No Bundler Left Behind
My syndicated column today gives you a handy overview of all the president’s campaign finance bundlers — many of whom were spotlighted in Culture of Corruption. The Washington Times and USA Today shed more light on the money men and women with access to the White House. Same old, same old.
The Obama White House: Bundlers’ paradise
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2009
Like Captain Renault in Casablanca, I am shocked, shocked to discover that access-peddling is going on in the Obama White House. Perks for deep-pocketed donors? Presidential meetings for sale? The stale, Chicago odor of pay-for-play wafting from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Knock me over with a feather.
Despite the president’s claimed distaste for the campaign finance practice known as “bundling” (rounding up aggregate contributions from friends, business associates, and employees), the House of Obama has been a campaign finance bundlers’ paradise from Day One. A new report by Matthew Mosk of the Washington Times just confirms the gob-smackingly obvious: It’s business as usual in the era of Hope and Change. O’s wealthiest Democrat donors have received lavish receptions, golf outings, bowling dates, and movie nights with Obama.
And internal Democratic National Committee documents acquired by the Times reveal that “high-dollar fundraisers have been promised access to senior White House officials in exchange for pledges to donate $30,400 personally or to bundle $300,000 in contributions ahead of the 2010 midterm elections.” Yup, they’re just haggling over the price.
Many Obama bundlers have secured slots on federal advisory panels and commissions. Still more have benefited from the time-honored patronage tradition of rewarding political benefactors with ambassadorships. Clinton did it. Bush did it. And despite all his fantastical, Balloon Boy-level rhetoric of bringing a “new politics” to Washington, Obama’s done it, too.
His ambassador to London, Louis Susman, is a Chicago crony with no diplomatic experience who bundled between $200,000 and $500,000 for Team Obama and is known as “The Vacuum Cleaner” for his fundraising prowess. His ambassador to France, entertainment mogul Charlie Rivkin headed up Obama’s California fundraising operations, raking in $500,000 for the campaign and another $300,000 for the inaugural. His ambassador to Spain, Boston money man Alan Solomont, also bundled the same amounts for the campaign and inaugural.
In June 2008, candidate Obama railed: “We need a President who will look out for the interests of hardworking families, not just their big campaign donors and corporate allies.” Immediately after the speech, he headed to a campaign fundraiser at the Manhattan headquarters of Credit Suisse, one of the major investment companies caught up in the subprime lending debacle. President Obama collected another $3 million last week at another Manhattan fundraiser after carping about Wall Street’s “self-interestedness.” Audacity is his middle name.
When Obama inveighs against Wall Street greed and politicians beholden to Big Business, remember this: The Wall Street gamblers that Obama and his wife carped about on the campaign trail shoveled money to his campaign hand over fist. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, hedge funds and private equity firms donated $2,992,456 to the Obama campaign in the 2008 cycle. No fewer than 100 Obama bundlers are investment CEOs and brokers: nearly two dozen work for financial giants such as Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, or Citigroup.
Obama happily accepted more than $200,000 in bundled contributions from billionaire hedge-fund manager James Torrey, more than $100,000 in bundled contributions from billionaire hedge-fund manager Paul Tudor Jones and more than $50,000 in bundled contributions from billionaire hedge-fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin, chief executive officer of Citadel Investment Group in Chicago. Another notable: Chicago investment banker James Reynolds, who raised more than $200,000 for the Obama campaign while chief executive of Loop Capital Markets. The municipal bond specialist was a longtime friend of Obama—feting the rising star in his Hyde Park home and convincing friends and associates to open up their wallets more than a decade ago.
In 2003, USA Today reported, Reynolds was caught on FBI wiretaps arranging what prosecutors called a “sham” consulting contract with a gal pal of a Philadelphia mayoral adviser. After the conversations, Reynolds snagged $300,000 in no-bid city contracts for Loop Capital Markets. City officials went to jail over the scam. Reynolds skated. The Obama campaign’s only statement? “Jim Reynolds has admitted that he made mistakes, but he has not been charged with any wrongdoing.”
Fortunately for Obama bundlers who may find themselves in legal trouble in the future, Clinton-era donor maintenance fixer Eric Holder (who oversaw the pardon for fugitive financier March Rich) is guarding the henhouse at the Justice Department.
