K Street’s Super Committee Splurge: Party time for Pork Chop Patty Murray
Image via the Seattle Weekly
In August, I highlighted the debt panel’s Profligate Pork Patty Murray Problem. As the super committee remains deadlocked by design, today’s column spotlights the orgy-tastic levels of lobbying expenditures and activities tied to the dog-and-pony show. Same old, same old.
Related: Freedomworks – The 12 Super Czars Can’t Reduce the Debt
Zero Hedge – All You Need To Know About The Aptly Misnamed US “Supercommittee”, Complete With Trading Cards
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K Street’s Super Committee Splurge
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2011
The bipartisan debt panel to nowhere is exactly where K Street lobbyists want it to be: hopelessly deadlocked. A November 23 deadline for agreement on $1.2 trillion in budget savings is looming, but no real reductions in the size, scope or spending of government are on the table. Instead, we are witnessing another obscene special-interest splurge to preserve the status quo. All in the name of “reform,” of course.
The only thing “super” about the so-called budget control super committee is the size of lobbying muscle exerted on its members. Almost 100 registered lobbyists who are former employees of super committee members are now “representing defense companies, health-care conglomerates, Wall Street banks and others with a vested interest in the outcome of the panel’s work,” the Washington Post found in September. This includes two dozen former staffers to Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, including three former chiefs of staff.
On the other side of the revolving door, 10 out of the panel’s 12 members have now raked in donations from foreign registered agents totaling more than $50,000 in direct campaign contributions during 2011 alone, according to government watchdogs. The additional amount raised through fundraisers held by these lobbying firms is unknown, according to the Project on Government Oversight. Moreover, all 12 super committee members have been contacted by foreign lobbyists, eager to secure targeted exemptions, loopholes and protectionism.
Super committee co-chair Patty Murray, who refused to step down from her fundraising duties as head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, recently met with South Korean lobbyists employed by D.C. powerhouse firm Patton Boggs. Roll Call reported that while the panel’s negotiations wouldn’t have direct bearing on free-trade deals, Murray “could have access to information about how the timing of the debt deliberations could affect passage of the free-trade agreements.”
Patty “Pork Chop” Murray’s in-your-face embrace of influence peddlers has her populist Pacific Northwest constituents cringing. Mind you: Murray’s office boasts no fewer than 17 revolving-door staffers turned lobbyists. That’s on top of her DSCC fundraising conflicts of interest.
This week, the Seattle Times disclosed that Murray held a two-day staff retreat at heavyweight lobbying outfit Strategies 360, which was founded by Democratic political operative Ron Dotzauer. The group donated meeting space to Murray’s team and skirted ethics rules by offering similar deals to nonprofits. Murray’s former deputy state director, Karen Waters, is now a senior vice president at the firm. Another of its lobbyists, Melanie Mihara, used to work for Murray’s Democratic colleague Sen. Maria Cantwell. According to OpenSecrets.org, Strategies 360 has conducted $985,000 worth of lobbying targeting more than a dozen government agencies this year.
A spokesman for the senator (who made her name attacking the Beltway insider culture) sniffed that the report was a “non-story.” Given Murray’s status as the second highest recipient of lobbying money among all members of Congress behind Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, her staff is right:
This little perk is chump change compared to her career haul.
Lobbying, of course, is perfectly legal. It’s Murray’s pretense as a white hat public-interest crusader that should gall both sides of the aisle. One left-wing Seattle blogger rather generously called Murray “tone-deaf” and spelled out the rank hypocrisy of Murray’s entrenched and unrepentant lobbying ties: “This while members of her own party are up in arms over the increasing influence of money in American politics. This while a giant hunk of the liberal electorate is “Occupying” the streets to protest corporate greed and disproportional representation. This while the very term ‘lobbyist’ has come to represent all that is bad about special interest influence.”
Yep, all that and a bag of back-scratching chips.
Murray’s backroom meetings come as business as usual as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi grandstands over the need for more “transparency” in the super committee dealings. After ramming through Obamacare in secret (with the help of top staffer Brendan Daly, who is now a lobbyist for groups opposed to the law he helped pass), Pelosi has now called for televised debt panel hearings. On publicly broadcasting the debt panel members’ meetings with lobbyists, Pelosi will no doubt remain mum. Remember:
The “K” in “K Street” stands for “Kabuki.”
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Love that picture of patty! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had honest elected? It is never gonna happen.
L
Lady Gagme?
Underscores the wisdom of the Tea Party focus on voting crooked politicians OUT of office instead of holding our noses to vote crooked Republican politicians IN to office. Vote them all out! We’ll worry about “experience” and “qualifications” later (as if those are assets these days).
Re pic:
Is it too gauche to point out that one of them weiners is sporting wood?
