November 15, 2011

Another Lobbyist Fundraiser

Despite Obamas Many Promises And Denials, Biden Fundraises With Head Of A Lobbying Firm Tonight
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Vice President Joe Biden Will Be In Bergen County To Attend A Fundraiser Tonight. Couples Will Pay $10,000 For Dinner At The Cresskill Home Of Public Relations And Lobbying Firm Executive Michael Kempner. (Vice President Joe Biden To Attend Fundraiser In Cresskill, The Associated Press, 11/15/11) KEMPNERS FUNDRAISER DEFIES OBAMAS REPEATED PROMISES TO KEEP LOBBYISTS AT ARMS LENGTH
CANDIDATE OBAMA: "We Will Not Take A Dime From Washington Lobbyists Or Special Interest PACs - We're Going To Change How Washington Works. They Will Not Fund My Party ..." (Sunlen Miller, "Obama Commends DNC For Cutting Lobbyist Contributions," ABC News'
"Political Radar" Blog, 6/5/08)

When Announcing His Campaign For Presidency, Obama Pledged To End Special Interest Access. Special interests have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play They get the access while you get to write a letter The time for that kind of politics is over. Its through. (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks
Announcing Campaign For President, Springfield, IL, 2/17/07)

Kempners Firm Has Made Millions Lobbying The Federal Government During Obamas Term
Michael Kempner, Who Has Also Brought In At Least $500,000 For The Campaign, Runs A Team Of Washington Lobbyists At His New Jersey Firm Though He Personally Is Not Registered As A Federal Lobbyist. And Michael Kempner, who has also brought in at least $500,000 for the campaign, runs a team of Washington lobbyists at his New Jersey firm, MWW Group, who, according to the its promotional material, use their important relationships with both the Democratic and
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Republican leadership to wield influence for their private sector clients. Seven of the lobbyists he employs are registered in Washington, but Mr. Kempner, the chief executive at the firm, is not. (Eric Lichtblau, Obama Backers Tied To Lobbies Raise Millions, The New York Times, 10/27/11) Kemper Is The President Of MWW Group, A Public Relations Firm Thats Billed Millions For Lobbying The Federal Government. Perhaps the most prominent example is Michael Kempner, the president and chief executive officer of MWW Group, a public relations firm that billed more than $4 million in federal lobbying in 2010. (Michael
Scherer, No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound, Times Swampland, 7/20/11)

MWW Group Has Earned Over $10 Million Lobbying Since Obama Took Office In 2009. (Center For Responsive Politics, Open Secrets, Accessed 11/15/11)

Kempner Is Also An Operating Partner In A Private Equity Firm That Owns MWWs Biggest Lobbying Client, iGPS, Which Spent Almost $1 Million Lobbying The FDA And EPA In 2010. Though Kempner is not registered as a lobbyist, he is an operating partner in the private equity firm Pegasus Capital Advisors, which owns MWWs biggest lobbying client, iGPS, a company that produces plastic shipping pallets. In 2010, iGPS spent nearly $1 million lobbying Congress, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mostly on new rules that would restrict the use of a fire-retardant chemical that iGPS uses in its pallets. (Michael Scherer, No Registered Lobbyists
Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound, Times Swampland, 7/20/11)

Kempner Hosted A Fundraiser In 2010 That Told Donors They Could Talk To Obamas EPA Commission About Issues Of Concern. He offered to host a June 2010 Democratic fundraiser in New York that promised donors the chance to talk to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson about about issues of concern to you, according to the invitation. (The event was canceled at the last minute after Republicans raised concerns in the midst of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis.) (Michael Scherer, No Registered Lobbyists Among
Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound, Times Swampland, 7/20/11)

TONIGHTS FUNDRAISER IS JUST MORE EVIDENCE OF OBAMA IGNORING HIS BAN ON LOBBYISTS FUNDING HIS CAMPAIGN
The Ban Doesnt Apply To Money Raised From Bundlers Who Make A Living On K Street
Obama Is Ignoring His Pledge To Not Take Money From Lobbyists, Raising Millions From Prominent Supporters Who Are Active In The Lobbying Industry. Despite a pledge not to take money from lobbyists, President Obama has relied on prominent supporters who are active in the lobbying industry to raise millions of dollars for his re-election bid. (Eric Lichtblau, Obama Backers Tied To Lobbies Raise Millions, The New York
Times, 10/27/11)

