http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS284145+22-May-2008+PRN20080522
When Will Obama Stop Denying That He Has Lobbyists Connected To His
Campaign?
WASHINGTON, May 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being
released
by the Republican National Committee:
Today, Barack Obama's Campaign Attempted To Deny That They Have
Lobbyists
Bundling Contributions For Their Campaign:
The Obama Campaign Claimed It Does Not Allow Lobbyists To Bundle
Donations.
"FACT: Obama's Campaign Does Not Allow Lobbyists To Bundle
Donations." (Obama
For America Website, factcheck.barackobama.com, Accessed 5/22/08)
But The Obama Campaign Does Have Lobbyists Bundling Money:
Obama Has At Least 14 Bundlers Who Were Previously Registered As
Federal
Lobbyists. "Obama now has 14 bundlers who are also federally
registered
lobbyists, but they are currently inactive, according to Public
Citizen."
(Christopher Beam, "Obama's Lobbying Ties," Slate's "Trailhead" Blog,
www.slate.com, 5/19/08)
Obama's Former Lobbyist Bundlers: Timothy M. Broas, Frank Clark,
Howard W.
Gutman, Scott Harris, Allan J. Katz, William T. Lake, Robert S. Litt,
Kenneth
G. Lore, Thomas J. Perrelli, Thomas A. Reed, Paul N. Roth, Alan
Solomont,
Robert M. Sussman And Tom E. Wheeler. (Public Citizen Website,
www.whitehouseforsale.org, Accessed 5/21/08)
And Obama Also Employs And Relies On The Advice Of Lobbyists:
Obama Does Not Ban Current Lobbyists From Providing Unpaid Advice To
His
Campaign; Advisers Who Are Federal Lobbyists Include Moses Mercado Of
Ogilvy
Government Relations. "Obama does not ban even current lobbyists from
lending
advice to the campaign--which could be considered an 'in kind'
contribution.
Moses Mercado, a former adviser to Dick Gephardt and a lobbyist for
Ogilvy
Government Relations, volunteers his advice and time for the campaign
but
declined to be on payroll." (Christopher Beam, "Obama's Lobbying
Ties,"
Slate's "Trailhead" Blog, www.slate.com, 5/19/08)
Obama's Campaign Has Refused To Release A Comprehensive List Of
Outside
Advisers. "There is no full list of lobbyists advising Sen. Obama, and
a
campaign spokesman declined to release the campaign's list of outside
advisers. Some advisers have asked to remain anonymous, citing
professional or
personal reasons, said Tommy Vietor, an Obama spokesman, who
acknowledged that
federally registered lobbyists may be among them." (Mary Jacoby,
"Obama
Campaign Enlists Lobbyists," The Wall Street Journal, 3/1/08)
Broderick Johnson, An Informal Political Adviser, Directs The Lobbying
Efforts
Of Bryan Cave LLP. "Broderick Johnson, a friend and informal political
adviser, heads up the lobbying arm in Washington of the Bryan Cave LLP
law
firm, where he represents Verizon and Shell Oil, among other
clients." (Mary
Jacoby, "Obama Campaign Enlists Lobbyists," The Wall Street Journal,
3/1/08)
"Among Those In Obama's Circle Of Advisers Is Broderick Johnson,
President Of
Bryan Cave Strategies LLC, And Several Other Well-Connected Lobbyists
In
Washington." (Jim Kuhnhenn, "Obama Returns More Than $50,000 In
Lobbyists'
Contributions," The Associated Press, 4/14/07)
Johnson Is Currently Registered To Lobby On Behalf Of Multiple
Companies And
Organizations. (U.S. Senate Office Of Public Records, sopr.senate.gov,
Accessed 5/22/08)
Former Federal Lobbyists Are On Obama's Staff, Including Deputy
Campaign
Manager Steve Hildebrand, Teal Baker And Emmett Beliveau. "The Obama
campaign
