Bilderbergers give John Edwards the nod?

On July 11, the New York Times, arguably the principal print organ of the Establishment Power Elite, noted that John Edwards' viability as a vice presidential candidate may have received a significant boost after he gave a speech on the U.S. presidential race at the 50th annual Bilderberg Conference, held June 3-6 in Stresa, Italy. Ralph Reed, the Republican strategist and former Christian Coalition leader, presented the GOP view of the 2004 election.

The Times article, an amalgam of selective candor and sarcasm, noted that the guest list of this year's meeting would "overlap with the 'Wanted' posters of anti-globalization protesters." In fact, British journalist and economist Will Hutton is quoted as describing the Bilderbergers as "the high priests of globalization."

The Bilderberg Conference--an annual meeting of globalist luminaries that has met every year since 1954--is infamous for its furtive nature. The guest list is unpublished, the host hotel is usually closed to outside patrons, the entrance to the hotel is covered so as to prevent photographs of the participants, and the agenda is neither provided to media outlets nor discussed outside the venue. As an additional layer of secrecy, those invited to attend or participate in the conference are required to adhere strictly to a blanket gag order. In the Times article, Maja Banck-Polderman, the executive secretary of the Bilderberg group, is quoted as stating that attendees "understand that they do not talk" about what transpires at the conference.

Later in the article, it is suggested that some have questioned whether Edwards' appearance and speech at the Bilderberg Conference influenced John Kerry's decision to invite Edwards to be his partner on the Democratic ticket. Edwards' presence at the Bilderberg Conference is by no means unique for potential "useful recruits" to the internationalist inner circle. In 1991, the unheralded and nearly anonymous governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton. accepted an invitation to attend the 1991 meeting held at Baden Baden, Germany. There Clinton was schooled by influential economists and "free trade" strategists about the desirability of NAFTA and why he should join them in promoting its aims and working toward its implementation.

Remarkably, such a scenario apparently isn't unusual. The New York Times reporter rhetorically asks in his piece: "Is the Bilderberg confab now molding domestic American policy?" Later the Times" writer acknowledges: "Some argue ... that the first intimations of American determination to wage war in Iraq came from a Bilderberg gathering in 2002."

It is difficult to discern where the sarcasm ends and the truth begins. And it would be grossly hyperbolic to assert that the organizers of the Bilderberg Conference can control the outcome of a presidential election merely by inviting promising politicos to attend their meetings. What is certain, however, is that the colossal amount of money and access to global clout and connections that can be proffered by fellow attendees are undoubtedly irresistible enticements to ambitious office seekers such as John Edwards.