Lobbyists spending 1.4M a DAY against any public option

From Icebergslim:

Wake Up!! Lobbyists spending 1.4M a DAY against any public option
by icebergslim
Mon Jul 06, 2009 at 05:08:33 AM PDT

This is cold water on many faces.

Not faces here, not faces who follow politics, but for everyone else.

If you are one of the millions with no health insurance, lost your job and can not afford COBRA payments (which is a joke), insured but your coverage is lacking and you are paying sky high premiums or have you gone bankrupt because you either have or don't have any insurance?

Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines.

Many that have insurance or feel comfortable that nothing will happen, think again. One of those stories can easily become a nightmare for you and your family.

The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records.

Nearly half of the insiders previously worked for the key committees and lawmakers, including Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), debating whether to adopt a public insurance option opposed by major industry groups. At least 10 others have been members of Congress, such as former House majority leaders Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) and Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), both of whom represent a New Jersey pharmaceutical firm.

The hirings are part of a record-breaking influence campaign by the health-care industry, which is spending more than $1.4 million a day on lobbying in the current fight, according to disclosure records. And even in a city where lobbying is a part of life, the scale of the effort has drawn attention. For example, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) doubled its spending to nearly $7 million in the first quarter of 2009, followed by Pfizer, with more than $6 million.

Read more »

Daschle, Taxes, and the Washington DC Culture

NPR's On Point Radio had a great discussion this week on Daschle and the chorus of other Obama Cabinet choices who have run into Tax problems or are having other ethical issues. The panel talks about the culture of Washington elitism and corruption...and how entrenched money and lobbying have become.

They basically support what I stated earlier in comments regarding Daschle and Obama's decision to choose these familiar faces. Several of Obama's Cabinet choices don't quite fit with the message of "change". Since many of these people are DC and Wall Street insiders, Obama should not have been surprised about these kinds of issues popping up. Even more annoying is that Daschle apparently knew about the Tax issue for a while. Perhaps he failed to disclose everything...or perhaps Obama was "hoping" that Daschle would be confirmed anyway.

This gives the impression that Obama is o.k. with the double standard - one set of rules for ordinary folks, and a separate set of rules for the rich and powerful. Obama had to have known about some of these issues before he even nominated Geithner and Daschle.

Listen To Program

Well, hello Charles Keating!! Obama's got game!

Folks have been running around as Senator Country Last has been posturing about this ' so-called' honor of his.

Why isn't Obama hitting on this? Why isn't Obama hitting on that?

So, as we get indications from Senator Country Last that his campaign is about to go Birth of a Nation-2008, up in here, we wondered where is the Obama response?

Well, here it is:

KEATINGECONOMICS.COM

You can find downloadable documents and other useful information at the above website (homepage for the documentary). Watch the full 13 minute video below.



KAPOW!!

Who Were The Keating Five? See here.

And, here are two other sites for reference:

1. JohnMcCainRecord.com

2. McLobbyist.com: John McCain and Sarah Palin - bought and sold to you by lobbyists

Obama and His Threat to ' Business as Usual' in Washington

Hat tip: Jack and Jill Politics

This relates to the story I posted below about Obama passing his One Millionth Donor down below, and how Obama's campaign threatens the status quo of Washington, and they don't like it.

Why the War on Obama
By Robert Parry
February 26, 2008

While some cynics still view Barack Obama’s appeal for “change” as empty rhetoric, it’s starting to dawn on Washington insiders that his ability to raise vast sums of money from nearly one million mostly small donors could shake the grip that special-interest money has long held over the U.S. government.


This spreading realization that Obama’s political movement might represent a more revolutionary change than previously understood is sparking a deepening resistance among defenders of the status quo – and prompting harsher attacks on Obama.

Right now, the front line for the Washington Establishment is Hillary Clinton’s struggling presidential campaign, which has been stunned by Obama’s political skills as well as his extraordinary ability to raise money over the Internet. Obama’s grassroots donations have negated Clinton’s prodigious fundraising advantage with big donors.

Powerful lobbies – from AIPAC to representatives of military and other industries – also are recognizing the value of keeping their dominance over campaign cash from getting diluted by Obama’s deep reservoir of small donors. It’s in their direct interest to dent Obama’s momentum and demoralize his rank-and-file supporters as soon as possible.

