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President Barack Obama has repeatedly violated his innovative campaign promise to ban lobbyists from his administration by hiring at least a dozen to high-profile positions, including several to his cabinet.
Obama’s famously coined lobbyists “won’t find a job in my White House” rhetoric has turned out to be a bad a joke, proving that, mainstream media adulation aside, he’s no different than most politicians. Broken campaign promises have for decades been par for the course among the nation’s most famous elected figures and the 44th president evidently is no exception.
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama campaigned on a pledge to change Washington, vowing to upend the lobbying culture he encountered when he joined the U.S. Senate.
But at least nine members of President-elect Obama's fast-growing transition team have worked as federally registered lobbyists within the past four years. They include former lobbyists for the nation's trial lawyers association, mortgage giant Fannie Mae, drug companies such as Amgen, high-tech firms such as Microsoft, labor unions and the liberal advocacy group Center for American Progress.
In the campaign, Obama assailed Washington's "entire culture" in which "our leaders have thrown open the doors of Congress and the White House to an army of Washington lobbyists who have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play." He vowed to "close the revolving door" and "clean up both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue" with "the most sweeping ethics reform in history."
Originally posted by marg6043
Hon, if he was to clean Washington from lobbyist like he "promised" he will be without any qualify member for his cabinet and government will be at a stand still.
Originally posted by maybereal11
reply to post by FlyersFan
Judicial Watch might portray themselves as "bi-partisan" but they proudly own a very conservative agenda.
[edit on 3-2-2009 by maybereal11]
Originally posted by Frankidealist35
So he didn't lie... he COMPROMISED. BIG DIFFERENCE.
On Friday, the White House dropped a ban on federal lobbyists verbally contacting government agency officials to discuss projects that are part of the $787 billion fiscal stimulus package.
The prohibition against oral communication with lobbyists now is in place only for competitively bid applications for stimulus package projects. The ban is also now directed at non-lobbyists too, according to a white House blog written by ethics official Norm Eisen and cited on Roll Call News