Every corner of the Obama administration is stuffed with crony moneybags. Take the First Lady’s social secretary, Desiree Rogers. More than a party planner, she’s a fund-raising machine in her own right. According to left-wing watchdog Public Citizen, Rogers bundled more than $200,000 for Obama and contributed $28,500 to Democrat committees. Rogers’ ex-husband, John W. Rogers, Jr., chief executive of multi-billion-dollar Ariel Capital Management, played basketball with Michelle O’s brother, Craig Robinson, at Princeton. Mr. Rogers also served as a campaign finance bundler for Team Obama – and hung with President Obama in the White House on Super Bowl Sunday.
An indignant White House says this is about “friendship,” not influence-peddling. But as Obama himself noted in 2007: “It is no coincidence that the best bundlers are often granted the greatest access, and access is power in Washington.”
Indeed, the Obama White House policy can be summed up in four words. No Bundler Left Behind.
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» We Hear From The Department Of Good Ideas And False Choices
Dear Leader has now taken over the mantle of that Super Hero known as the Waffler. With his griddle of justice, and his complete lack of decision making skills or fortitude to do so, he bashes his
enemies in the head or, says one thing then flips 180 degrees so fast as to cause his enemies to suffer from terminal vertigo. He will also burn his victims equally, leaving waffle like marks about their heads and shoulders not akin to tire marks left by a speeding bus. Enemies and ex-supporters alike will suffer the pain of transgression.
And he has been working on a theme song. Kinda like: “Wafflama Man!! Oh! I am the Waffler! Golden crispy! The United States is history, yow!” Or something like that.
I still would like an investigation into the online campaign donations issue.
Removing the most basic security controls for credit card transactions could only have been for the purpose of circumventing the max donation limits for individuals.
A database of the donations must exist. I’d bet my last dollar that if it were sorted by card number, there would be multiple donations from different (bogus) names and addresses from many card numbers that exceed the $3500 individual limit.
Sort of a form of projection by the socialists/statists/collectivists…fascists.
These adolescents never grew up.
They are dangerous, lying hypocrites.
Me,
I still want to know who, what, where and why last summer – futures traders jacked up the cost of a barrel of oil under the guise that we were running out and China and India were buying oil at a furious pace. And Just before the elections all this was suddenly realized?
Errah, Look two DoDo birds! On in from and one behind the lectern.
How can this guy not be well on his way to jail? Is he that well-protected or just plain arrogant? Even Leftists can’t shred their paper trail fast enough to cover up this crap.
Obama makes Nixon look like Mother Teresa by comparison.
He Who Has Won One does not like “bundling”, vowed to keep lobbyist at bay-lied, vowed to post all legislation before signing it-lied. He promised to have open negotiations on health care legislation-lied.
BUT He Who Has Won One has not lied about everything: he openly ridiculed Constitutional restraints and has not let those pesky “negative rights” interfere with his agenda. He did promise to fundamentally change America and he is trying. He promised redistribution of wealth and is well on his way.
Yes He Who Has Won One is selling access-all to many political types do but this man is the worst since Woodrow Wilson–perhaps worse than that fascist of so long ago–for his Hope and Change is right into the Marxist/Maoist nightmare.“Bundling”-selling Obama the rope to hang them. Bill Ayres is a patient man, Obama’s Reinhard Heydrich, perhaps Lavrentiy Beria.We are dealing with people who want to destroy America, individual liberty and millions of Americans-“bundling” for the next election-if we have one-seems of little concern.
Perhaps other means will be needed. I doubt these fascist/progressive/marxist will let anything so unimportant as an election stop them. We shall see.
You mean, he’s playing golf while the troops are dying in Afghanistan *and* Iraq?
Oh,I’m sure the vocal anti-war movement will be along to condemn him for that any time now.
The arrogance of these people is mind-boggling; Obama needs a firm slap-down.
I’d felt since way before the election, and still feel, that the coincidence of the “crises” and “meltdowns” so close to the election did not pass the smell test.
My gut told me then, and still tells me; that Soros, and his buddies and minions, created all this.
What, exactly, did anyone expect? My concern is WHAT will be stolen forever, never to turn up again? Obambi is going to make the Clinton’s theft of White House silverware look good in comparison, and it’s just beginning!
http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2009/oct/obama-administration-tells-federal-court-privacy-act-does-not-apply-white-house
U.S. Condemned For Pre-Emptive Use Of Hillary Clinton Against Pakistan
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “You Must Not Have Heard About Me” Video from the Onion, The Pakistanis have kind of been asking for it, we tried to be nice
granite:
That and this:
OCT 22:
Federal government designates 200,000 sq. miles for polar bear habitat in Alaska (AP) WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is setting aside 200,000 square miles in Alaska and off its coast as “critical habitat” for polar bears, an action that could add restrictions to future offshore drilling for oil and gas.
