Jim Kouri
Obama and Fat Cats work on fundraising for 2012
By Jim Kouri
While vilifying and name-calling Wall Street executives as greedy Fat Cats who prey on the American people, President Barack Obama is garnering more Wall Street street money than all of the GOP presidential candidates put togther.
Although the financial industry hardly helped during his 2008 campaign, they are certainly funding his re-election campaign. During his heated run against Senator Hillary Clinton he campaigned as an outsider and an underdog. But now as the incumbent president, Obama has the Wall Street and banking industry executives lining up to pay homage and pay good money.
"One-third of the money Obama's elite fund-raising corps has raised on behalf of his re-election has come from the financial sector," according to a new Center for Responsive Politics analysis.
The Fat Cats who work in the finance, insurance and real estate sector are responsible for raising at least $11.8 million for Obama's campaign and for the Democratic National Committee, according to the Center's research. All of Obama's bundlers have already raised about $35 million for Obama's second juggernaut.
During 2008 presidential run, campaign contributors and bundlers who worked in the finance, insurance and real estate sector were responsible for only about $16 million, according to the Center's research. That's about 21 percent of the $76.5 million estimated minimum amount that these top fund-raisers brought in for Obama's presidential campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
An exact dollar amount for how much cash these individuals raised ahead of the 2008 election or during the past few months is not known because the Obama campaign provided only broad ranges of how much money each bundler collected, according to Center's report.
A precise figure, however, is known for how much the Obama campaign and the DNC raised during the second quarter of the year: $86 million. Thus, at least $1 out of every $8 that the DNC and Obama campaign raised came thanks to a bundler connected to the "villainous" Fat Cats.
"When Americans hear President Obama denigrating Wall Street or bankers or the real-estate industry, they should know that he's probably winking at them so they don't become skittish. Or if they do believe he's a power to be reckoned with, they are attempting to buy future influence," said political strategist Mike Baker.
"What really irks me is the fact that while conservatives defend capitalism and the so-called rich, they get little from the Fat Cats. But Obama denigrates them with Stalinist-style vitriol, and they pour money on him. Americans would do well to consider these executives as part of the problem of crony-capitalism and not the solution," Baker warned.
Hanky Panky in the White House?
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus two weeks ago called on the Department of Justice to investigate whether or not President Barack Obama broke federal election laws by conducting illegal political fundraising activity in the White House.
A fundraising video featuring the President appears to have been recorded in the Map Room which is not part of the White House residence, but rather "occupied in the discharge of official duties."
According to federal law, it is a crime for the President of the United States to solicit political contributions in a place of official government business.
"Has the Obama White House stolen a few pages from the Clintons' well-worn campaign fundraising playbook?" asked the president of Judicial Watch, a well-known watchdog group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.
According to the the New York Times , recent secret meetings with Wall Street executives inside the Obama White House are more than raising eyebrows:
"Really? Nothing wrong with the meeting? Then why was there no mention of it on the President's public schedule?" asks Judicial Watch's President Tom Fitton
"I'm not aware — I don't remember. I actually wasn't in this position," Carney said defensively.
"Actually, Politico notes Carney was in his position when the meetings took place. Carney came on board on February 16. The meetings were held on March 7," according to Fitton's Judicial Watch.
Meanwhile, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for the Department of Justice to investigate the matter to determine if, in fact, federal laws were broken by President Obama.
The parallels between the Obama Wall Street hustle and the Clintons' infamous coffee klatches are way too obvious to ignore, even for the liberal reporters who have noted the similarities, but continue to protect Obama and his minions, according to Judicial Watch.
1,000 major contributors back in 1995 and 1996, as just one component of their massive and corrupt campaign fundraising operation. Some Democratic fundraisers explicitly sold invitations for $50,000 to $100,000 to the coffees with the president, vice president and their respective wives.
Now Obama's cheerleading section in the press is quick to defend the president, saying that it is not yet known whether or not these Wall Street execs were expressly pumped for cash.
"Let's be real about this: The president, through the DNC, didn't invite his Wall Street friends over to the White House because he sincerely wanted their advice on the economy. No, the meetings and the president's follow-up phone calls to those who could not attend had one purpose: To make his fundraising pitch. Even the liberal New York Times sees that," stated Fitton at the time.
"And if I've learned one thing about how Washington politicians operate, it is this: When politicians operate in secret, their intentions are less than upstanding. There is a reason why this meeting was conveniently "left off" Obama's public schedule," he added.
"When he last ran for office, Barack Obama promised to rid the White House of special interests and lobbyists. Now he's inviting them over for secret visits while withholding key records on who visits the White House and for what purpose," notes Fitton.
"Remember how the mainstream news media hounded Bush for records of who attended meeting at his request? They tried to insinuate there was something illegal or immoral about those meetings," said political strategist Mike Baker.
"But whatever details regarding these White House Wall Street meetings that remain obscured, this much we do know. Obama's top fundraisers are rewarded with some pretty sweet jobs," added Judicial Watch's Fitton.
"As Chairman of the Republican National Committee, I have the responsibility to hold the President accountable for his reckless spending, for the unsustainable growth of government and the crushing debt he is leaving for future generations of Americans, and now, sadly, for his apparent criminal behavior. I never expected I would be in this regrettable position, but the President's conduct and the White House staff's stonewalling leave me no choice," said Priebus.
© Jim Kouri
August 1, 2011
While vilifying and name-calling Wall Street executives as greedy Fat Cats who prey on the American people, President Barack Obama is garnering more Wall Street street money than all of the GOP presidential candidates put togther.
