Big Bundles Of Cronyism
There were a lot of whoppers in President Obama’s campaign SOTU speech but one in particular jumped out, if for no other reason than the dizzying heights of its hypocrisy. Obama, recall, asked for legislation to ensure that people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress couldn’t lobby Congress, and vice versa, which sounds great in both in theory and practice. It would be nice, of course, if Obama actually practiced what he preached. In this case, he doesn’t even come close. This from the Center for Public Integrity:
Dozens of Obama’s elite donors — many of them wealthy business figures — have been appointed to advisory panels and commissions that can play a role in setting government policy. Others have been invited to a range of exclusive White House briefings, holiday parties and splashy social events.
And some have snagged lucrative government contracts that benefit their business interests or investment portfolios, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found.
These fundraisers are known as “bundlers” because they solicit $2,500 contributions from multiple friends, colleagues and family members and provide “bundles” of checks to the campaign. The sum of contributions per bundler ranges from $50,000 to more than $500,000.
The Institute breaks it down by the numbers, which show a disturbing trend of insider-heavy cronyism that buys access to influence and affluence:
* At least 68 of 350 Obama bundlers for the 2012 election or their spouses have served in the administration, ranging from seats on advisory boards that tackle critical national issues such as economic growth, to ceremonial posts such as serving on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
* At least 250 of the bundlers have been cleared to attend a White House event since January 2009. Most have come twice while others are frequent visitors. The events range from policy briefings to coveted invitations to state dinners and music and entertainment nights featuring top-draw performers at the executive mansion.
* At least 30 of the 2012 bundlers have ties to companies that conduct business with federal agencies or hope to do so. They range from Wall Street investors to green energy, technology and defense firms with multimillion-dollar government contracts.
And Obama is no one-hit wonder, with a record of peddling insider access for big bucks dating back to his inaugural presidential campaign – you know, the one when The One promised a change from politics as usual. Funny way of showing it:
When Obama kicked off his first presidential campaign in February 2007, he vowed to diminish the power of special interests in Washington. Yet he began awarding spoils to super donors once he took office — just like past presidents, records show.
A 2011 Center investigation found that nearly 200 of his 2008 campaign bundlers, or their spouses, won White House appointments. Nearly 80 percent of those who raised $500,000 or more joined the administration in some role, often as ambassadors. Obama’s record of welcoming bundlers into his administration is about the same as former President George W. Bush’s, the investigation found.
Some of the bundlers from the 2008 election cycle who took government jobs and still hold them are prohibited by law from engaging in partisan political activities and fundraising. But that ban doesn’t apply to many members of hundreds of commissions and boards that advise government officials on a part-time basis.
Of the 350 bundlers for the 2012 campaign, about 100 also made the list in 2008.
The 2012 bundlers have attended a broad range of White House events — just like those in the 2008 campaign in which Obama raised more money than any presidential candidate in history. At least 49 of the 68 bundlers in the 2012 cycle who have served in the administration were appointed after January 2010, records show.
So that whole hope and change thing, apparently, has worked out great for at least some folks. Not so much for the rest of us peasants.
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