A Lobbyist By Any Other Name: SEIU and the Obama White House
by Brian JohnsonSuccessfully demonizing Washington insiders on the campaign trail, President Obama needed to find a way to meet with lobbyists without appearing hypocritical. The administration’s advice to lobbyists? De-register.
For an administration that promised to renounce interest groups, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) certainly has the president’s ear and is sure to be a major player in the December jobs summit. In 2008, SEIU donated nearly $28 million to the Obama campaign setting the stage for SEIU President Andy Stern to become the White House’s most frequent visitor in 2009, according to White House visitor logs. Anna Burger, Treasure of the SEIU and Chairwoman of their Change to Win campaign was even appointed to Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board earlier this year and will represent SEIU at the December jobs summit held by the White House.
To the objective observer, it is clear that Andy Stern and Anna Burger are meeting with members of the White House to advance goals of the SEIU, they are lobbying. However, in 2008 both Stern and Burger de-registered as lobbyists providing the Obama administration cover to meet with them while avoiding cries of duplicity. Yet, neither Stern nor Burger changed positions or job responsibilities, they just stopped registering as lobbyists.
So who has to register?
The Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) defines a “lobbyist” as a person who spends over 20% of his time on “lobbying activities” and has two or more “lobbying contacts.” It is important to note that the calculation of the 20% of time spent on lobbying activities includes numerous activities beyond direct lobbying contacts, and is with respect to a calendar quarter of a year.
Lobbyists who fail to register or provide honest reports are subject to civil penalties of up to $200,000 and criminal penalties of up to 5 years in prison, not trivial penalties.
Validating the claim that the Obama administration is still meeting with lobbyists, now unlisted lobbyists, Mr. Stern visited and met with the President and/or White House staff on 22 occasions between January 20 and September 15.
During the first calendar quarter, Mr. Stern went to the White House on 11 separate days, including twice on February 18. In the second calendar quarter, Mr. Stern visited on 9 days, and twice on April 13 for a total of 10 visits. Since White House personnel, including the President and Vice President, are considered “covered” officials under LDA, all of Mr. Stern’s communications with them during these 22 visits covering 20 days would constitute “lobbying contacts.”
Mr. Stern’s right hand, Anna Burger has also maintained close relations to the Obama administration after de-listing as a lobbyist. According to LM-2 union disclosure fillings from 2007 and 2006, both years when Ms. Burger was a registered lobbyist, reveal that she spent well over 20 percent of her time on politics and lobbying. After de-listing, Burger reported spending an even larger amount of time, 37 percent, on politics and lobbying activity.
Most recently, Ms. Burger attended the much sought-after State Dinner hosted by the White House on November 24, 2009. The State Dinner has long been one of the most prestigious events an administration holds.
On December 3, the president will preside over his “jobs summit” where he will look for ideas and consensus from business leaders about how to increase hiring. Ms. Burger will be in attendance and undoubtedly engaging in contacts with officials covered by the LDA. Given the enormous access Ms. Burger and Mr. Stern have to White House officials; it is more than probable that they meet the LDA definition of a lobbyist.
In an attempt to hold the administration accountable to its own goals, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and the Alliance for Worker Freedom have filled a formal request with acting United States Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Esq. and the Secretary of the Senate and House Clerk to investigate the Service Employee International Union President Andy Stern (filed on November 13) and Treasurer Anna Burger (filed on December 3) for potential illegal lobbying.
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47 Comments
Lobbying?????? Naaaaaaaaahhhhhhh just old friends providing a sympathetic ear to the poor foundering president who inherited such a messed up country… After all, it's all Bush's fault!
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Bush's fault? Don't forget Cheney and Halliburton,
Pssst, hey Barrack, how's that hopey-changey-opaquey-transparency-thingy going for you? You sure duped US!
We all know the “Job Summit” is just another failed gathering of the union thugs, and progressives that would like nothing better than all the small businesses turn into Union shops or at least pay union dues and not get any benefits. Stern and Burger should be sent to jail, but we all know that Obama would never let his friends go there instead the American people must suffer since we object to what he is doing.
We need to put the pressure on and keep it on from now to 2012 to get all the trash out of Washington and put the fear of the people back in our congress persons.
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They are not lobbyist's.