Although the financial industry hardly helped during his 2008 campaign, they are certainly funding his re-election campaign. During his heated run against Senator Hillary Clinton he campaigned as an outsider and an underdog. But now as the incumbent president, Obama has the Wall Street and banking industry executives lining up to pay homage and pay good money.
"One-third of the money Obama's elite fund-raising corps has raised on behalf of his re-election has come from the financial sector," according to a new Center for Responsive Politics analysis.
The Fat Cats who work in the finance, insurance and real estate sector are responsible for raising at least $11.8 million for Obama's campaign and for the Democratic National Committee, according to the Center's research. All of Obama's bundlers have already raised about $35 million for Obama's second juggernaut.
During 2008 presidential run, campaign contributors and bundlers who worked in the finance, insurance and real estate sector were responsible for only about $16 million, according to the Center's research. That's about 21 percent of the $76.5 million estimated minimum amount that these top fund-raisers brought in for Obama's presidential campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
An exact dollar amount for how much cash these individuals raised ahead of the 2008 election or during the past few months is not known because the Obama campaign provided only broad ranges of how much money each bundler collected, according to Center's report.
A precise figure, however, is known for how much the Obama campaign and the DNC raised during the second quarter of the year: $86 million. Thus, at least $1 out of every $8 that the DNC and Obama campaign raised came thanks to a bundler connected to the "villainous" Fat Cats.
"When Americans hear President Obama denigrating Wall Street or bankers or the real-estate industry, they should know that he's probably winking at them so they don't become skittish. Or if they do believe he's a power to be reckoned with, they are attempting to buy future influence," said political strategist Mike Baker.
"What really irks me is the fact that while conservatives defend capitalism and the so-called rich, they get little from the Fat Cats. But Obama denigrates them with Stalinist-style vitriol, and they pour money on him. Americans would do well to consider these executives as part of the problem of crony-capitalism and not the solution," Baker warned.
Hanky Panky in the White House?
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus two weeks ago called on the Department of Justice to investigate whether or not President Barack Obama broke federal election laws by conducting illegal political fundraising activity in the White House.
A fundraising video featuring the President appears to have been recorded in the Map Room which is not part of the White House residence, but rather "occupied in the discharge of official duties."
According to federal law, it is a crime for the President of the United States to solicit political contributions in a place of official government business.
"Has the Obama White House stolen a few pages from the Clintons' well-worn campaign fundraising playbook?" asked the president of Judicial Watch, a well-known watchdog group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.
According to the the New York Times , recent secret meetings with Wall Street executives inside the Obama White House are more than raising eyebrows:
-
A few weeks before announcing his re-election campaign, President Obama convened two dozen Wall Street executives, many of them longtime donors, in the White House's Blue Room....
The event, organized by the Democratic National Committee, kicked off an aggressive push by Mr. Obama to win back the allegiance of one of his most vital sources of campaign cash — in part by trying to convince Wall Street that his policies, far from undercutting the investor class, have helped bring banks and financial markets back to health.
"Really? Nothing wrong with the meeting? Then why was there no mention of it on the President's public schedule?" asks Judicial Watch's President Tom Fitton
"I'm not aware — I don't remember. I actually wasn't in this position," Carney said defensively.
"Actually, Politico notes Carney was in his position when the meetings took place. Carney came on board on February 16. The meetings were held on March 7," according to Fitton's Judicial Watch.
Meanwhile, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for the Department of Justice to investigate the matter to determine if, in fact, federal laws were broken by President Obama.
The parallels between the Obama Wall Street hustle and the Clintons' infamous coffee klatches are way too obvious to ignore, even for the liberal reporters who have noted the similarities, but continue to protect Obama and his minions, according to Judicial Watch.
1,000 major contributors back in 1995 and 1996, as just one component of their massive and corrupt campaign fundraising operation. Some Democratic fundraisers explicitly sold invitations for $50,000 to $100,000 to the coffees with the president, vice president and their respective wives.
Now Obama's cheerleading section in the press is quick to defend the president, saying that it is not yet known whether or not these Wall Street execs were expressly pumped for cash.
"Let's be real about this: The president, through the DNC, didn't invite his Wall Street friends over to the White House because he sincerely wanted their advice on the economy. No, the meetings and the president's follow-up phone calls to those who could not attend had one purpose: To make his fundraising pitch. Even the liberal New York Times sees that," stated Fitton at the time.
"And if I've learned one thing about how Washington politicians operate, it is this: When politicians operate in secret, their intentions are less than upstanding. There is a reason why this meeting was conveniently "left off" Obama's public schedule," he added.
"When he last ran for office, Barack Obama promised to rid the White House of special interests and lobbyists. Now he's inviting them over for secret visits while withholding key records on who visits the White House and for what purpose," notes Fitton.
"Remember how the mainstream news media hounded Bush for records of who attended meeting at his request? They tried to insinuate there was something illegal or immoral about those meetings," said political strategist Mike Baker.
"But whatever details regarding these White House Wall Street meetings that remain obscured, this much we do know. Obama's top fundraisers are rewarded with some pretty sweet jobs," added Judicial Watch's Fitton.
"As Chairman of the Republican National Committee, I have the responsibility to hold the President accountable for his reckless spending, for the unsustainable growth of government and the crushing debt he is leaving for future generations of Americans, and now, sadly, for his apparent criminal behavior. I never expected I would be in this regrettable position, but the President's conduct and the White House staff's stonewalling leave me no choice," said Priebus.
© Jim Kouri
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