restricts current lobbyists from joining the campaign. But a bunch of
former
lobbyists have helped out--including deputy campaign manager Steve
Hildebrand,
Teal Baker, and Emmett Beliveau--who could easily slip back onto K
Street once
the campaign is over." (Christopher Beam, "Obama's Lobbying Ties,"
Slate's
"Trailhead" Blog, www.slate.com, 5/19/08)
Jeffrey Berman Currently Serves As The Obama Campaign's National
Director Of
Delegate Selection. "Berman, Sen. Barack Obama's director of delegate
selection, chimed in during a conference call with the media to make
an
unexpected case: Despite Clinton's popular vote victory in Nevada and
an
authoritative Associated Press count giving Clinton the edge in the
Nevada
delegate count, Obama had actually won the state by the only measure
that
mattered." (Ben Smith and Avi Zenilman, "The Obama Campaign's 'Unsung
Hero',"
The Politico, 5/11/08)
Berman Previously Served As A Lobbyist At Winston & Strawn LLP,
Working On
Behalf Of Telecommunications Firms. "Berman, despite the Obama
campaign's
anti-lobbyist stance, has spent most non-campaign time at the
Washington law
and lobbying firm Winston and Strawn, where he specialized in
telecommunications. His main lobbying client, according to federal
filings,
was the in-flight telecommunications firm Aircell." (Ben Smith and Avi
Zenilman, "The Obama Campaign's 'Unsung Hero'," The Politico, 5/11/08)
>From 1999 Through 2003, Winston & Strawn LLP Reported Jeffrey G.
Berman As
Lobbying On Behalf Of AirCell, Inc. (U.S. Senate Office Of Public
Records
Website, sopr.senate.gov, Accessed 2/25/08)
"A Former South Carolina Governor Who Now Runs A Lobbying And
Consulting Firm
Endorsed Democratic White House Hopeful Barack Obama ... Despite The
Illinois
Senator's Constant Criticism Of Lobbyists." (Jim Davenport, "Former
South
Carolina Governor, Head Of Lobbyist/Consulting Group, Endorses Obama,"
The
Associated Press, 1/2/08)
"Hodges [Is] A Co-Chairman Of Obama's National Campaign..." (Jim
Davenport,
"Former South Carolina Governor, Head Of Lobbyist/Consulting Group,
Endorses
Obama," The Associated Press, 1/2/08)
Former Gov. Jim Hodges (D-SC) Was A Registered Federal Lobbyist Until
March Of
2008. (U.S. Senate Office Of Public Records Website, sopr.senate.gov,
Accessed
5/14/08)
Buffy Wicks Serves As A Paid Obama Campaign Staffer And Western Region
Field
Director. (George Washington University Website, www.gwu.edu, Accessed
2/25/08; CQ Money Line Website, moneyline.cq.com, Accessed 2/25/08)
>From 2005 Through 2006, The United Food And Commercial Workers
International
Union Reported Buffy Wicks As One Of Its Lobbyists. (U.S. Senate
Office Of
Public Records Website, sopr.senate.gov, Accessed 2/25/08)
Brandon Hurlbut, Obama Campaign Liaison To Veterans, Union Members And
Senior
Citizens, Has Lobbied On Behalf Of Several Clients At The Federal
Level.
"Brandon Hurlbut, Obama's liaison to veterans, union members and
senior
citizens in New Hampshire, represented clients such as the National
Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and the Allegheny County
Housing
Authority from January to June, according to public
records." (Alexander
Bolton and Brittney Moraski, "Lobbyists On Obama's '08 Payroll," The
Hill,
12/20/07)
"Six Clients Paid B&D Consulting $380,000 For Hurlbut To Lobby Their
Causes."
(Alexander Bolton and Brittney Moraski, "Lobbyists On Obama's '08
Payroll,"
The Hill, 12/20/07)
Emmett Beliveau Is Listed As Director Of Advance For Obama's Campaign.
