Obama's Lobbyists Connection

When Illinois utility Commonwealth Edison wanted state lawmakers to back a hefty rate hike two years ago, it took a creative lobbying approach, concocting a new outfit that seemed devoted to the public interest: Consumers Organized for Reliable Electricity, or CORE. CORE ran TV ads warning of a "California-style energy crisis" if the rate increase wasn't approved--but without disclosing the commercials were funded by Commonwealth Edison. The ad campaign provoked a brief uproar when its ties to the utility, which is owned by Exelon Corp., became known. "It's corporate money trying to hoodwink the public," the state's Democratic Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said. What got scant notice then--but may soon get more scrutiny--is that CORE was the brainchild of ASK Public Strategies, a consulting firm whose senior partner is David Axelrod, now chief strategist for Barack Obama.

Last week, Obama hit John McCain for hiring "some of the biggest lobbyists in Washington" to run his campaign; Obama's aides say their candidate, as a foe of "special interests," has refused to take money from lobbyists or employ them. Neither Axelrod nor his partners at ASK ever registered as lobbyists for Commonwealth Edison--and under Illinois's loose disclosure laws, they were not required to. "I've never lobbied anybody in my life," Axelrod tells NEWSWEEK. "I've never talked to any public official on behalf of a corporate client." (He also says "no one ever denied" that Edison was the "principal funder" of his firm's ad campaign.)

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[StinkyPete]

Related articles. Written by someone who seems to like the Senator.

http://tinyurl.com/462hpq

http://tinyurl.com/4ucuw4

[rollingdivision]

Former and future lobbyists are OK. The Obama campaign restricts current lobbyists from joining the campaign. But a bunch of former lobbyists have helped out. Obama now has 14 bundlers who are also federally registered lobbyists, but they are currently inactive, according to Public Citizen.

Spouses and family members are OK. Even if being a lobbyist makes you an untouchable, that doesn"t mean your spouse is. Back in December, The Hill reported that an Obama fundraiser had encouraged a lobbyist to have his wife contribute. "I was quite taken aback," the lobbyist said. There"s currently no database of spouse contributions.

Advice is OK. Obama does not ban even current lobbyists from lending advice to the campaign"which could be considered an "in kind" contribution. Moses Mercado, a former adviser to Dick Gephardt and a lobbyist for Ogilvy Government Relations, volunteers his advice and time for the campaign but declined to be on payroll.

Employees of firms that lobby are OK. Take Tom Daschle. The former senator was an early and avid Obama supporter and is now a national campaign co-chair. Daschle is not himself a federally registered lobbyist, but he works at Alston & Bird, a firm that employs federally registered lobbyists and raked in $2.6 million in lobbying fees in 2004.

Employers of lobbyists are OK. Obama has taken $15 million from lawyers/law firms, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, and many of those firms employ lobbyists.

[AnotherTry]

Gotta love that NEW kind of policitcs.

What did The Who sing about the old boss?

Same as the new boss.

http://www.youtube.com/user/msbuch72

[ntmessage]

Nice throwaway statement said with passion meaning nothing at all.
"I've never lobbied anybody in my life,"
So what about the question? He runs a campaign and a candidate that he is responsible for.

Nice political work, though, just answer a different question.

[johnwinner]

An old USAToday story without much research that Newsweek picked up because there isn't any bad news on Obama anymore. Worthless two months ago, worthless today.

[ebanks84]

We know it's futile to try and tell a TROLL that what they have is a GIGANTIC NOTHING. So, we figured we would just let you get off some TROLL steam and feel good for a change about your sorry wicked HILLARY RODHAM WITCH.

[chitown8]

"Axelrod's firm, AKP Media, which he runs with his partners John Kupper and David Plouffe, has handled a series of high-profile national and state campaigns, from John Edwards's 2004 presidential run to Tom Vilsack's and Eliot Spitzer's gubernatorial races; but for much of its two decades the firm's bread and butter has been mayoral races, with a particularly strong track record in electing black candidates. Indeed, ever since working on the re-election campaign of Chicago's Harold Washington in 1987, Axelrod has developed something of a novel niche for a political consultant: helping black politicians convince white voters to support them. With Obama's bid for the presidency, Axelrod's skill in this area will face the ultimate test."

