Obama’s ‘Green’ Initiatives: It Pays (BIG) to Be an Obama Bundler.
by Peter SchweizerPresident Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign is promising to raise enormous sums of money, by some estimates and unprecedented $1 billion. The Finance Chair for the 2012 campaign, Matthew Barzun, is reactivating the 2008 financial network of campaign bundlers to meet that goal. In my new book, Throw Them All Out, I expose the scandal that is outrageous and typical: those who are raising money for Obama received large amounts of taxpayer-funded energy stimulus money from the Obama Administration. It offers a new form of “recycling” when it comes to campaign dollars that is unprecedented.
Consider the sweetheart deals and contracts that have come the way of some of President Obama’s biggest fundraisers:
- Financier David Shaw has raised $1.08 million for Obama’s reelection so far. Shaw’s firm D.E. Shaw is heavily invested in two wind projects that received taxpayer money: $115 million for First Wind, and $117 million for Kahuku Wind.
- Financier John Rogers is a board Exelon board member has raised $1.2 million, and Frank Clark, an executive Exelon, has raised $153,000 thus far. Exelon has been approved for $646 million in Department of Energy loan guarantees for a project called AV Solar Ranch One. They also received a $200 million Department of Energy cash grant through a company they own called Peco Energy for smart-grid work.
- Financier Steve Westly has raised $302,000 so far. Westly has held large investment stakes in numerous companies that have received stimulus grants, including Amyris Biotechnologies ($24 million), Tesla Motors ($465 million), as well as Edeniqu and Recyclebank.
- Bruce Heyman of Goldman Sachs, who has had three energy projects approved for taxpayer money Cogentrix ($90 million), First Solar ($4.7 million), and U.S. Geothermal ($96.8 million) has already raised $366,884 for the Obama 2012 reelection campaign.
- Daniel Weiss of the Angelino Group has raised $39,000 so far. Weiss’ firm is a major equity holder in Powerspan, we received a $100 million cash grant for smart grid projects.
- Steve Spinner has raised $31,900 to this point. Spinner is a green energy investor who worked at the Department of Energy as a “strategic advisor” to the loan program.
Other recipients of energy stimulus money have continued cutting checks. Ian Cumming of Leucadia, which has had several large projects approved, has given $10,000 so far to Obama for America and the Obama Victory Fund 2012.
Others are not serving as campaign bundlers, but are rainmakers on an entirely different level. Financier John Doerr has held a series of held a private pow-wow bringing together big financiers to meet with President Obama, including a February 17, 2011 dinner at his home with the late Steve Jobs, Zuckerberg of Facebook, and John Chambers of Cisco Systems. Doerr and his firm have investments in sixteen green energy companies that have received taxpayer grants and loans.
The cronyism continues, and only outrage from the American people can stop it.
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53 Comments
Yet when you say barry is dirty…your just a racist…Wake up and smell the coffee people…dirty,dirty dirty…I don't want to hear others did it too…If they did put them in jail too
This is exactly what happens when political power is centralized, the only way to stop this is to decentralize the political power back to the states according to the US Constitution.
With that kind of payoff, who needs Wall St? Just pay Berry to play and BAM!! Instant Millionaire!
If others jumped off a bridge do you think the lead chuckle head would follow?
Obama and Dems feel it's not Conflict Of Interest at all, if the Conflict of Interest is complicated and stylish! They can point out to GOP RINOS that the Conflict of Interest is stylish, and complicated! And the RINO's will say,"well..it's OK, then!"
Republican leaders need pushed on! It's time to impeach this President.We got to get the criminal out of the white House.
This is what happens when Chicago thug politics comes to DC…they make the usual DC scum look like amateurs!
speaker bonehead and mitch mc conman must go and take obama and holder with them !!!
We last witnessed these kind of actions during the Cater era from bureaucrats running things. We referred to these kind of actions and funds as SLUSH FUNDS! The bureaucrats are running things. Little O is merely a figure head kind of like a bobble head figure. He reads his pre written script, he receives from his establishment handlers. If there ever was a Manchurian candidate, O sure looks to be the One!
"The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves."
George Washington
Obama needs to be charged with racketeering and collusion, impeached, and imprisoned.