(George
Washington University Website, www.gwu.edu, Accessed 2/25/08)
"[Emmett] Beliveau Received A $3,050 Payment From Obama's Campaign For
Advance
Work On Feb. 21, A Campaign Finance Report Shows." (Alexander Bolton
and
Brittney Moraski, "Lobbyists On Obama's '08 Payroll," The Hill,
12/20/07)
"Clients Such As Oshkosh Truck And Pinkerton Consulting Paid More Than
$700,000 For Emmett Beliveau And His Colleagues At Patton Boggs To
Represent
Them During The First Half Of 2007." (Alexander Bolton and Brittney
Moraski,
"Lobbyists On Obama's '08 Payroll," The Hill, 12/20/07)
Robert Sussman Serves As An Obama Campaign Energy And Environment
Policy
Adviser. (George Washington University Website, www.gwu.edu, Accessed
2/25/08)
Sussman Was A Registered Federal Lobbyist Until February Of 2007, Days
Before
He Contributed To Obama's Presidential Campaign. "Sussman dropped his
lobbying
registration on Feb. 28 of last year and made his Obama campaign
contribution
March 8." (Dawn Reeves, "Former Top EPA Officials Play Key Advisory
Roles In
Presidential Races," Inside EPA, 1/11/08)
Sussman Served As Lead Lobbyist For An Organization Called Energy For
A Clean
Air Future. "Sussman is the lead lawyer and lobbyist for a group of
electricity-producing companies called Energy for a Clean Air Future.
That
group represents Cinergy Corp., PPL (Pennsylvania Power & Light)
Corp.,
Reliant Energy Inc., Tampa Electric Co., TransAlta Corp., and
Wisconsin
Electric Power Co." ("Energy-Industry's Links To Regulators,
Administration
Worry Environmentalists," The Washington Post, 9/10/01)
Former Commerce Secretary William Daley Serves As An Obama Adviser For
Economic Policy. "At his stop in New Mexico, Obama sought to keep the
focus
almost exclusively on the economy, appearing with a panel of experts
that
included William Daley, brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and a
former
U.S. commerce secretary." (John McCormick and Jill Zuckman, "Rivals
Spend Day
As Frequent Fliers," Chicago Tribune, 2/2/08)
Daley Served As One Of The Leading Lobbyists In An Effort To Bring
Funding For
A Rare Isotope Accelerator To Illinois. "Before the Rare Isotope
Accelerator
was put on hold two years ago, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the state's
congressional delegation joined ranks to bring the facility to
Illinois.
Former Gov. James Thompson and William Daley, former Clinton-era
Cabinet
member, signed on to head the Illinois lobbying effort." (Jon Van,
"Isotope
Project Back On Track," Chicago Tribune, 12/9/06)
While Serving As President Of SBC, Daley Also Led A $40 Million
Lobbying
Effort For Industry Deregulation. "Last week those three companies,
led by SBC
President William Daley, summoned chief executives of several large
vendors,
including Christopher Galvin of Motorola Inc., to a Washington dinner
where
they outlined plans to launch a $40 million marketing and lobbying
offensive
to abolish industry regulations." (Jon Van, "SBC Competitors Seek
Congress'
Help," Chicago Tribune, 11/1/03)
"Daniel Shapiro, Who Advises Sen. Obama On Foreign Policy Issues, Is
Registered To Lobby On Behalf Of The American Petroleum Institute And
Other
Corporate Clients." (Mary Jacoby, "Obama Campaign Enlists Lobbyists,"
The Wall
Street Journal, 3/1/08)
"A Campaign Spokesman Confirmed That He [Shapiro] Remains An Unpaid
Adviser On
Middle East Issues." (Mary Jacoby, "Obama Campaign Enlists Lobbyists,"
The
Wall Street Journal, 3/1/08)
Cassandra Butts, Senior Vice President For Domestic Policy At The
Center For
American Progress, Serves An Obama Campaign Education Policy Adviser.