They are the non-profit arm of the administration doing pro-bono work on behalf of the POTUS. How else could the POTUS direct ACORN activities, but through SEIU? You don't expect the POTUS to meet directly with ACORN, do you? But the SEIU pays MILLIONS of dollars to ACORN for their para-military election day "get-out-the-vote" activities, all at the direction of Stern and Patrick Gaspard, (who himself was a registered lobbyist for SEIU’s Local 1199 in NY and set up the bilking of the healthcare system and who is now the WH Political director – Obama's Carl Rove). Why is no one from the media, accept Breitbart & Glenn Beck covering this stuff!
The regime from Obummer on down is CORRUPT and TAINTED!
http://noliberalspin.blogtownhall.com/2009/12/03/...
The Anti Liberal Zone
They are part of Obama's civilian security force and are only here to represent the government and control the unruly populace. SEIU and ACORN are the "brown shirts" of the Obama regime. Just ask Kenneth Gladney!
Just posted a reply to Rep. Cantor… This is a PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING (if you're reading this Cantor). PUT PRESSURE ON THEM!
Ugh! I just hope this goes somewhere.
So what if Stern just re-regeisters as a lobbyist? Then continues to lobby directly with NObama? Even though NObama said he would renounce interest groups, what would he care? He's already LIED OUT HIS A$$ to us.
Obama and a job summit.What a joke.The US Chamber of Commerce which represents 3million businesses wasn't invited.Neither was the group that represents the majority of small businesses in this country and I can't think of their name.
But Obama is surrounding himself with the biggest job killing,industry destroying,tax dollar sucking group of Union thugs in the country.Watch out for what ever you have left in your wallets because Obama and the democrats are coming back for another round of deficit busting stimu-less theft of tax dollars.
But don't you SEE? The ends justify the means. They have GOOD INTENTIONS (killing babies, disarming the public, making the world safe for orgies and Marxist dictators). You, on the other hand, want to mind your own business and, well, have your own business. It's not fair.
Unions were implemented to protect workers from the outright evil of business. In addition, Fair Wages, Fair Working Conditions, etc. Fast Forward……….Andy Stern takes your dues. Secures deadbeats a job. Request his deadbeats to act as thugs on his behalf. Sends thugs to citizens homes for voter intimidation. Used dues to promote political agenda to promote the election of Hussein. Used dues to publish his book.
A gathering primarily of witless eggheads that no nothing of job creation. No matter who attends, when Barry gets back to the hive, a whopping 7% of his cabinet (parasites) have actual private sector experience, what could be wrong with that? What we will witness today is a gaggle of academic economist that will spew Keynesian business principles, that will further doom the American Free Market system. The business people there, represent government aligned giant industry that depend on government largess, aka…as taxpayers, so tow the line or be our target, so says the Chicago thugs. This jobs summit is a colossal waste of time, and more tax dollars (our money) …sheesh!
Jobs summit = I have no idea what's going on or what to do.
The blatant propagandizing of this administration is both arrogant and pathetic.
How much more obvious can it be? Obama knows that all their promises about the Stimulus bill have been broken, unemployment is horrible, and the economy sucks. So he has another 'summit' where he invites a bunch of people who already agree with what he's doing. Wow, way to listen to opposing viewpoints.
Everything with this guy has to do with himself. He can't make a conference call to a couple CEO's to get economic advice (I don't know why he would need any, seeing as we have Tim "The genius" Geithner on the job). Instead, he has to make it a nationalized event with cameras, tv, and plenty of facetime for himself.
I'm so ready for a President who is boring, dull, has no sense of humor, and could care less about being on camera. Since when does the President need to be a celebrity?
I am sick of looking at 'tired OLD faces' in Washington!!! If their lips are moving they are lying!!! We need new young blood ….people who WANT to work for the good of the United States of America…PATRIOTS!!! Two term limits and if ANYONE (President included) is found to be breaking the law they get booted out immediately!!! FOR THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE!!! Do NOT register your guns, it just makes it easier for the government to take them away from you!!
Unregister…Take your name off the list……Deny everything……Job Summit! Just another reason to commit to spending million of $$$ to PAYBACK the corupt cronnies of Hussein. Why do you think organizations like the SBA were not invited.
Good post!!!
I saw the look on Hillary's face today and it just pissed me off to know that our lives are in the hands of people who really don't care …she just looked old and worn out!
Some Likud heavy-hitters and Jewish organization leaders in the US have bound together to get Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to rethink the appointment of Alon Pinkas as ambassador to the UN, senior diplomatic officials said Thursday.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was expected last Sunday to bring a batch of new diplomatic appointments to the cabinet for approval, including that of Pinkas, but at the last minute he removed that item from the agenda.
Lieberman is expected to discuss the issue with Netanyahu when he returns from Europe next week.
