Patriot Update

This is at first surprising for a couple of reasons. First, the Waltons tend to be Republican. Second, the conventional wisdom is that megacorps like Wal-Mart are a Republican thing.

But Sam Walton gave the maximum $30,800 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2008, and $40,000 to the OVF this election.

Policy-wise, there’s plenty of reason for the Waltons to like Barack Obama:

1. Wal-Mart endorsed the employer mandate in ObamaCare, which gives Wal-Mart an advantage by crushing smaller competitors.
2. Wal-Mart has profited from Dodd-Frank, which fixes the price Wal-Mart has to pay banks for processing debit cards.
3. Wal-Mart has lobbied for and profits from higher minimum wage.

So, yes, Mitt Romney is cozy with Big Business and big donors. But don’t pretend Obama is any different.