(George
Washington University Website, www.gwu.edu, Accessed 2/25/08; Center
For
American Progress Website, www.americanprogress.org, Accessed 2/25/08)
In 2005, Butts Was A Registered Lobbyist For Civil Rights And Civil
Liberties
Issues For Center For American Progress Action Fund. (U.S. Senate
Office Of
Public Records Website, sopr.senate.gov, Accessed 2/25/08)
Lois Schiffer Serves As An Obama Campaign Energy And Environment
Policy
Adviser. (George Washington University Website, www.gwu.edu, Accessed
2/25/08)
In 2001 And 2002, Schiffer Served As An Environmental Lobbyist For
National
Audubon Society. (U.S. Senate Office Of Public Records Website,
sopr.senate.gov, Accessed 2/25/08)
Eric Holder Serves As An Obama Campaign Legal Policy Adviser. (George
Washington University Website, www.gwu.edu, Accessed 2/25/08)
"An Adviser For The Campaign, He [Holder] Was Registered As A Lobbyist
In 2003
But Does Not Currently Lobby, Records Show." (Jim McElhatton, "Obama
Takes
Funds From Lobby Partners," The Washington Times, 2/22/08)
Holder Was A Registered Lobbyist With Covington & Burling LLP And
Lobbied On
Behalf Of Several Organizations. (U.S. Senate Office Of Public Records
Website, sopr.senate.gov, Accessed 2/25/08)
Stanford Ross Serves As An Obama Campaign Retirement Security Policy
Adviser.
(George Washington University Website, www.gwu.edu, Accessed 2/25/08)
In 1999, Stanford Ross Was A Registered Lobbyist With Arnold & Porter
LLP.
(U.S. Senate Office Of Public Records Website, sopr.senate.gov,
Accessed
2/25/08)
Obama's Campaign Advisers, Who Are Considered "K Street Players,"
Include
Former Sen. Daschle, Mark Keam, Jimmy Williams, Thomas Walls And
Francis Grab.
"Other K Street players working to build momentum for Obama are former
Sen.
Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), a consultant for Alston & Bird; Broderick
Johnson,
president of Bryan Cave Strategies LLC; Mark Keam, the lead Democratic
lobbyist at Verizon; Jimmy Williams, vice president of government
affairs for
the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America; Thomas Walls, vice
president of
federal public affairs at McGuireWoods Consulting; and Francis Grab,
senior
manager at Washington Council Ernst & Young." (Alexander Bolton,
"Obama's K
Street Project," The Hill, 3/29/07)
Paid for by the Republican National Committee.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee
SOURCE Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee, +1-202-863-8614
On Sep 16, 1:20 pm, PoliticalAmazon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Accepting contriutions is one thing. Letting them run your campaign
> and set policy for your campaign is another. McCain's campaign is
> largely led by lobbyists, who set policy for him.
>
> None of these practices are illegal, but it sure bothers me a lot more
> having lobbyists on the campaign of a presidential candidate than it
> does having the candidate simply accept money.
>
> ----------
>
> On Sep 15, 11:42 pm, Frank <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
>
> > The whole practice of accepting campaign contributions is an exercise
> > in buying off politicians. How can you have possibly call the US a
> > democracy. It is a plutocracy. Buy a poly any one? Going cheap.
>
> > On Sep 16, 3:20 pm, Gaar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > > Hmmmm...
>
> > > I wonder if he is going to give all that money back?
>
> > > And this is "New Politics"?!?!?!?
>
> > > Funny, looks like Politics as usual for the Democrats.
>
> > > On Sep 15, 7:48 pm, "d.b.baker" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> > > > [Q] - Open Secrets looks at the last 10 YEARS of campaign
> > > > contributions from FreddiMac and FannieMae, including their PACs.
> > > > Barack Obama has been the 2nd highest recipient, and he has only been
> > > > around for 4 years. Think of how much he would have taken if he had
> > > > been around for
> > > > 10:http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/09/update-fannie-mae-and-freddie...Hide
> > > > quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
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