Patty ( What’s this FICA thing? ) Murray Rides Again!
Truesoldier.., the floor is yours!
I don’t care how many pork chops are draped on her, no dog is gonna play with that harridan.
Ban lobbyists, their speech is not free speech, it’s paying for and is paid speech. Where is lobbyists mentioned in the constitution?
Rogue Cheddar said:
Re pic:
Is it too gauche to point out that one of them weiners is sporting wood?
I threw up just a bit when I saw that.
I am a bit curious, though:
123upnorth, what are your thoughts on the pic?
My second thought:
Of course it is free speech. Our problem is not with lobbyists. Our problem is with amoral, ignorant, dumbass voters.
What kind of lowlife, subhuman crap votes for Patty Murray when they could have voted for Dino Rossi???
Yes, of course, Democrats are evil.
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That “Super” Committee member doesn’t look very super to me!
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The SC was set up to fail–so the dinero raid on the Military and Medicare bucks can continue unabated. The plan is–and always was–to “fund” ObamaCare when the SC fails. And John “Boo–Hoo” Boehner and his RINO buds in the House were stupid to play along with Comrade Obama and His Ilk. Clueless clowns, all–not a pair of cojones in the crowd.
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And whatever you do–don’t touch the pork chops if they invite you to this “party”.
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John Bibb
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The answer to your question is contained in the first sentence of your post. I would love to see the west coast and northeast form their own country so that they would stop destroying America.
What kind of lowlife, subhuman crap votes for Patty Murray when they could have voted for Dino Rossi???
I have decided that Bill Clinton had it right about “Depends on what your definition of is is” …
It seems D.C. has it own dictionary with different definitions …
Example: “REFORM” …
To us it means improving something by changing it for the better …
To D.C. it means “RENEW” current crap spending, put it out in a “NEW FORM” (read PROGRAM), thus resulting in “NO CHANGE” …
My sentiments exactly!
Regards,
Peter H.
Lady Gag Gag. Ick.
This is what we should be talking about, not Herman Cain, and whether Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich are the most republican Establishment candidates. There is no budget, and Harry Reid has not passed a budget in years now, even though it is required by…law or something.
No one is talking about the 22 bills the Senate has held up that were passed by the House and are awaiting Harry Reid bringing it up. If you are looking for a reason to blame the 10% approval rating of the Congress on, I would say, the big problem is Harry Reid, why doesn’t Christine Amnipour quiz him on what he thinks he should be doing. Is he anywhere to be seen? Why does he get such a pass?
Suddenly, I have a desire to eat vegetarian for a few days.
Come here Romaine lettuce and spinach…
Harry Reid is an oozing bucket of sleeze, but the Good People of the State of Nevada decided to send him back to rule over the Senate for six more years.
Thank you, Nevada. Thank you, Nevada Democrats. Thank you, you worthless, amoral jackasses.
Oh, geeeeeee, but Sharron wasn’t ready for “prime time.” Riiiiiiiight. Reid was?
If only those people who had doubts about Angle had used a tiny bit of common sense and voted for the lesser of two evils, anyway.
orlandocajun said:
Especially considering there’s Martini & Rossi! Given it’s Nigel Tufnel Day ( 11/11/11 ) let’s crank those Marshall amps to “11″ and drown out the 50.00001% that voted for FICA ( read math )challenged SupCoSkank and call it good?
Tufnel on why so few girls attend Spinal Tap shows: “Really, they’re quite fearful, that’s my theory. They see us on stage with tight trousers. We’ve got, you know, armadillos in our trousers.”
Old and tired, but still classic and apropo here:
“Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.” – Reagan
A few more that rather sting just now:
Gloom & doomers: Print the last one and hang it on your computer.
No, Ronnie was not a PERFECT CONSERVATIVE. But what a genuinely patriotic, passionate and charismatic leader. Cain is as close as it gets for this round.
Re pic:
“Liberal Lesbians, the other white meat!”
Related to this idiocy….
Which republicans allowed this deal to happen? I can’t recall. But this was a moronic move to allow this legislation to pass.
Half a billion in defense cuts if they this rigged super-committee doesn’t agree on $1.2 trillion in cuts by the 23rd?
What idiot republicans thought this was anything but a guarantee to let the dems GUT the military?????
Friggin’ idiots.
There.
That’s more closer to what really happened in Nevada.
If Pork chop Patty can don the links, wth?
Correct me if I’m misunderstanding but SupCom is rigged w/ a DOD dead-man doomsday switch. Shoot ‘me’ and we ALL die, right?
Without (1) single full time Active Duty Base in Oregon and a smattering of Armories, annexes and addendums to municipal airports, there is palpable fear, any ONE of us could be shut down!
