
If one of the major presidential candidates made a campaign pledge not to take money from lobbyists, would it be newsworthy if founding members of the law firm Jack Abramoff used to work for were contributing to his or her campaign?
Apparently not if the candidate is a Democrat.
According to the liberal website Raw Story, and confirmed by examining Federal Election Committee records, top brass at Greenberg Traurig, the law firm convicted lobbyist Abramoff worked for between 2001 and 2004, have given thousands of dollars to Barack Obama's campaign (emphasis added):
Richard Edlin, a registered Greenberg Traurig lobbyist with SPI Spirits, gave the senator $1,500 in the 4th Quarter of 2007. While Edlin was not a member of Abramoff's team, he was implicated in one of the convicted lobbyists' money laundering schemes, according to a June 2006 report in The Hill. However, as the article points out, "It is unclear...whether Edlin knew the true purpose," of the phony donation he was asked to process, and Edlin was not charged with any wrongdoing.
While Obama has not received as much as Clinton did from Greenberg Traurig lobbyists, the firm's top executives, who made the decisions to initially hire and eventually fire Abramoff, have given heavily to the Illinois Democrat. Firm founders Larry Hoffman and Robert Traurig, along with current executive director Cesar Alvarez were all included in $14,500 from the firm's executive leadership to Obama.
FEC records validate Raw Story's assertions. Those interested can see Alvarez's 2007 contributions here, Hoffman's here, and Traurig's here.
Doesn't this seem a tad odd for a candidate who proudly claims at his website (emphasis added):
"I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists - and won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not get a job in my White House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am president."
Coincidentally, the Columbia Journalism Review recognized some of Obama's lobby hypocrisies last Friday, although nothing related to Greenberg Traurig (emphasis added):
Contributions made by the various industry sectors tell the real story in a presidential race. And Opensecrets.org shows that Obama is picking up gobs of money put on the table by these special interests-including those involved in health care, which will surely have a lot riding on the outcome of the election and will expect to be heard after the election is over.
Consider the sector called lawyers and law firms. Clearly, lawyers and law firms lobby on behalf of their own interests-like fighting malpractice reform, which could again surface as a thorny issue for the new administration. Clinton and Obama have raised similar amounts from lawyers and law firms-$11.8 and $9.5 million. McCain and Huckabee have taken far less. The health sector has also given to Obama, Clinton, and McCain. In the pharmaceutical and health product industries, contributions to Clinton total $349,000 and $338,000 to Obama. Again, McCain trails in donations at about $98,000, an indication that the sector sees the real action on the Democratic side of the ballot. Health professionals, which include doctors, nurses, and dentists, have given Clinton some $2.3 million and Obama $1.7 million.
Fascinating, wouldn't you agree? Yet, the final paragraph, and, in particular, the concluding sentence of this piece revealed the real hypocrisy:
Last August The Boston Globe, in a piece by Scott Helman, took a hard look at Obama's contributions, noting that "behind Obama's campaign rhetoric about taking on special interests lies a more complicated truth." That truth revealed that as a state legislator in Illinois, a U.S. senator, and as a presidential aspirant, Obama had collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and PACs. Helman quoted an Obama campaign spokeswoman saying that after he experienced firsthand the influence of Washington lobbyists, he was taking a different approach to fundraising than he had in the past, and that "his leadership position on this issue is an evolving process." If Obama's leadership on campaign financing is indeed evolving, more news outlets should be following the evolution.
I couldn't agree more.
On the flipside, as Raw Story reported -- and confirmed by FEC records -- Hillary Clinton has also taken money from the good folks at Greenberg Traurig.
I'm sure media members will also be reporting this with great dispatch.
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.
















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Thank you Noel for this
February 21, 2008 - 15:54 ET by contraryThank you Noel for this very interesting bit of news. I, likewise, will not hold my breath to hear about this from our illustrious mainstream news organizations.
"Republicans always get a huge pass on the racist issue. Huck is just another example. Provided they don't start up with the N word, they seem able to pander directly to the racist vote."
-- Chuck Davis, intellectual heavyweight, bigot
Yes, right after they finish with Dingy Hairy Reid.
February 21, 2008 - 16:24 ET by kg"Will Media Examine Barack Obama’s Connection to Jack Abramoff?"
Yes, right after they finish with Dingy Hairy Reid.
Mr. Sheppard, please put
February 21, 2008 - 15:57 ET by Roger the ShrubberMr. Sheppard, please put icing on top by telling my Halliburton donated to The Hopeful Changer's campaign, too...
Shrub
February 21, 2008 - 15:59 ET by Noel SheppardShrub,
Workin' on it! You'll be the second to know! :-) ns
Noel...
February 21, 2008 - 16:15 ET by LionKingPerhaps you could use your contacts at the NYT to get the Halliburton story rolling.
funny shrubbo.. very
February 21, 2008 - 15:59 ET by Jack Bauerfunny shrubbo.. very funny.
Oh my goodness, this is
February 21, 2008 - 16:08 ET by Gary P JacksonOh my goodness, this is perfect! Great job.
Jack... You and Mr.S did
February 21, 2008 - 16:47 ET by bigtimerJack...
You and Mr.S did a great job!
I'm still laughing and about to the point of voting that way!
....too funny....Go Socks Go!
Thanks for the afternoon laughter.
Thanks guys.. glad you like!
February 21, 2008 - 17:36 ET by Jack BauerThanks guys.. glad you like! Go Socks..
Noel, one of the
February 21, 2008 - 16:40 ET by Hunter12Noel, one of the accomplishments Goldbar cited yesterday ( c & p from wiki, I was told) for Obama was that he sponsored the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry. I think it might be interesting to look at this law in the light of his connections to Tony Rezko. Here's a politician pushing state pensions into diveting themselves of assets that will have to be allocated to some other funds tied to a crook being charged with shaking down firms seeking to business with an Illinois State pension fund. Also, this story in the Sun Times might be of interest. Looks like the $40K he earmarked as coming from Rezko was the tip of the iceberg.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
Greenberg Traurig
February 21, 2008 - 16:45 ET by sarcasmoIs an old Miami law firm, and they're almost 100% Democrat (at least, back in the day when I'd have known). Jack was, if anything, a token-Republican who got hired to ease their expansion into DC lobbying. But if anything, it would be shocking if GT DIDN'T have lawyers who give to both Barak and Hillary.
JMR
A corruption-story the TV media will-not cover.
Yeah they are expansive
February 21, 2008 - 16:57 ET by bigtimerYeah they are expansive alright....I googled them because I remember the name from the Indian Affairs committee, the name rang a bell...here is another candidate that has received money too...those hearings were maddening for me.
I have other links that led me to this one, but there are links within this link...of course it is a leftist site, but so are some in the story here about Obama.
None of them have clean hands...and of course the silence will be that way with all three of them getting $$$ from the msm IMO.
"Will Media Examine Barack
February 21, 2008 - 17:45 ET by chessplayer"Will Media Examine Barack Obama’s Connection to Jack Abramoff?"
When pigs fly and hell freezes over.
Nothing to see here. Obama
February 21, 2008 - 17:41 ET by ckc1227Nothing to see here. Obama is the second coming, dontcha know. Soon all prayers will be re-written, and we'll all pray to Obama. He and his wife are going to fill the holes in our souls.
And if we aren't willing, they'll put one in our heads. Che would be proud. ;)
management skills????
February 21, 2008 - 19:58 ET by docb$ 7.5 million in debt--blown threw $ 140 million to end behind on Feb 5.. HILLARY HAS NO HAT AND NO CATTLE!!!!!!!
The Hat /cattle line Hillery STOLE from Gov. Ann Richards.