If U.S. corporations can’t win playing by the rules or through the so-called “cherished” Democratic process, then they plan to win via corruption, collusion and coercion.
There have long been whispers and suggestions that American corporations were plotting against their own president by refusing to hire even though they have reaped record profits during the last four years, all in an effort to sabotage President Obama. But it’s become increasingly clear that some business moguls are trying to strong-arm their employees to vote against Obama in the November elections.
Business baron David Siegel, the time-share tycoon who founded Westgate Resorts in Orlando in 1982, threatened his employees in an e-mail that their jobs were in jeopardy if Obama is re-elected:
“You see, I can no longer support a system that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive,” Siegel wrote in his e-mail that was obtained by ABC News. “My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.”
Siegel closed the e-mail with: “Signed, your boss.”
The Orlando Sentinel received an anonymous e-mail about Siegel’s message by someone who said, “I feel like my boss is threatening me.”
According to “Washington Watch’s” Roland Martin, the Siegel said that many other American corporation CEOs and executives feel the same way about Obama and want him out at all costs.
“I’ve had dozens of calls from other businesspeople who feel the same way, but we don’t have the guts to say it,” Martin said, paraphrasing what Siegel admitted. Furthermore, the corporate bigwigs, Martin continued, said that “we are not bad people. We are the 1 percent. We create all the jobs in America. We should be considered heroes, not villains.”
An employee of Siegels Watergate Resorts went on to the “Tom Joyner Morning Show” to express her horror at receiving the email from Siegel, basically threatening their jobs if Obama is re-elected.
“When I got the email, I was in shock,” the anonymous woman said. “I looked around (the company) to see their reactions … (Siegel) doesn’t know me. He does know my life struggles. How dare you.”
“Basically they are trying to coerce us into voting for Romney in the elections,” the employee continued.
Joyner openly pondered the question of the legalities of such an e-mail. It is no accident, Martin pointed out, that Florida is a battleground state. Former vice president Al Gore essentially lost an extremely controversial election thanks to the shenanigans in the state of Florida to George W. Bush, whose brother, Jeb, just so happened to be the governor at the time.
Asked if she feared for her job, the female employee of Westgate Resorts said: “I haven’t. I did request to come on anonymously. Of course, I fear losing my job. I work here full time and I work part time at another place and I take care of my two children. So that’s why I chose to remain anonymous. But other people need to know what’s going on.”
The issue here is: Siegel got caught with behavior that, if it is not illegal, is highly unethical. But how many other corporate heads have done similar things, from one degree to another? And do you consider this just as bad — or worse — than voter ID laws sprouting like weeds across the country?
In his email, Siegel continued, “So, when you make your decision to vote, ask yourself, which candidate understands the economics of business ownership and who doesn’t? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of protecting and saving your job,” he said.
