Doug Ireland, Joe Conason, and William Hartung talk with Amy Goodman about the corrupt financial dealings of Lamar Alexander, former Tennessee governor, former Secretary of Education, and candidate for the 1996 Republican presidential nomination. The report includes a discussion of Alexander’s privatization schemes in Tennessee that, when coupled with his investments in Corrections Corporation of America, yielded tremendous financial windfalls. Alexander’s purchase and subsequent profit of an option to buy the Knoxville Journal is detailed, as his $236,000 taxpayer-funded 'golden parachute' from Martin-Marietta/Lockheed. His advocacy of school privatization as Secretary of Education is discussed in tandem with his financial entanglements with Chris Whittle’s education company. The extent of Honey Alexander’s involvement is debated.
K presidential election, Lamar Alexander, money in politics
Guest Names: Doug Ireland, the Nation; Joe Conason, New York Observer; William Hartung, World Policy Institute