Whether there’s basis in fact for that fear, I guess you’ll never know until you drive up and see BRAC’d! at the main gate? Just good to know all those highly compensated K-Street lobbyists will be there to defend Freedom huh?
ugh…
“closer”…
not “more closer”
Harry Reid has gone completely over the edge. He has a huge rip in his marble bag. Twice now he has said that the Private Sector is doing just fine and don’t need the jobs. It is the Public Sector that needs the help. He said it. Yes he did. Google it. Then check the statistics. Is this another example of Harry Reid turning the truth upside down? Or did he mis-speak? Or, is he just plain insane? I vote for all three.
DO NOT expect anything from Harry Reid. He has retreated into the windmills of his mind. All we can hope is that the Senate majority sees what is happening to him and gets him help before it is too late.
“OK Patty, now hold the fan just so, like this over the coco. Don’t giggle Patty, this is very serious. Remember we practice like we play. Also, try a little more mascara and lipstick please or the audience will mistake you for a donkey’s as*.”
Not so! Despite their contamination, a six hour slow cook session in the smoker will leave those darlings in delicious shape. Just avoid the visual.
Good Lord!
http://honkiesforherman.us/blog/
Ok…ok…
My wife must be in cahoots with MM to keep me on my diet. It’s like a scene from A Clockwork Orange:
(cabrerski is strapped in a theatre chair with eyes clamped open…a technician constantly putting eyedrops in cabrerski’s eyes. The screen is showing pictures of Patty Murray and other Democrats)
cabrerski: No. No! NO! Stop it! Stop it, please! I beg you! This is sin! This is sin! This is sin! It’s a sin, it’s a sin, it’s a sin!
MM: Sin? What’s all this about sin?
cabrerski: That! Using lovely bacon like that! It did no harm to anyone. Bacon just tastes so good!
MM: Are you referring to Senator Murray’s apparel?
cabrerski: Yes.
MM: You’ve tasted bacon before?
cabrerski: Yes!
MM: So, you’re keen on bacon?
cabrerski: YES!
MM: Can’t be helped. Here’s the punishment element perhaps.
cabrerski: You needn’t take it any further, ma’am. You’ve proved to me that all this ultraliberalism and lobbying is wrong, wrong, and terribly wrong. I’ve learned me lesson, ma’am. I’ve seen now what I’ve never seen before. I’m cured! Praise god!
MM: You’re not cured yet, boy.
cabrerski: Maybe not, but that bacon sure is.
Could be. Easily. Does anyone who isn’t a Democrat actually have any doubts at all the La Raza types in the Democrat Party would intentionally count illegal votes to stop Sharron Angle??
Democrats really are evil.
I forgot about that. Anyone that ignorant should be escorted back home by federal marshalls.
happyscrapper said:
I’ll take you at your word. Stevie Ray Vaughn once said, “If you make a mistake playing ( just do it twice and make it look intentional to cover your tracks! )”
The Harry Reid Signature Wretchocaster. Only $535 mil. Solar dollars.
Murray is a perfect example of what the Washington State lazy, pot smoking liberals voted for. As long as the King County majority is populated with MTV watching buffoons and union thug Democrats, then Fatty Patty will remain in office.
Yum. (smacks lips)
Too late for that. Now need eye bleach.
Yup. As will many of her kind elsewhere.
but – but – but — do not forget that it was the “Good People” of Nevada that allowed the vote fraud — just like the boneheads in Seattle that let the demo’s commit almost continuous vote fraud
That is correct. Though you are still a putz.
Corruption reports are so numerous today that one has to wonder if Alaric and his Visigoths are about to invade us from our unguarded southern border.
First, Jack Abramoff reveals that Congress is rife with insider trading.
Then MF Global admits that they embezzled $600 million of client funds.
And now the Austrian government in league with their banks and the People’s Bank of China are running an opaque sovereign borrowing/kick-back scheme.
Quite a world our corrupt elites are carving out for themselves.
That is a disturbing picture — all those delicious chops and sausages and so forth, and you ruined it with the picture of Patty Murray. Yuk!
Porkulus Patty is your typical Jackass Party female, short hair, not at all pretty, VERY big mouth, and basicaLLY WORTHLESS. Just an observation.
The whole point of the committee was to find more ways to increase taxes without having to cut even a sliver of a penny from the spending. This side show was a distraction from the real problems that the DC elites can’t fix. Everything needs to be held together until the election. The problem for DC is that everything is coming apart. Many politicians will be dragged through the mud when the truth surfaces.
As I have said numerous times, and still firmly believe…
Evil is loosed in the world, big time. We are fighting evil in every corner and the U.S. has been corrupted big time! We kicked God out and Satan filled the void. It is really as simple as that.
The hard part is defeating it. A lot of it will happen on our knees.
