[Am-info] Re: Presidents Enforcing Anti-trust law

[Mitch Stone]

On Sunday, March 31, 2002, at 06:37 PM, sturde@az.com wrote:

> In <20020401023602.5A4F929B66@lists.essential.org>, on 03/31/02
>    at 09:36 PM, am-info-request@venice.essential.org said:
>
>> Frankly, I
>> think you'd have to go back to William Howard Taft to find a Republican
>> president who was favorable to the enforcement of antitrust laws, and
>> even  he had pulled back from the commitment of his predecessor.
>
> FDR did sign into law the Clayton Anit-trust Act.  I believe Eisenhower
> signed into law the Robinson-Patmen antitrust Act.  LBJ sued IBM.  Carter,
> I believe sued AT&T.  And in any coporate buy out or merger of any size,
> it is not unusual for the anti-trust department of the DOJ to have some
> say so in it.

Of these presidents, only one was a Republican. And I was talking about 
enforcement of the antitrust laws -- an executive branch responsibility -- 
not allowing acts of Congress to become law, which is an entirely 
different matter. Any Republican with presidential hopes, and ideas of 
vigorously enforcing the nation's antitrust laws, would have to thread 
himself through a party structure that's solidly opposed to the idea. I'm 
not trying to make a huge political point here, but I think it's a well 
accepted political principle that progressive republicanism pretty much 
died with the Taft presidency.

   Mitch Stone
   mitch@accidentalexpert.com