So, neoconservatives and other ideological movements – heavily dependent on grants from the same special interests – are now joining with the Clinton campaign to tear down Obama by depicting him as unpatriotic, un-vetted, possibly a “closet Muslim.”
.........................................


Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign – having burned through $130 million and needing a $5 million emergency loan from the Clintons’ personal finances – has gone hat in hand to some of the special interests with a strong stake in protecting the Washington status quo.

For instance, campaign finance director Jonathan Mantz met with donors from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in a Washington hotel lobby when these pro-Israel AIPAC supporters were in town for other business, the Wall Street Journal reported on Feb. 14.

The approach made sense because these pro-Israeli lobbyists remain wary of Obama’s advocacy of high-level talks with Iran, his opposition to the Iraq War, and his skimpier record of supporting Israel when compared with Hillary Clinton or John McCain.

One former Israeli official told me that the Israeli government feels it can work with Obama, Clinton or McCain, but that the Israeli lobby in the United States is adamantly opposed to Obama, preferring Clinton because “they own her.” The ex-official said the lobby has some concern, too, with McCain because of his independent streak.

Like other powerful lobbies, AIPAC is threatened by Obama’s ability to raise large sums of money from everyday Americans, thus reducing the need of Washington politicians to hold out their tin cups to AIPAC’s legendary network of wealthy donors.
..........................

Rest of article is HERE.


Think about what the author has written. Barack Obama is a threat because he has connected with THE PEOPLE, and has been fully funded by THE PEOPLE. It's articles like this that make me shake my head in disgust, and explain more than a little bit about Obama's candidacy. I believe THE PEOPLE have wanted, for a long time, to believe that they can make a difference. For so long, they have watched as THEIR GOVERNMENT pulled away from them, frustrated them, disgusted them. Made them feel as if they didn't count and that they were impotent to do anything about it. When Obama tells them that they can, it awakens a fundamental AMERICAN SPIRIT that, deep down, we all have, no matter our background.

I wonder if the MSM will pick up on this story....why do I believe the answer to this question is HELL NO.

John McCain's Relationship With Lobbyist - It's About More Than Just Sex

A Hole In McCain's Denials of Corruption?

Apparently Newsweek has found one

The real issue for McCain is the unethical relationship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman- doing favors for an individual who represented a company- Paxson Communications - run by a campaign contributor, while he was the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Essentially McCain used the power of his position to do political favors. The Sex (if he got any) was just the side show.

Newsweek is reporting that McCain has a hole in his defense. Apparently he forgot about a lawsuit from 5 years ago, where he may have actually told the truth. His statements then seem to contradict what he is saying now in his defense.

These are legitimate questions for a man who has adopted the theme of cleaning up Government in Washinton, and has positioned himself as a Republican good guy who wants campaign finance reform.

Is this the "straight talk" that McCain has been promising?


Other Problems For John McCain

The McCain campaign is in a little trouble with the FEC regarding a possible improper loan transaction that McCain made in late 2007 when his campaign was on life support. Read More Here.

Also.... Congressman Rick Renzi of Arizona - A friend of McCain & A Member of the McCain Camp (in Arizona)- has just been indicted in connection with an improper land deal, and other possible charges.

See a more detailed report regarding Renzi from the Washington Post

More from The Daily Kos

No Job Too Dirty For Washington D.C. Lobbyists

Harpers magazine writer Ken Silverstein, recently went undercover to expose the dirt on Washington Lobbyists. Yes, we know that most of these Lobbyists are slimy, but Silverstein shows just how low they are willing to go for the right price. Apparently, a few lobbying firms are willing to help reshape the image of some of the worlds worst dictators.

It's ironic that these K Street, U.S. government connected and U.S. government supported lobbyists are in the nerve center of this so-called Democracy (D.C.) yet they are willing to support dictatorships that are antithetical to the values that this country claims to hold dear.

Listen to a report & interview with Ken Silverstein from On Point Radio. (Use the RealPlayer Option).

The report is based on an article written by Ken Silverstein entitled "Their Men in Washington: Undercover with D.C.'s lobbyists for hire". Read Here
________________________

Related Links

Amy Goodman at Democracy Now also has a report on this story. Watch/Listen

See The Bill Moyers PBS Documentary Capitol Crimes

Interview with Bill Moyers