At Least 15 Of Obamas Bundlers Are In The Lobbying Industry And Have Raised Over $5 Million For Obamas Reelection Campaign. At least 15 of Mr. Obamas bundlers supporters who contribute their own money to his campaign and solicit it from others are involved in lobbying for Washington consulting shops or private companies. They have raised more than $5 million so far for the campaign. (Eric
Lichtblau, Obama Backers Tied To Lobbies Raise Millions, The New York Times, 10/27/11)

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Obama Gets Around His Own Rule Because The Bundlers Are Not Registered With The Senate. Because the bundlers are not registered as lobbyists with the Senate, the Obama campaign has managed to avoid running afoul of its self-imposed ban on taking money from lobbyists. (Eric Lichtblau, Obama Backers Tied To Lobbies Raise Millions, The New
York Times, 10/27/11)

But Registered Or Not, The Bundlers Are In Many Ways Indistinguishable From People Who Fit The Technical Definition Of A Lobbyist. (Eric Lichtblau,
Obama Backers Tied To Lobbies Raise Millions, The New York Times, 10/27/11)

The Bundlers Show The Obama Ethics Policies Do Not Match The On-TheGround Practices. But the prevalence of major Obama fund-raisers who also work in the lobbying arena threatens to undercut the presidents ethics push, raising questions about whether the campaigns policies square with its on-the-ground practices, some of those same watchdogs say. (Eric Lichtblau, Obama Backers Tied To Lobbies Raise Millions, The New York Times,
10/27/11)

Obamas 2012 Bundler List Features A Number Of People Involved In The Business Of Influencing Government. A list of Obamas own top fundraisers features a number of people involved in the business of influencing government, including the head of a lobbying and public relations firm, the corporate executive who oversees Comcasts lobbying efforts and the chairwoman of pharmaceutical giant Pfizers political action committee, among others. (Michael Scherer, No Registered Lobbyists Among Top
Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound, Times Swampland, 7/20/11)

Their Contributions Are Accepted, However, As Long As They Hire Other People To Make Most Of The Person-To-Person Contacts With Federal Officials.(Michael Scherer, No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,
Times Swampland, 7/20/11)

Or Their State Counterparts

Obama Has Accepted Money From Alex Baloga, A Self-Declared Lobbyist Who Works For Greenlee Partners, LLC, A Pennsylvania Based Lobbying Firm With Offices In Washington D.C. (Federal Election Commission, fec.gov, Accessed 7/18/11; Our Firm, Greenlee
Partners, Accessed 7/20/11)

And Bob Burke, An Attorney/Lobbyist At Bob Burke & Company Ltd, A Lobbying Firm Centered In California. (Federal Election Commission, fec.gov, Accessed 7/18/11;
Your Voice In California, Burkela.com, Accessed 7/20/11)

In March 2011, The DNC Accepted A Contribution From Soyla Fernandez, A Self Described State Lobbyist Employed By Fernandez Government Solutions In California. (Federal Election Commission, fec.gov, Accessed 7/20/11) In January 2011, The DNC Accepted A Contribution From James Patrick ONeill, A Self Employed Tax Consultant/State lobbyist In New Mexico.(Federal Election
Commission, fec.gov, Accessed 7/20/11)

And Does Not Apply To Obamas Super PAC

Super-Loophole For Lobbyists (T.W. Farnam, Obama Fundraising Targets Very Large, Very Small Donors,
The Washington Post, 8/3/11)

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Attention, Democratic Lobbyists: You Now Have A Way To Give Money To Aid President Obamas Reelection Effort.(T.W. Farnam, Obama Fundraising Targets Very Large, Very Small
Donors, The Washington Post, 8/3/11)

Former Obama Officials Set Up A Super PAC That Is Accepting Lobbyists Contributions Towards Obamas Reelection Effort. Now a super PAC formed by two former Obama administration officials is working to further the Obama campaign and ready to accept your money. (T.W. Farnam, Obama Fundraising Targets Very Large, Very Small Donors, The
Washington Post, 8/3/11)

The Former Obama Officials Hold No Objections To Using The Money To Help A President Who Spurns It. Priorities USA founder Bill Burton, who served as the national press secretary for Obamas 2008 campaign, says the group has no objections to using the money to help a president who spurns it. We decided we were going to play by the exact same rules as Karl Rove and the Koch brothers and not let them have any advantages in this election cycle, Burton said. (T.W. Farnam, Obama Fundraising Targets Very Large, Very
Small Donors, The Washington Post, 8/3/11)

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