OBAMA’S YEAR IN REVIEW…A Look Back At Obama’s Rocky Third Year Where Many Of Obama’s Pay to Play  Have Come To Light…

MAJOR SCANDALS SHADES OF PAY TO PLAY

Meetings With Donors On The Economy In The Blue Room

Just Before Announcing For Reelection, Obama Brought Two Dozen Wall Street Executives And Long-Time Donors To The White House. “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.” (Nicholas Confessore, “Obama Seeks To Win Back Wall St. Cash,” The New York Times, 6/12/11)

• Obama “Opened The Floor” For The Donors To Talk To Him “On Hot Issues.” “The guests were asked for their thoughts on how to speed the economic recovery, then the president opened the floor for over an hour on hot issues like hedge fund regulation and the deficit.” (Nicholas Confessore, “Obama Seeks To Win Back Wall St. Cash,” The New York Times, 6/12/11)

·       All 30 Attendees Had Donated To Obama’s 2008 Campaign. “All 30 guests were donors to Obama's 2008 campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. Most have some tie to Wall Street or high finance.”(Josh Gerstein, “All At DNC Blue Room Meeting With Obama Were Donors,” Politico’s “Under The Radar,” 6/26/11)

Bundlers In The Spotlight

The Sunlight Foundation Said Obama’s Bundler List Is “A Veritable Rolodex Of The Rich And Powerful Across The Country.” “The Sunlight Foundation, which tracks campaign contributions, called Mr. Obama’s bundler list ‘a veritable Rolodex of the rich and powerful across the country — among them you’ll notice a C.E.O., editor, former politician and even a former lobbyist.’” (Michael D. Shear, “Obama’s Haul: Big Money From Big Donors,” The New York Times, 7/15/11)

“Big Bundlers” Are Replacing Big Donors As The Ones Who Get “Special Access And Influence.” “’It used to be before we had contribution limits, that it was people who gave very large contributions who got special access and influence,’ said Fred Wertheimer, president of the group Democracy 21. ‘The big donors have been replaced by big bundlers.’” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

Bundling For Obama “Offers Executives Another Path To Top-Level Access.” “Though Obama has refused to take contributions from lobbyists or political action committees, the rise of bundlers – the key players in contemporary fundraising – offers executives another path to top-level access.” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

Obama’s 2012 Bundler List “Features A Number Of People Involved In The Business Of Influencing Government.” “A list of Obama’s own top fundraisers features a number of people involved in the business of influencing government, including the head of a lobbying and public relations firm, the corporate executive who oversees Comcast’s lobbying efforts and the chairwoman of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s political action committee, among others.” (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,” 7/20/11)

Obama Is Ignoring His Pledge To Not Take Money From Lobbyists, Raising Millions From “Prominent Supporters Who Are Active In The Lobbying Industry.” “Despite a pledge not to take money from lobbyists, President Obama has relied on prominent supporters who are active in the lobbying industry to raise millions of dollars for his re-election bid.” (Eric Lichtblau, “Obama Backers Tied To Lobbies Raise Millions,” The New York Times, 10/27/11)

·       At Least 15 Of Obama’s Bundlers Are In The Lobbying Industry And Have Raised Over $5 Million For Obama’s Reelection Campaign. “At least 15 of Mr. Obama’s ‘bundlers’ — supporters who contribute their own money to his campaign and solicit it from others — are involved in lobbying for Washington consulting shops or private companies. They have raised more than $5 million so far for the campaign.”(Eric Lichtblau, “Obama Backers Tied To Lobbies Raise Millions,” The New York Times, 10/27/11) Source