Obama gets elected,those who raised money to get him elected got involved in the Green energy movement,Obama gives BILLIONS of tax payer money to those Green energy companies,that money then finds it's way into Obama's re election campaign,so in reality we are paying for our own destruction,our tax dollars are finding it's into the back door of Obama's campaign,there is something wrong with this picture,I don't want my tax dollars used to re elect a person I see as a Black Liberation Marxist bent on destroying this nation.
it sure does.
It paid for Adolph Krupp to be 'friendly' with Hitler, too. Willy Messerschmidt, too. Dornier not so much. It all depends how much you 'want to play ball' with the government. KBR and Halliburton played ball with the GOP and did well.
Now it's Obama and HIS pals.
Stephen Chu looked congress in the eye- on Solyndra- and basically said, 'go fly a kite'. We're doing what we think is right and will do it as long as we can irrespective of WHAT you think. They are doubling up loans with the 'green job sector', now. Look at what this program did for chinless boob Zapatero in Spain. HE bought into the 'green job' math.
Which is you LOSE five jobs for every one you create. And he is now, what- out of office, eh? Spain just overwhelmingly elected a conservative government to replace one that did EXACTLY what Obama is now doing?
Now THAT's math you can believe in…
Remember folks, the big payoff for Obammy is AFTER he leaves office.
On another note. Obammy asks Iran for the drone back.
Please…please…please
Another note. Obammy slashes National Guard troops at border.
Needs new voters.
Must be nice to get a 1000% return on your intial investment with Obamanomics.
BTW like T Boone Pickens's wind projects a great deal of these wind farms are actual land and water rights seizures. Pickens grabbed thousands of acres of water rights which he conveniently put a wind mill on top of. The real money is in the land grab, land given to these crony parasites by gov force. The wind mill itself is irrelevant. Can't wait for the wind mills to magically show up on oil rich or gold rich land.
Almost makes me want to be an obama bundler.
Almost.
The evidence of the failure of these types of policies is all over Europe. They're falling to pieces and this administration is dying to take us down the same path to misery.
I knew Pickens was a weasel.
Hum, did anyone actually think 'hope and change' would be free?
In the meantime, the rest of the country will hear nothing of this via the MSM, which will, many months from now, finally be forced to cover it as "old news" after it shows up on an episode of South Park.
Peter, thank you for all your fine work.
you can only hope……
Actually i was hoping for some change…. pennies, nickles, dimes……
Absolutely correct. This is the best arguement for the 10th Amendment revival.
Who says the founders were not brilliant…………..they knew what would happen when the federal government got too powerful.
Sort of like the lotto but with 1:1 odds……………if you play, you will win. But, of course, we the People will lose.
Democrats used to whine about how corrupt the system was with Republicans "buying" the White House. I've noticed they've shut up about that in the past few years.
Remember Rod Blagoyavich? Impeached Illinois governor and recently put in jail for 14 years? Obama is doing the same thing under the guise of green jobs. It's on a national scale, which is like, 1000% as large. Corruption at the highest level!
You have to understand Owebamas definition of "Green" is different .
His initiative is founded in the Chicago Style he grew up with .
You wash my back and then I will wash yours………..with a shower of Federal Tax Payers Money !!!!!!!
Blago , Ayers , Jackson Jr , Daley , Owebama and on and on ……
Is a bundler guilty of misprison felony charges when they raise $$ for an ineligible candidate? Shouldn't a bundler verify the candidate before they solicit funds to an illegal activity. Seems like this falls under racketeering laws.
Soliciting funds for election campaigns under fraudulent identities and forged documents are felony crimes. Seems like a legal beagle should be jumping on this criminal action.
They don't believe in global warming, they believe in the money and power that comes from the belief in global warming.
yes you are right unfortunately
i would be satisfied if we throw his ass out of office,
lets hope, pray, wish, whatever the conservatives don't slit each other throats!
Yes, he'll set up a luxury enclave in a country without an extradition treaty with the US.
You bags don't like the way we fund presidential campaigns then fix it. I actually agree that using bundlers is no way to do it. But you can't have it both ways. Either both sides get bundlers or no one gets bundlers.
And you can't be so naive to believe that somehow Obama invented the system.
You call us bags?
Have you looked in the mirror Helen?
You're the old fat stretched out old bag in the room. http://uglydemocrats.com/democrats/United-States/...
