Lobbyist and Special Interest Spending and Influence Worse Now Than at Any Time Before Obama
According to the Center for Responsive Politics-a pro-government transparency group if there ever was one-the sliminess and all-out corruption that you must be smelling from the mere figure of $3.47 billion alone isn't the worst of it. The worst of it begins to take shape when you analyze exactly what industry spent the most on lobbying (read: buying votes from politicians) and for what devious purposes.
In the year that saw Democrats aggressively and over the will of the American people push for health care "reform," the industry that gave the most money to politicians...was...that's right...the health care/pharmaceutical industry. Clearly, only the blind, deaf and dumb will at this point deny the blatant connection between the Democrats' determined drive to get health care "reform" passed and the greatest spending by any industry that you see reflected in the pharmaceutical companies'. This purposeful connection tells me in no uncertain terms that while the Democrats were lying to the American people about allegedly altruistic reasons for passing health care "reform"-you know, like the 11-year-old kids they exploited to sell their message-they really were being paid off by the pharmaceutical industry through heavy-duty lobbying! And just think: Remember all those flagrantly phony times when Obama would go on TV and spew more deceit about "regulating" said pharma companies?! Disgusting hypocrisy...just disgusting!
Obama made such a big deal of supposedly wanting to reign in the widespread influence of lobbyists and special interests that he even said in his State of the Union speech that "We have to take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue...to end the outsized influence of lobbyists...to do our work openly..." But Barry! What happened, Ba-rreeee?! The gigantic explosion in the infamous record of $3.47 billion that went to special interests and lobbyists in 2009 kind of, sort of makes you look like a liar!
This reneging on his promise to "put the interests of Main Street (ordinary Americans) in front of K Street (notorious thoroughfare in Washington D.C., known for its many lobbyist centers) and Wall Street," makes Obama particularly unsympathetic to average Americans. To put it in perspective, throughout 2009, companies have been cutting jobs monthly, yet they've been increasing their efforts to spend their own money on lobbying lawmakers! How much of an outrage is that?! And that's in part because Obama hasn't done his part to, as he promised in his clearly deceptive campaign, reign in the special interests and lobbying.
This record-breaking statistic of shame was so significant that our friend Sean Hannity (and all-around Great American) even took notice of this staggering number:
Despite the fact that both Republicans and Democrats were recipients of the special interest money, the Democrats took the lion's share of it with 60% of all lobbying and special interest money being gobbled up by greedy, Democrat lawmakers. This clearly explains why Pelosi and Reid and company were so gosh-darn eager about getting health care "reform" passed, doesn't it? If anything, this report by the Center for Responsive Politics persuasively shows that Obama, Pelosi and Reid-the whole Democrat Party-is pretty much bought, sold and paid for by special interest and lobbyist money, completely at odds with their party's prevarication when they took power, that they would be more ethical than the GOP.
To send Marc questions, praise or criticism, e-mail him at marc_schenker@telus.net
More Reading: Karl Rove Protester Jodie Evans Threatens to Continue Harassing Him, Man's Finger Bitten Off by Obamacare Supporter, Sharpton Calls Tea Party Racist
Sources:
Lobbying Database, Center for Responsive Politics
William LaJeunesse, Lobbyists Enjoy Windfall Despite Pledges to Rein in Special Interest Influence, Fox News
K Street, Wikipedia
Published by Marc Schenker
Contact Marc at marc_schenker@telus.net to praise, criticize, or request anything of him since he fears nothing or no one. Marc Schenker is a political junkie and Political Writer and Analyst for Associated... View profile
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14 Comments
Post a Comment• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages for participating plans.
• Page 167: Any individual who doesn’t have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
• Page 425: care provider must consult with government body regarding advanced care. More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resourc
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure.
• Page 30: A federal government health care advisory committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer – they say in order to allow automated reconciliation with the related health care payment and remittance.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages for participating
August 10, 2009
A
n Updated List of What’s Really in the ObamaCare Bill
The Editors
Note: As with all bills undergoing debate, there are different 'markups' in which sections are moved, specifics changed, and pages added or deleted. This bill is not yet final and is subject to change.
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure.
• Page 30: A federal government health care advisory committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer – they say in order to allow automated reconciliation with the related health care payment and remittance.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a
The Progressive Creed is "Do as I say, not as I do." Just look at Al Gore. The Gorical should be living in a log cabin (made of synthetic wood, of course) in TN. Instead he has a spread bigger than the Vatican.
and only getting worse as we speak.... We need a new president and a new congress.
♫
And how much does pharma donate to Republican campaigns? Huge money!
I have yet to meet anyone that claims to have voted for him! I hope this country can survive the next few years.
i'm so tired of this President. He is making America look horrible
Interesting article Marc! Thanks for reporting on this.