But wait, I thought that Obama was the candidate of the little people, and that he was so proud that he had raised all his money by collecting jillions of piddling internet donations? Obama couldn’t have…lied to me, could he? I mean, it can’t be true that over 1/3 of his total donations have come from Washington special interest groups? I thought he said he wasn’t going to take money from special interests.
Behind those large donations is a phalanx of more than 500 Obama “bundlers,” fund-raisers who have each collected contributions totaling $50,000 or more. Many of the bundlers come from industries with critical interests in Washington (emphasis mine). Nearly three dozen of the bundlers have raised more than $500,000, including more than a half-dozen who have passed the $1 million mark and one or two who have exceeded $2 million, according to interviews with fund-raisers.
Now, I don’t have a problem with taking money from special interests, actually – that’s how the game is played. What I have a problem with is Obama saying that he’s not going to do something, and then turning around and doing that exact thing that he said he’s not going to do.
Now, I’m that the Obama Disciples out there will cry and shout out that “but Ahab, he’s not taking money from registered lobbyists or PACs”, to which I would say “so what, he’s taking huge chunks of money from people with serious special interests in Washington”. In fact, I’d actually rather he took money from lobbyists and PACs, because then their agendas are clearly defined – whereas the over 100 million dollars he’s received from CEOs and bigtime corporate execs (wait, I thought he was about helping the middle class, why is he courting all these corporations?) obviously has string attached, but we don’t know what strings they are.
This is part of my big problem with Obama – I believe that he’ll say and do anything to get elected, and he has no problem telling you and me that he’s going to stick it to the “corporate fatcats” while at the exact same time he’s rolling around in over 100 million dollars of their money. I should note again that I actually don’t have a problem with him taking these donations – there’s nothing unethical about that. What I find unethical and well, kind of scummy, is that he’s essentially found a way to keep his promise about not taking money from PACs and lobbyists on paper and has instead just decided to take money from people with serious agendas who don’t happen to be registered lobbyists.
An analysis of campaign finance records shows that about two-thirds of his bundlers are concentrated in four major industries: law, securities and investments, real estate and entertainment. Lawyers make up the largest group at about 130, with many working for firms that also have lobbying arms.
To everyone who says that he’s going to bring “change” to Washington and the country, I actually agree with you. But I don’t think that it’s the kind of change that we’re going to want or need to make our country a better place. The last thing we need is a guy who says one thing, and then finds loopholes in his own statements to skate through to be our leader.