GOP 'Pledge For America' Director Lobbied For AIG, Exxon, Pfizer, Chamber

[highplainsdem]

Source: Huffington Post

Sam Stein

GOP 'Pledge For America' Director Lobbied For AIG, Exxon, Pfizer, Chamber

First Posted: 09-22-10 10:22 PM | Updated: 09-22-10 10:51 PM



The Republican Party's 21-page blueprint, "Pledge to America," was put together with oversight by a House staffer who, up till April 2010, served as a lobbyist for some of the nation's most powerful oil, pharmaceutical, and insurance companies.

In a draft version of The Pledge that was being passed around to reporters before the official release, the document properties list "Wild, Brian" as the "Author." A GOP source said that Wild -- who is on House Minority Leader John Boehner's payroll -- did help author the governing platform that the party is unveiling on Thursday. Another aide said that as the executive director of the Republican leadership group American Speaking Out, Wild's tasks were more on the administrative side of the operations.

Until early this year, Wild was a fairly active lobbyist on behalf of the firm the Nickles Group, the lobbying shop set up by the former Republican Senator from Oklahoma, Don Nickles. During his five years at the firm, Wild, among others, was paid $740,000 in lobbying contracts from AIG, the former insurance company at the heart of the financial collapse; $800,000 from energy giant Andarko Petroleum; more than $1.1 million from Comcast, more than $1.3 million from Exxon Mobil; and $625,000 from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc.

-snip-

Past associations with entities like the Chamber are hardly character disqualifiers, certainly on the Republican side of the aisle where fidelity to the business lobby is a virtue. But having been paid to lobby on behalf of major companies with legislative business before Congress does create an obvious optics problem for Republican leaders hoping to promote their agenda as clean of big-moneyed influence.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/22/pledge-for-america-brian-wild-lobbyist_n_735911.html

[Rozlee]

1. Oh, joy. I can't wait to read it.

I wonder if it'll be like their budget proposal of '09 that didn't have any numbers? I'm willing to bet that it'll be full of tax breaks for the rich that will explode the deficit higher and draconian cuts in services to the rest of the country that they'll virtuously say will shrink the deficit.

[Bitwit1234]

2. the republicans are making a pledge to America huh? well

for a party that has obstructed every single bill or law proposed by this congress that would help to get us out of the mess the Bush Administration put us in, how in the devil can you trust anything they pledge to do, except cut taxes and try to pass the laws that would benefit corporations instead of the American people.

[Tx4obama]

3. K&R n/t

[tblue]

4. It's so original, it's breathtaking.

What will they think up next?

[classysassy]

5. I can not believe

the American public are falling for more republican lies." Fool me once shame on you,fool me twice shame on me " is there enough shame to go around this time?

[Wednesdays]

7. Actually, it's "Fool me once, shame on...shame on you."

"Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...(pause)...you can't get fooled again."
--Dubya, Sept. 17, 2002

[lafayettelonewolf]

6. C'mon! Why am I not even suprised?!

Memo to Bohener, McConnel et al.

You are not absolutely fooling me! This is just absolutely the same stunt that Newt Gingrich pulled back in 1994 when he had his "Contact with America". Yeah, the same "Contract" that turned out to be a "Contract On America". Gotta love that job outsourcing, higher profits, stagnation of wages, large deficits, and all that military spending...don't you guys?

Face it...GOP = money-grabbing cowards!!!

[Skip_In_Boulder]

8. This should here forth be referred to as

The Contract on America.

[chill_wind]

9. It's an optics problem

for both parties, if we're supposed to hate the sinners but love the sinners' money.
I'd guess he lobbied more than his share of Wall Street Dems, too.

OpenSecrets Blog | OpenSecrets.org
Before the Fall, AIG Payouts Went to Washington
By Massie Ritsch on March 16, 2009 11:16 AM


As long as everyone's talking today about AIG's payouts to its executives and foreign banks, let's remember the payouts AIG has made over the years to politicians. In the last 20 years American International Group (AIG) has contributed more than $9 million to federal candidates and parties through PAC and individual contributions. That's enough to rank AIG on OpenSecrets.org's Heavy Hitters list, which profiles the top 100 contributors of all time.

Over time, AIG hasn't shown an especially partisan streak, splitting evenly the $9.3 million it has contributed since 1989. In the last election cycle, though, 68 percent of contributions associated with the company went to Democrats. Two senators who chair committees charged with overseeing AIG and the insurance industry, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), are among the top recipients of AIG contributions. Baucus chairs the Senate Finance Committee and has collected more money from AIG in his congressional career than from any other company--$91,000. And with more than $280,000, AIG has been the fourth largest contributor to Dodd, who chairs the Senate's banking committee. President Obama and his rival in last year's election, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), are also high on the list of top recipients.

AIG has been a personal investment for lawmakers, too. Twenty-eight current members of Congress reported owning stock in AIG in 2007, worth between $2.5 million and $3.3 million. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), one of the richest members of Congress, was by far the biggest investor in AIG, with stock valued around $2 million.

Last year AIG and its subsidiaries spent about $9.7 million on federal lobbying, or about $53,000 for every day Congress was in session in 2008. The company's spending on advocacy last year was down from an all-time high of $11.4 million spent on lobbying in 2007.

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/03/before-the-fall-aig-payouts-we.html

The Republicans never do anything new or surprising, anymore than lobbyists who have both parties in their back pocket.