Raise 50 million for O, get a 5 billion dollar PV solar deal. Everyone who missed out in 08 will be on board for 2012, he will get his billion, where can I donate, comrade Barry?
d, my only concern with comparing Halliburton with companies like Solyndra is the fact that Halliburton provided services that were not available from other suppliers. Understand, I still think it was a sweetheart deal for Halliburton, but at least they had a viable and very profitable (long before Cheney became involved) business. In fact, Halliburton is still used by the DOD today.
In the case of Solyndra, there was never a viable business.
You stated, correctly: "Which is you LOSE five jobs for every one you create." Spain quickly moved to over 20% unemployment (official numbers, but probably understated) after embracing "green".
You are off your game. You must know that, by now, we are not baffled by BS. You either learn to be a bit more pithy or Uncle George is gonna cut off your internet connection.
The Tea Party had it right with the skunk comparison.
You're right. Haliburton got a bad rap for doing work no one else was prepared or able to do. I just would like to add this video to your post:
Spain disaster http://www.therightscoop.com/spains-green-disaste...
It isn't worth trying to post anything of substance on this site. It's too long! It's too long! Whiny clowns.
Okay, so he does the exact same as Republicans. So then what was all the hope and "Change" talk about?
Gov't grants to certain beneficiaries who return the favor to our Dear Leader and "others". Same pattern with unions and the DNC, BHO and " others ". Quite a Republic we have evolved into. Stand still little sheep.
Anyone who says Comrade Barry hasn't put America up for sale….
…. is lying (the Progressives and/or MSM) or stupid….
"The cronyism continues, and only outrage from the American people can stop it."
This is true. However, I have no hope that we will put a stop to it, because the majority of Americans fit into one of the following categories:
1. don't know about it (thanks to both the media and American apathy towards finding out the truth on their own)
2. don't care, especially if they are getting their own government goodies (after all, all this corruption is just on "the rich's" dime and no skin off their own nose)
Get back to the Constitution and most of this will be fixed. Which is exactly why the vast majority of federal politicians don't want to get back to the Constitution.
no argument.
It's who's ox is getting gored, really. There would be a tendency to agree with your assertion of Halliburton as more of a necessity than Solyndra. However, with KBR getting the contracts to 'get ready' the various FEMA camps nationwide we must wonder if we've become what we begat.
Nonetheless, the fact remains that it pays to have pals- and some 'pals' of theirs are certainly no pals of OURS…
those who are raising money for Obama received large amounts of taxpayer-funded energy stimulus money from the Obama Administration.
This is news?
The ENTIRE REASON for the existence of the Democrat Party is to figure out ever more ways of fleecing the taxpayers to transfer their property to the bloodsucking supporters of the Democrat Party.
Larry, thanks for the very informative video. Actually, our real un/under employment numbers are similar to those of Spain. You may find this site of interest… especially the shadow stats for unemployment and inflation. http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemplo...
Let's see; Barry loans money to his friends and their companies, to the tune of millions. Would it be a far stretch to believe that the money to his buddies comes with a cavait. I will loan you millions but you have to skim thousands off the top to give back to me for my reelection. Hence the American people are paying to reelect the jackass. Just a thought.It's just money laundering. They get millions he get's say 10% in return, once the money has been mixed in with their corporate cash, who's to know where it came from, us or them. Either way, it comes from US! Congradulations folks, he's found a way to have "US" reelect his crooked,vile,communist, gangsta,; I was going to say Mafia type ass, but I don't wnat to insult the mafia, back into the White House, where he can finish us off.Will anyone in this country do their journalistic duty and investigate this jerk?
Sure, but he will still be George Soros's lapdog
And when was the last time we had Congressional hearings on the injustice of gasoline prices? It appears that the price of gasoline has basically nothing to do with the President, but we NEVER get these hearings and press reports about this "travesty" when a dem is president, but ALWAYS with a repub in office. Amazing isn't it? Considering that gas prices have never been higher than under Obama's watch.
Yes, that is true. And right out my back door is an approved wind project. As soon as the project was approved, the wind company sold to another wind developer. We met with a representative of the new wind company — this representative told us that he had a couple of partners in Los Angeles and a couple in China. Nice that the Chinese are able to possess these 20+ year leases on US land which, as you say, are a lot more than just a windmill on top of land.
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