And, a study I read about what the break point was for people to turn in and drop down the size of their cars- around 4+ dollars a gallon for gas. All this is another one of The Empty Suits deliberate methods for destroying the US.
The Empty Suit is nothing more than a minion of Soros.
We have an Ambassador to London?
Ha! Ha! We have an ambassador to everywhere because everyone wants our evil, capitalistic money. Obeyme is only beginning – gonna get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
Obama to McChrystal: “Don’t be telling me how many troops you need, just tell me how much “Vig” you brung me!”
Just as the Palestinians voted the terrorist group Hamas into office to govern over them, the Democrats voted their own version of Hamas into office last November by electing Barack Obama.
This administration is no better than a terrorist organization as it is internally destroying this country and will do irreparable harm to every citizen of this country.
I believe there is a revolution going on but its not the type most Americans want. This type of revolution is called tyranny and will destroy the fabric of this country unless it is stopped.
Too bad Norman Hsu was a bundler for Hillary. Not only will he rot in prison, but we won’t get to yuck it up with any of the great puns on his name anymore.
To protect our Burger King franchises I imagine. Why I do not know-I went to Burger King yesterday and ordered Chicken McNuggets and they did not have any-damn foreigners
So I called 9-1-1 on them.
The Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s is the personal representative of the President, and oversees the Embassy, as well as Consulates General in Edinburgh and Belfast and a liaison office in Cardiff.
Representatives from the State Department and 26 other U.S. government agencies manage portfolios concerning economic, commercial and agricultural affairs, consular and immigration issues, customs, transportation, and law enforcement activities, as well as political and military relations, and public affairs.
I had to read the title three times to get it right–I kept seeing it as “No Blunder Left Behind”.
Umm…yes I am aware we have an Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Try this
Embassy of the US London
No bundler left behind? As far as the Obama administration is concerned, no bungler left behind either.
Yes, the Embassy is IN London. It is not an Embassy TO London. We don’t have Embassies to cities, unless you want to count the Vatican.
Normally I wouldn’t make such a big deal, but I know how upset so many of you were when Obama accidentally called Gordon Brown the Prime Minister of England, rather that the UK. So I know you would be as aggrieved here.
I mean isn’t it obvious that this administration is no different in regards to fundraising than others before it. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
If people think that this fraud represents them, they’re sadly mistaken. Obummer will always be the BFF of big corporations in bed with the government and lawyers everywhere. How else will lawyers be able to pay off their exhorbitant, over-priced law school educations?
People who voted for Obummer are schumucks buying into the fairytale story that isn’t. Not only is this guy just a fraud…. he’s lied about every single thing in his background.
Where are the real leaders who will stand up to this crap? On both sides?
The White House was supposedly the “people’s house” but it, too, has become a casualty in the patronage, money bundling saga that both parties have immersed themselves in.
No wonder Obummer hasn’t made a decision about ANYTHING… he’s too freakin’ busy livin’ up on our dime with these “bundlers” on bowling nights, golf outings, and the like. Ooohhhh, it looks like that those big bad Wall Street influence peddlers aren’t quite done wheeling and dealing the powers that be after all.
McSame was one of the dumbest comments used during the election.
McWorse .
I gave a rather large tip to a cab driver in New Orleans that was an avid (if not rabid) Obamabot. So, do I get to stay in the Lincoln bedroom? Also a couple games on the White House bowling lanes would be cool.
Only a rare bird reacts the same to miscues from all sources. People we like are excused and people we don’t like get pummeled. But to be fair, Michelle (a journalist) wasn’t attempting to use the official title, Obama (the President) was–in the example you cited.
A better comparison would be Obama goofs versus Bush goofs. The standards need to be the same for our President regardless of who holds the office. I’m pretty sure we agree on that.
I thought he was tearing that out to put in the basketball court.
Maybe the Bama boys club will be playing basketball with bowling balls. Oooo somebody’s gonna get hurt!
Where does he play basketball anyway?
The local Y? ;o)
Didn’t the One fill the White House swimming pool then board his victims over with the b-ball court?
king – I think that’s “bored his victims with a b-ball court”. Bores me to tears. I find watching Croquet more exhilarating.
Kingfish:
rak’O Bama took an axe
and gave the ecomony 40 whacks
When he saw what he had done
he saved the job market 41
Heh. That was good.
Cute!
I wrote some pretty good limericks I had posted here a while back.
