Video: A Lobbyist And A Senator Walk Into A Restaurant ...

A Lobbyist And A Senator Walk Into A Restaurant ... 

Obama's disingenuous ban on taking campaign money from lobbyists

It depends on the the meaning of the term "lobbyist" is or something.

WASHINGTON (NY Times) — Despite a pledge not to take money from lobbyists,President Obama has relied on prominent supporters who are active in the lobbying industry to raise millions of dollars for his re-election bid.

At least 15 of Mr. Obama’s “bundlers” — supporters who contribute their own money to his campaign and solicit it from others — are involved in lobbying for Washington consulting shops or private companies. They have raised more than $5 million so far for the campaign.

Because the bundlers are not registered as lobbyists with the Senate, the Obama campaign has managed to avoid running afoul of its self-imposed ban on taking money from lobbyists.

But registered or not, the bundlers are in many ways indistinguishable from people who fit the technical definition of a lobbyist. They glide easily through the corridors of power in Washington, with a number of them hosting Mr. Obama at fund-raisers while also visiting the White House on policy matters and official business.

Disgusting: Demo Rep. Leaves Lobbyist Voicemail Asking for Money

This is the swamp Nancy Pelosi promised to drain...

Shock Audio: DC Congresswoman Leaves Voicemail Asking For Lobbyist Cash (video)



Via Breitbart:

"I was, frankly, uh, uh, surprised to see that we don’t have a record, so far as I can tell, of your having given to me despite my uh, long and deep uh, work. In fact, it’s been my major work, uh, on the committee and sub-committee it’s been essentially in your sector.

I am, I’m simply candidly calling to ask for a contribution. As the senior member of the um, committee and a sub-committee chair, we have (chuckles) obligations to raise, uh funds. "

In California, 60 percent of the legislation that was passes into law is sponsored and written by lobbyists

After massive budget cuts, California's state deficit is still almost $20 billion. The situation is so bad, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered State Controller John Chiang to reduce state worker pay to minimum wage. How did California get in this horrible condition? It appears legislators aren't working for the people of California. They are working for private lobbyists. A Mercury News analysis found that in 2007-08, the most recent data available, 60 percent of the legislation that was passed into law was sponsored and mostly written by lobbyists for special interest groups and private interests.

Mercury News has the story:

The “most transparent presidential administration in history” meets lobbyist at coffee shop across street from WH

How does Obama's administration continue business as usual with lobbyists when Obama promised to be the “most transparent presidential administration in history”? It's easy. They just walk across the street and meet the lobbyists in a coffee shop. That avoids having anything appear on that pesky White House visitor log.

The NY Times reported:

WASHINGTON — There are no Secret Service agents posted next to the barista and no presidential seal on the ceiling, but the Caribou Coffee across the street from the White House has become a favorite meeting spot to conduct Obama administration business.

Here at the Caribou on Pennsylvania Avenue, and a few other nearby coffee shops, White House officials have met hundreds of times over the last 18 months...

But because the discussions are not taking place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they are not subject to disclosure on the visitors’ log that the White House releases as part of its pledge to be the “most transparent presidential administration in history.”

If Obama Took Back Our Government From Lobbyists, Why Did They Have Record Spending in 2009?

One of president Obama's campaign themes was that the Government was run by special interests and lobbyists and he was promising to put an end to that kind of politics.

And as people have looked away in disillusionment and frustration, we know what's filled the void. The cynics, the lobbyists, the special interests who've turned our government into a game only they can afford to play. They write the checks and you get stuck with the bills,...

Did President Onama reign in the special interests and lobbyists? No. President Obama and democrats have been accused of paying off their special interests groups. Think about the 'Cadillac' health care plan tax exemption the UAW got and all the pork in the 'Stimulus.' Actually, lobbyists are very active and spending more money than ever.

Last year saw a more than 5 percent increase in lobbying expenditures as compared to 2008, said a new report released Friday by the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign finance watchdog.

More than $3.47 billion was spent on lobbying in 2009, about $170 million more than in 2008, according to the watchdog’s analysis.

Barack Obama leaves the back door open for lobbyist

Barack Obama promised there would be no earmarks in the stimulus package. Does that mead lobbyist have packed their bags and left Washington. No. They have a back door to get their projects inserted into the package.

AP IMPACT: Lobbyists skirt Obama's earmark ban

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 33 mins ago
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's ban on earmarks in the $825 billion economic stimulus bill doesn't mean interest groups, lobbyists and lawmakers won't be able to funnel money to pet projects.

They're just working around it — and perhaps inadvertently making the process more secretive.

The projects run the gamut: a Metrolink station that needs building in Placentia, Calif.; a stretch of beach in Sandy Hook, N.J., that could really use some more sand; a water park in Miami.

Instead, the money will be doled out according to arcane formulas spelled out in the bill and in some cases based on the decisions of Obama administration officials, governors and state and local agencies that will choose the projects.
Excerpted from news.yahoo.com

Unions are throwing big money around and not to their members

Unions are spending large amounts of cash on lobbying. They have high hopes for getting every pet legislative project they can imagine through the new Democratic Congress. One of their favorites is the so called "Employee Free Choice Act" which would kill the right for secret ballot elections in unionization campaigns. That would be a disaster for employees and business owners. It also seems to be un-American.

Got Money To Burn Right Now? Big Labor Apparently Does

January 10, 2009
CFIF.org
During this difficult economic period, is pouring tens of millions into political lobbying the best way for union leaders to be spending members' hard-earned dues? Across the country and entire world, businesses and workers alike are struggling. Indeed, among those hit hardest are middle- and lower-income workers, the very people whose welfare Big Labor executives piously claim to represent.

But instead of applying union treasures toward direct assistance to hard-hit workers and their families, labor leaders are instead choosing to spend extravagantly on high-paid lobbyists pushing their self-serving political agenda.

This week, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) leaders approved a plan to spend some $150 million of its members' dollars on a lobbying campaign that will cover just the first one hundred days of the new administration. There's no telling, of course, how many more millions will follow that first 100 days.

Regardless, the SEIU's own website states that its executive board was unanimous in this curious decision. Although the site claims that the SEIU is fighting for "working people," its announcement reveals executives' true motivation: Full article here.