“It’s a pay-to-play system .” Hire the right lobbyist, pay the right fee,Despite Rhetoric, Obama Pus

[indimuse]

Published on Monday, July 16, 2007 by ABC News
Despite Rhetoric, Obama Pushed Lobbyists’ Interests
by Justin Rood

Obama LIES...has always twisted and manipulated the system for political gain.



Away from the bright lights and high-minded rhetoric of the campaign trail, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has quietly worked with corporate lobbyists to help pass breaks worth $12 million.

In his speeches, Obama has lambasted lobbyists and moneyed interests who “have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play.”

“It’s an entire culture in Washington — some of it legal, some of it not,” the Democratic hopeful told a New York crowd in June, rallying support for his ethics reform agenda.

But last year, at the request of a hired representative for an Australian-owned chemical corporation Nufarm, Obama introduced nine separate bills exempting the company from import fees on a range of chemical ingredients it uses in the manufacture of pesticides and herbicides. Nufarm’s U.S. subsidiary is based in Illinois.

Nufarm wasn’t the only beneficiary of Obama’s efforts to reduce customs fees and duties. In early May of 2006, two Washington lobbyists registered to work on behalf of Astellas Pharma, a Japanese-owned drug company which also has offices in Illinois.

The lobbyists’ task? “Introduce legislation to temporarily suspend customs duties for the importation of a pharmaceutical ingredient,” they wrote on their lobbying forms. Less than three weeks later, the men had earned their $20,000 fee, thanks to Obama. On May 26, he introduced S. 3155, a bill specifically exempting Astellas’ key ingredient from tariff payments. The bill cost the federal government more than $1 million in lost revenue, according to government estimates.

Together, Obama’s obscure measures — known as tariff suspensions — steered more than $12 million away from federal coffers, according to government estimates.

A spokesman for the senator defended Obama’s efforts on behalf of the two firms.

“Sen. Obama helped his constituents obtain foreign products necessary for their business at an affordable rate,” said Ben LaBolt, noting that Obama made sure all the products “met strong environmental standards” before pushing to make it cheaper to import them.

While legal, Obama’s bills on behalf of Nufarm and other companies are part of the special treatment machine Washington rolls out for special interests, say good-government watchdogs.

“If you have a company…there’s a whole factory set up to help you get these suspensions,” said Steve Ellis, president of the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. “It’s a pay-to-play system you have to rev up and work.”(( SAME PAY TO PLAY SYSTEM USED IN CHICAGO...OBAMA BRINGS TO DC!!))Hire the right lobbyist, pay the right fee, and you can save millions, he explained.

In Nufarm’s case, Obama’s staff met with a lawyer representing the company, Joel Junker, in person and on the phone several times, Junker told ABC News. Junker says he worked with Obama’s staff to craft the nine bills and keep them moving forward.

“To the extent needs a little shepherding, you work with their staff, to be aware of the status, and work with the committee staff,” he said, and spoke highly of Obama’s staff. “Everything was very professional, very constituent-service oriented.”

Unlike Astella’s representatives, Junker did not register to lobby on behalf of Nufarm and did not disclose his fees. In an interview, Junker declined to say whether he believed his work could be considered “lobbying.”



Well..I consider this doing busiess with lobbiest! Legal...not legal..legit..not legit..favors..money...blah..blah.. Sounds very 'Rezkoish'...wink.



http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/16/2561/ ::>>

[cali]

1. You need a link

to the ABC story.

[Zachstar]

2. You know when an article or poster starts a poster with "Obama LIES" I do not bother to read it.

indimuse, Next time don't post such crap and maybe I will halfway read it next time.

We need to get away from the crap here everyone. This kind of BS is only helping the republicans at this point!

[Boz]

3. Which is why they do it.

[Zachstar]

4. I don't see why they do it. It makes the Clinton camp look like fools in my view.

So overall it harms the Clinton Campaign.

[indimuse]

6. how so?

you are ridiculous...this isn't some flamebait piece! I see you don't care about the truth...you blindly believe what Obama and his campaign(Axelrod) say???

[Zachstar]

8. No

I intend to work with others to insure he keeps his word in office.

He vetos a bill that was part of his overall plan and I will be joining others in protest.

We don't blindly follow a candidate. We want change and we don't plan to get lazy after november.

