A Goldman spokesman said, 'Donations are made by individual employees according to their own views.' Goldman is prohibited by law from making corporate donations to political candidates; the firm also has a rule against donating to super PACs and other independent entities.
高盛的一位发言人说,该公司的捐资是由公司员工依据自己本人的观点采取的个人行为,高盛依据美国法律不得以公司名义向政治候选人提供捐款;高盛还有一条禁止公司向超级政治行动委员会和其他独立实体捐款的内部规定。
Resentments against the White House began, said senior Goldman executives, because the firm thought it would be consulted when the Obama administration began crafting regulations in response to the financial crisis. They weren't. Instead, they were surprised by a measure dubbed the Volcker rule, which would damage one of Goldman's lucrative businesses.
高盛的一些高管说,该公司原本认为,奥巴马政府开始起草本次金融危机后亡羊补牢的监管法规时会咨询它的意见,而实际上却没有,这时候高盛方面对白宫的不满情绪开始出现。高盛吃惊地发现,白宫方面反而出台了一项被称作“沃尔克法规”(Volcker rule)的措施,它会使高盛一项有利可图的业务受到损害。
Goldman executives, especially those who had raised millions of dollars for Mr. Obama's election, said they were offended by the president's populist rhetoric, including his famous quip about 'fat cat bankers.'
高盛的高管们(特别是那些当年曾为奥巴马的竞选活动募集了数百万美元资金的人)说,他们反感奥巴马的民粹主义言论,包括那句有关“肥猫银行家”的著名俏皮话。
Both the White House and the Obama campaign declined to comment on the Goldman contributions.
白宫和奥巴马的竞选团队都拒绝对高盛的捐资行为发表评论。
Goldman's changing allegiance reflects a broader turnabout in the financial-services industry, once a top source of campaign cash for the Democratic Party.
高盛改变支持对象的举动反映出,金融服务业正在更大范围内发生一场改变所支持阵营的行动,金融业曾经是民主党最主要的竞选资金来源。
Employees of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs - five politically active banks - donated $3.5 million to Mr. Obama in 2008. They have given Mr. Obama $650,000 for the 2012 race, while sending $3.3 million to Mr. Romney.
摩根大通(J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.)、花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)、美国银行(Bank of America Corp.)、摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)和高盛是美国五家在政治上很活跃的银行,其员工在2008年总共向奥巴马捐资350万美元。而在2012年的总统选举中,他们给予奥巴马的捐款只有65万美元,给予罗姆尼的捐款则达330万美元。
- 上一篇
- 下一篇