Re pic:
What kind of barbecue sauce goes good with that, turpentine?
Oh yeah, and another thing, if “We The People” don’t start demanding that lobbying become an act of TREASON, punishable by DEATH, nothing is going to change. Has anyone heard anything but lip service from all of those new Repubs we sent to Congress in ’10? HMMM??? Bought and paid for, damn near every one of them.
Re-establishing a moral society starts at home and builds from there. We need to isolate the evil among us by shaming them on a personal level. In the early colonial days, they shunned the shameful. Of course, there was such a thing as shame in those days.
On November 11th, 2011 at 12:08 pm, Ilovemyneighborspony said:
Whats the matter, that Burnt Nair Scented Candle Business of yours fail?
Yes, we need to bring back some of that good old fashioned “shame”! Seriously, more people need to listen to what my dear old Mother used to say, “Shame on you!! It worked. Nowdays, the little creeps just laugh. A few heads need to be banged together, etc. etc. I’m NOT kidding. If we are to have any chance at all of getting our country back, we have to bring back honesty, morality and yes, SHAME!
Like a carp only not as sexy.
This was a sham from the start. The GOP idiots who lead us in the Congress got suckered into agreeing to draconian defense cuts that were a certain to occur.
Do you think for a minute the Democrats wanted an agreement? If the GOP agreed to $2 trillion in new taxes the Dems would ask for $3 trillion.
Not banned yet?
I vote for stocks in the center of town. Singapore caning is also a nice touch.
Fixed it for you there Marshall…
Sooner or later real men need to start throwing the heavy leather. This country is augering in for a one point landing with no pilot at the stick.
China smiling and laughing behind serious eyes:
“U.S. delay could spell end for Keystone XL”
You know, the pipeline that was going to run to the Gulf Coast
and sold to us? Well the Ole Sock Puppet has destroyed that project and the continuing mission to destroy our country continues.
I believe they also had some useful devices like stocks to put the guilty in for public display of the consequences of shameful behavior. Fortunately, in this enlightened age we no longer allow medieval practices like having consequences for poor choices and are taught in school that the shameful are people too…
Since the country is broke I suggest that we start paying B.O., Joe, all of the Senators and Congress-critters, and especially all those white House Czars with I.O.U.s …
I’d like to put all these critters in a time capsule to be opened, never.
My eyes! I’ve been struck blind!
When I first saw it, the picture made me chuckle. I can see some of the low carb followers thinking well of the photo.
As long as the legal bribery known as lobbying is allowed to continue, the regular people of this country will constantly get screwed. Why should anybody have access to a person who votes on legislation simply because they have the money to do it? Is an idea any less meritorious or meritless because a slimy pitchman with influence whispers in the ears of politicians? Our system is hopelessly corrupt.
Or real women. There are some in the GOP who are more capable of throwing the heavy leather than most of the party’s current leadership.
Let the cutting begin with all that is near and dear to the likes of Pork Chop Patty and her ilk. Start with their salaries and perks. Move on to the allocations for their offices and staffing.
That’s a man, baby!
Buck up man! We’ve survived pictures of Helen Thomas for the last 150 years. We can handle this.
Geez, Michelle!!! Talk about a puke inducing picture! What have I done to deserve this?? And the article is just revolting!
All kidding aside, thanks for providing me plenty of ammo for me to argue with Mrs. CH against us ever moving to WA. Any state that elects such a corrupt loon is not a place I want to live in.
Quite frankly, we have the Tea Party here in WA state to thank for Patty ‘Soccer Mom In Tennis Shoes’ Murray.
Hey Patty – Lady Gaga called. She wants her meat dress back.
That picture looks like Dustin Hoffman in “tootsie”.
Now that you mention it. Yup.
Not before its thoroughly disinfected though.
Heh, try this definition
–Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary” circa 1906
I’m beginning to think that the purpose of the super committee was to have nothing get done and have that result in another lowering of our credit rating. I thinks Soros designed all this so he could bet against the dollar. bho’s strategy has always been to divide segment of the public with the hope of conquering. He pits groups against each other, to hid the fact that he intends to do nothing to solve the problems at hand. The point is to never solve anything, so he can gain power during the confusion. He constantly points out that if it were not for group A preventing group B from getting a perk, hoping that group A will go after group B while bho remains Mr. Cool. This isn’t leadership, it’s Evil!!!!
I’m sure Anthony Weiner is jealous and likely trying to figure out Photoshop as we speak.
As for Patsy and her fellow two-faced thieves, they are so loose from bending over for lobbyist cash, I bet they’re like a boxing glove full of chopped liver.
Who’s this guy, Pat E. Murray, and why does that picture show him wearing meat?
Weird.
Re pic:
One of the few times that I don’t ‘wish I was an Oscar Meyer Weiner’.