The pantsuit revolutionary is at it again. Once again demonstrating her populist chops by employing the services of lobbyists to bundle millions in campaign funds. It’s no wonder opinion polls on her have been plunging as of late.
We learn from Bloomberg that:
When Barack Obama was running for the presidency in 2008—and later for reelection in 2012—he promised he wouldn’t take money from registered lobbyists, not even as bundlers. In the race to succeed him, Hillary Clinton is not following in his footsteps.
The former secretary of state raised more than $2 million from 40 “bundlers”—fundraisers who get their contacts to give to campaigns—who were also lobbyists, according to financial forms released Wednesday by the Federal Election Commission. In all, the Clinton campaign raised $46.7 million between the beginning of April and the end of June.
Clinton’s bundlers include some familiar names: Jerry Crawford, an outside lobbyist to Monsanto and Iowa kingmaker, put together another $35,000 or so. Tony Podesta, a mega-lobbyist who co-founded the Podesta Group and is the brother of Clinton’s campaign chair John, bundled almost $75,000.
Other bundlers lobby for big companies including Microsoft (Fred Humphries) and Exxon Mobil (Theresa Fariello) or industry groups including the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (Daphna Peled). Another group includes former staffers for prominent Democratic politicians (including President Clinton) and politicians themselves, including former South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges. Lobbyist bundlers don’t have to disclose their employers, but the names appear on both Clinton’s disclosures and 2015 lobbyist registrations.
She certainly knows how to diversify her portfolio when it comes to people who bribe U.S. Congress for a living.
Clinton was the only Democrat running for president to have declared lobbyist bundlers as of Thursday. Two Republicans candidates, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, also filed disclosures on lobbyist bundlers, with Bush raising more than $228,000 from eight lobbyist bundlers and Rubio raising more than $133,000 from three lobbyist bundlers.
Lobbyist participation in a campaign can be hard to avoid: Despite President Obama’s promise, the New York Times found in 2011 that at least 15 of his bundlers had strong links to lobbyists, including “overseeing” them, even if they weren’t registered themselves.
But hey,
For related articles, see:
Hillary Clinton Blasts High Frequency Trading Ahead of Fundraiser with High Frequency Trader
Where Does Hillary Stand on the TPP? 45 Public Statements Tell You Everything You Need to Know
Cartoons Mocking “Goldman Rats” and Hillary Clinton Appear All Over NYC
How UCLA Tried to Negotiate a Lower Speaking Fee, but Hillary Clinton Refused and Demanded $300,000
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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mike you’ve been busy! what a flurry of articles !
prolific if protastic.
i would really like to do a write up of randpauls bogus tax promises for your blog. rand paul is a big liar about taxes and as a reasonable person with an attention for history of taxation, and i happen to , yes nominally be a republican, it sorta disgusts me what a liar he is.
if you’re interested in my short opinion piece on rand paul and tax lies. i’ll write it.
p.s. i’m not against flat income tax, but his proposal is simply smoke and mirrors for regressive tax policy not to favor the rich, but to punish the working poor and middle.