For those who don't know Harold Washington was the first Black mayor of Chicago. He was faced with a White Democrate Woman Jane Burne and White Demo Ed Vrdyolac. Harold won overwhelmingly. If David is motivated by this I know that Obama will win!!! I was 8 when Harold won here I still have the button Run Harold Run!

[jrterrier]

they also ran a campaign for a DEM in NYC, a latino, which engendered such antagonism among dems in the city that it allowed a republican to win. deja vu all over again.

more importantly, the notion that he's not a lobbyist for exelon is absurd. but i guess it's the audicity of hypocrisy and cynicism that allows obama to claim he doesn't take money from corporations as if it were a virtue, when by law no one can and to claim he doesn't emply lobbyist when axelrod is one.

[EuroPreacher]

The real people who care about Cuba and cubans have endorsed Senetor Obama's foreign policy against McCain's irrisponsible way of approching the matter: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7418941.stm

Go Obama'08!

[jrterrier]

we are already starting -- 'the real" people. and all others who have a different view are what -- unreal people? reminds me of reagan, obama's new found hero. real americans supported him while the rest of us saw that the emperor had no clothes.

[CyberGal619]

Tr0lls abound in here!

Enter with caution!

[Harrygton]

I read the entire story and I am sorry I did.... absolutely a waste of time! No connection to Obama's campaign whatsoever!

Poor Hillary Trolls trying to grasp at straws... it ain't there boys & girls! I guess your only hope now is the Kennedy solution, per your leader's Freudian slip!

[lovethesinner]

Stories like this make me think Obama is going to win in a landslide. Axlerod is an honest guy trying to make a living, and promoting good local government.

McCain and Charly Black are this year's Republican nominees for George Bush and Jack Abramoff.

It isn't that McCain is old, it's that he's feeble minded.

[MsLiz]

I read it. I don't care. Contributions totalling $236,211 from Exelon employees don't impress me. If someone paid that much for a presidential pardon, that would impress me. Republicans and spouses writing checks totallying $86,000 to McCain and various other Republican funds at one dinner with McCain, now that impresses me. Those people deserve to have some legislation on their behalf. Maybe some tax breaks for their horse farms, thank you Mitch McConnell. Sure could use a new yacht, how about a tax break for that. We have to keep the boat building industry going because we never know when we will need to sail up the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

[editrix66]

It sounds from the article that Axelrod was a media guy rather than a lobbyist. Anyway, I think we can't ban lobbying completely. In its essence, it means hiring someone to make a case of your interests to your elected representatives. However, we have allowed lobbyists to take over the funding of our elections and have huge influence over the writing of legislation. This needs to be stopped or it will be the end of democracy.

[DUMAMAY]

Only stupid people think this guy is clean!!!

Asian won't vote for this guy, OK
He will be president for black people, that is why 90% black people vote for him!!!

Asian people won't vote for this guy !!!!

[Harrygton]

Why are you reading this? You must be dumber still to hang around here! Asian people cannot vote in America! Only Americans can vote in America! Dumassmay! What a AH... claiming to speak for over a billion people!

[Yasmine]

MR. AXELROD and other OBAMA campaign officials should not deny anything if they do not know they should say it.
OBAMA please PLEASE do not BE AFRAID TO TELL THE TRUTH..................people can forgive a little involvement in the past.
HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY..........remember??
COVER UPS are worse.
I WARN YOU tell the TRUTH no matter what.

[Opus007]

What a misleading title.

[DAVESEAN]

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June ...

HILBILLY CLINTON

[izAriver]

He gets upwards of 90% of his contributions under $250.00. The money from Exelon are individual contributions from employees of the company. Now, how about mcshame? Isn't there a story on HuffPo right now about where he gets his contributions? The differences between the two candidates are substantial.

[KBAR]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/06/clinton-again-hammers-oba_n_80062.html