Neither Lieberman's office nor the PM's office would comment on the matter.
Pinkas, a former consul-general in New York, widely acclaimed for his media appearances, was removed from that post in 2004 by then Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, in a nasty fight over whether Pinkas's contract should be renewed. Shalom is one potential Likud rival that Netanyahu would not want to upset over minor issues right now.
While Pinkas had a reputation for representing Israel well in the media, he didn't always get along smoothly with Jewish organizations in New York. And some leaders of those organizations have reportedly advised against his appointment.
Pinkas skewered both Shalom and the organized Jewish leadership in a biting cable he wrote before leaving his post in 2004.
"During my tenure in New York there have been four foreign ministers – Shlomo Ben-Ami, Shimon Peres, Binyamin Netanyahu, and Silvan Shalom. The keyboard naturally wants to continue and type, 'I have learned from them all,' but who would believe such hypocrisy? What have I learned from the current foreign minister?" wrote Pinkas of Shalom.
And he wrote of American Jewish organizations, whose importance he downplayed in a 2001 cable, that one of his goals as consul-general in New York was "to clarify, emphasize, and insist that the State of Israel is not another Jewish organization, that it is a sovereign and independent state which is the fulfillment of Zionism, and not a branch of the Presidents' Conference [the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations] or a tourist office for government ministers who come to New York to take out their anger on innocent salmon," a reference to bagel and lox breakfasts.
But Jewish leaders said their previous misgivings should not derail Pinkas's possible appointment at the UN.
"He was a very successful consul-general. He was very articulate, a good diplomat, who established relationships with the media," said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who spoke out against Pinkas's comments about American Jewry several years ago. "The issues around him really came later and had very little to do with his ability to represent the state of Israel."
"Any public person comes with baggage," he added, "and if there's no controversy, it indicates he didn't do anything."
But other leaders took issue with Pinkas's politics. "I always found him to be a very smart, articulate spokesman for Israel, but I was concerned about Alon that he was too ready to make one-sided concessions to the Palestinians," said Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America.
Klein said he has fielded calls from colleagues at mainstream organizations who have similar concerns. "I'd be concerned if he had an important policy role in this administration," said Klein.
Prior to serving as consul-general, Pinkas served as diplomatic adviser to Peres and Ehud Barak when they were foreign ministers, and as the chief of staff for former foreign ministers David Levy and Ben-Ami. Before that he was defense correspondent for The Jerusalem Post.
In addition to Pinkas, Shai Bazak, who served as Netanyahu's spokesman during his first term as prime minister and then later became Israel's consul-general in Miami, is also waiting for the final nod as Israel's new consul-general in new York.
Israel's ambassador to Washington and the UN are considered among the most important positions abroad, and are generally filled by political appointees. One senior diplomatic source said that with the UN moving towards additional sanctions on Iran, the ambassador to the UN would be critical in the coming year.
Regarding Iran, Lieberman told Russian TV while in the country, "We are impatiently waiting for concrete steps to be taken by the international community on the Iranian issue. Whoever wanted positive proof that the Iranians do not intend to reach an agreement, received it in the past few days. From Israel's standpoint, all options are on the table."
Lieberman is currently in Russia co-chairing the first meeting of the Russian-Israel commission on trade and economic cooperation.
In Israel, meanwhile, Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia's National Security Council, has been holding talks since Wednesday with top Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, Barak and NSC chairman Uzi Arad.
Arad issued a statement saying the talks have "encompassed a range of issues of strategic significance to both countries and reflected an affinity on various points, including fundamental issues. The two sides agreed to continue the format of consultations on a regular basis."
[...] Successfully demonizing Washington insiders on the campaign trail, President Obama needed to find a way to meet with lobbyists without appearing hypocritical. The administration’s advice to lobbyists? De-register. [...]
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[...] book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern—the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House—and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that [...]
[...] book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern—the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House—and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that [...]
[...] book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern—themost frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House—and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that [...]
[...] book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern—the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House—and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that [...]
[...] book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern—the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House—and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that [...]
[...] book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern—the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House—and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that [...]
[...] book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern—the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House—and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod [...]
[...] book was endorsed by leading Democrats and their allies, including SEIU boss Andy Stern—the most frequent visitor thus far to the Obama White House—and chief Obama strategist David Axelrod, who noted that [...]
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[...] nominee Becker, a lawyer to both the corrupt Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ,( Obama’s most frequent Whitehouse visitor which gave over $20 million dollars to Obama’s campaign, and is linked to ACORN ), and the [...]
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