With water or concrete?
Nobel prize for Poetry!
Lessee. At $787 Bil, that would come to $19,675,000,000/whack. Paul Bunyun could have done it with one whack for about $2.75.
But Babe the Blue OX would have lowered poor Paul’s Overhead to simply $0.99 which would mean $1.76/whack profit.
Evil capitalist pig
Ah, the “blue” ox. Liberal democritter, likely a card carrying member of United Loggers 202 with ties to the Minnesota mob. No wonder Bunyon had to be bailed out.
LOL
Babe the Blue Ox = tall tales first teamster
giving big donors ambassadorships in europe is standard fare. giving other people’s property to your supporters (gm) is a totally new abuse of power.
Michelle, One correction: Nobody who is a fund raiser for Obama “works for Lehman Brothers”. Lehman went into bankruptcy in September, 2008. There were 25,000 Lehman employees before it went under and into bankruptcy on 9/15/2009. There are now 500 employees, all working on the bankruptcy and winding down the company. Thanks to the incompetent leadership of its President and CEO Richard Fuld, Jr and his assistant Joseph Gregory, Lehman goreged on subprime mortgages and bought billions of dollars worth and then packaged them into mortgage back securities, which eventually nobody wanted and Lehman could not meets any capital requirements for its daily activities.
And all the bigwigs at Lehman who desroyed Lehman were liberals. Several were firends with the Obamas
gee, since the top management of wall street and all of the banking industry is jewish, and since jews are nearly as monolithic in being democrats as blacks and gays, does it surprise anyone that these folks are big time dem donors and supporters. that was why when gw bush named paulson to his staff, people said wtf, he’s a dem. i know now i’m antisemitic as well as racist just for stating facts.
He looks like Dracula.
Just what percentage of top management of wall street and the banking industry is Jewish I do not know- but the Jewish vote for Democrats has remained right at 75% for more than a century. The few Conservative Jews I do know claim the Liberals have replaced the Torah with Das Kapital. With Obama’s love affair with Hamas and Hizbollah and referring to the West Bank as Occupied Territory we shall see if that lasts.
But America’s Leftist Jews did support Stalin right through his purges of Jews in the Soviet Communist Party. Politics does make strange bedfellows.
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A long time ago–1950′s?–I remember a U.S. Government official–Sherman Adams?–getting canned over taking a $2000 Vicuna coat from a lobbyist.
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The price of buying corrupt politicians has really gone wild over the years.
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At my ex company any gift over $10 could not be accepted–it would have been a conflict of interest. One set of rules for the Kings, a much more Draconian one for the serfs.
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John Bibb
***
They all do it. Politicians are beholden to the moneyed crowd, period. If you want to end this connection between money/politicians/promises….allow campaigns to be financed solely by public funds, everyone gets the same. If you want to make it private, put a cash limit on total amounts that can be spent on a campaign. No more bundling, lobbying. No former congressman should be allowed to be a lobbyist for at least 10 years after they leave office. Increase, and make mandatory televised debates so people can be informed about candidates on TV; no more endless road trips and commercials. Put term limits on these people (two terms).
As they should be. What screws everything up and makes the whole system corrupt are the attempts to deny the connection.
Pay office holders better. Much, much better. Eliminate all perks, including health care and retirement. Eliminate gift receiving, including dinners and air travel. Everything.
Have serious penalties for violations.
In other words, make it so the only money used to bribe candidates is campaign contributions ….. and any individual, and only individuals can give as much as they want and it all goes online so anyone can see where the candidate is getting their money to run.
That would work. That would clean it up.
Nothing else will work. Everything else creates opacity, not transparency. Everything else adds to the already huge advantage of incumbency. Everything else is corrupt.
Cheapseat made the inaccurate remark that Jews “control all the banks and Wall Street”. That is what Ahmedinejad keeps saying so maybe that is Cheapseat’s source of information. Let’s see: Ken Lewis the CEO of Bank of America is not Jewish. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan is the son of Greek immigrants who came to the US from Turkey. Over at Morgan Stanley the last two CEOS John Mack and James Gordon, are not Jewish. Over at Wachovia, the last CEO John Steele was not Jewish. The CEO of Wells Fargo, whic now owns Wachovia, is not Jewish. So let’s end all of this mythology once and for all, OK?
MM did not use the word “embassy.” Google “ambassador to London,” it’s a common phrase. The One’s England/Great Britain blunder is on another level, so I’ll link Hot Air’s Obamateurism of the Day as a reminder.