[usrbs]

9. This is a factual article about Obama's ties to lobbyists and its influence on his voting

How is pointing that out an illegitimate attack?

Something is wrong with you if you close yourself up to any and all criticism of your chosen candidate.

[Zachstar]

10. Make or post an article that does not start with crap and I will consider reading it.

However, Lately the attempts I have had at reading anti-Obama or Pro-Clinton have done little to impress me. Many reek of desperation in my view and are not helping the situation.

[usrbs]

14. "The records show that Obama has pushed Lobbyist's interests"

Is that better? Now wil you read it?
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/16/2561/

This is an article from CommonDreams.org, not Washington Times, so if you dismiss it out of hand thwn it means your mind is closed.

[Zachstar]

15. Ok I read it.

Overall it is nothing to be worried about in my view. I saw no red flags and anything that could cause yall concerns I do hope yall will note to congress as they work on bills in 2009.


I do hope yall intend to urge the new congress to get stuff done that helps America instead of big business. After the GE we got alot of work to do.

[rodeodance]

19. Then many in the Obama camp are FOOLS--do a seach-see how many

Obama threads have LIES in their subject lines

[indimuse]

5. how is fact..CRAP?

Well, he does lie!

[Zachstar]

7. It is crap because it is meant to spread FUD in my view.

It is hostile in my view.

It is unhelpful in my view. To democrats and yes Clinton isn't being helped by it either.

Therefore it is Crap in my view.

[indimuse]

11. Yeah! Pay to Play is HOSTILE!!!

Get a grip!!

[Zachstar]

12. Calm down. The hostile part was the start which serves nothing and is hostile in my view.

In case you have not noticed I am trying to get yall to stop harming Clinton's campaign with all the unneeded crap in my view.

Common yall! We need to wind down this crap between the two camps. We need to stop with the hostility (That includes us too Obama supporters, Stop with the Hillbot crap) and calm down as we refocus on all important Congressional seats and McCain!

Stick with the facts. Post the info and be done with it. Don't start with a statement that is going to cause an argument.

[Mezzo]

18. You're the one that needs to chill. Stop trying to impose your invective on everyone else.

Let's look at your own words:

Stick with the facts. Post the info and be done with it. Don't start with a statement that is going to cause an argument.

Do you have *ANY**INFO* to add to this? Because your OPINION that you do not like it when Obama is called a liar is sorta mitigated by all the Hillary bashing.

Oh, and if it's contrary to what he's been saying, it is a lie.

Until he gets a new name, his middle name *IS* Hussein. Just thought I'd tell ya.

[Zachstar]

20. Just thought youd tell me eh?

So Mezzo can you tell me what that last part has to do with anything? I am curious to know before I add you to my ignore list (As your post did nothing to aid Clinton but did lots to enflame the tension in my view)

[Mezzo]

17. LOL!! Because y'all NEVER start threads saying that Hillary lied. omfg. nt

[OzarkDem]

13. Protecting US jobs should be a priority

Sad to say, these products are (or were) made in the US. We should be trying to protect them.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. So basically Obama helped two Illinois based companies

with tarrif breaks amounting to a total of 12,000,000, for which Obama received it seems nothing in return. In other words, he represented the economic interests of his state. Despite tossing in 'Rezkoish' there is simply nothing here other than Senator Obama doing exactly what senators are supposed to do.

[rodeodance]

22. The point is he says he is against lobbyists--yet he is in bed with them

[Warren Stupidity]

23. The OP provides no evidence of any donations from

people or organizations associated with these two companies. Other than that, you have a point.

[madrchsod]

21. what`s this?

With a dozen tariff suspension bills to his name, Obama stands out as the most prolific of any Democratic presidential hopeful on the topic. ---->Sen. Hillary Clinton, N.Y., has introduced none, although she has co-sponsored 19 that were introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y<-------. Seven were to benefit the Honeywell Corporation, >-----whose lobbyist has contributed $6,500 to Clinton since 2005.<------ Sen. Joseph Biden, Del., has introduced none.

obama lies because he helped an illinois firm import chemicals yet hillary gets a pass because she co-sponsored 19 bills and received 6,500 from a lobbist...

[AX10]

24. Once again, making him just an ordinary politician like 99% of the them.

Kate Walsh is really an ignorant dud.