Friday, April 23, 2010

wall street and mr Blunt

odd this is asked of wall street for a "defender" of main street.


Published on Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (http://www.citizensforethics.org)

A blatant example of how money, politics and policy collide
By crew
Created 14 Apr 2010 - 9:59am
As the Senate begins debate over financial reform, Chris Harris from Media Matters [1] documents how politics and policy are influenced by Wall Street money. And, it doesn't seem like the Senate Republican leadership is being the least bit subtle about it:

In February, the Wall Street Journal reported [2]that Republicans were "stepping up their campaign to win donations from Wall Street. In discussions with Wall Street executives, Republicans are striving to make the case that they are banks' best hope of preventing President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats from cracking down on Wall Street."

Two months later, it seems the GOP is relying on the same strategy. In return for obstructing Democratic legislation to hold Wall Street CEOs accountable, Republican lawmakers are pressing bankers for financial help heading into the November elections.

FoxBusiness.com reported [3]that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman John Cornyn (R-TX) had a "private meeting" with "25 Wall Street executives, many of them hedge fund managers." After listening to "numerous complaints the executives have with the bill," the GOP lawmakers reportedly assured the bankers that Republicans would be their ally in the fight. After discussing likely Republican electoral gains this November, "McConnell and Cornyn made it clear they need Wall Street's help."

A day after the story broke about McConnell's "private meeting" with Wall Street bigwigs, he stormed onto the Senate floor to spout false attacks [4] on Democratic efforts to hold those bankers accountable. The timing was no coincidence.


No coincidence at all.

A few weeks ago, Reuters [5] reported that the Ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Richard Shelby from Alabama, told a gathering of bankers that the best way to defeat reform:

Asked what bankers could do to change the agenda, Shelby said, "What you can do is elect more Republicans to the U.S. Senate, that would help immensely." He asked each of the attendees to send $10,000 to Roy Blunt, a former House leader who is now running for Senate as a Republican in Missouri.





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Source URL:
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/44724
Links:
[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-harris/after-hobnobbing-with-ban_b_536005.html
[2] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703575004575043612216461790.html#printMode
[3] http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/government/street-execs-pols-earful-financial-reform/
[4] http://mediamattersaction.org/factcheck/201004130004
[5] http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62H3Q520100318

Monday, April 19, 2010

Mr. Blunt and buddies

New website lists some of Mr. Blunts insider buddies. nice to have buddies and this is not a full listing


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http://www.theveryworstofwashington.com/characters#roy_blunt


example of dozen or so buddies listed


Congressman Roy Blunt
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Congressman Roy Blunt, elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, quickly established himself as an influential power broker in the halls of Congress and on K Street. He rose through the ranks to become Majority Whip under Tom DeLay and briefly took his place as Majority Leader after DeLay resigned in disgrace. Named one of the 13 most corrupt members of Congress by an independent watchdog group, Blunt is known for his close ties with K Street’s lobbyist community. His wife Abigail and his three adult children are lobbyists too. According to the Washington Post, Blunt built an extensive political machine characterized by “fundraising committees, extensive favor-giving and alliances with Republican lobbyists.” For example, hours before the final vote on a Homeland Security bill, Blunt was caught trying to insert a special provision for tobacco giant Phillip Morris, for whom his son and current wife were lobbyists. Blunt also voted to weaken the ban on lobbyists’ gifts to members of Congress, and took dozens of trips on corporate jets – including trips provided by Brent Wilkes who was convicted of bribery. Congressman Blunt was a close associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Blunt received thousands of dollars from Abramoff and was one of only eight congressmen who were listed as a “friend of the owner” at Abramoff’s restaurant in Washington. He has taken more money from lobbyists than any other member of Congress. Now he’s running for US Senate. [Washington Post, 5/17/05, New York Times, 9/4/08, USA Today 10/04/09]
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Perlman Blunt
Abigail Perlman Blunt is Congressman Blunt’s wife and frequently cited as one of Washington, DC’s top corporate lobbyists and a fixture on the DC party circuit. Abigail lobbied for Altria Corporate Services, the parent company of tobacco giant Phillip Morris, before moving to Kraft Foods (another Altria subsidiary) in 2009. According to Roll Call in 2003, Abigail “was a central part of [Altria’s] lobbying efforts in the House. Her strong ties to the Republican leadership make her one of the most successful tobacco industry lobbyists in town.” Congressman Roy Blunt raised eyebrows in 2003, when, in the fall of 2002, Roy Blunt secretly attempted to insert a provision benefiting Philip Morris, presumably on behalf of his then-girlfriend Abigail, into a homeland security bill just hours before the legislation was scheduled for a final vote. After learning of the provision, House Speaker Dennis Hastert had it removed from the proposed language, but not before raising serious questions about Congressman Blunt’s motives. Even Republicans who learned of the incident privately express concern that Blunt pushed the provision partly because of his personal relationship with a Philip Morris lobbyist. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch later wrote that Blunt’s provision “doesn’t just look bad, it is bad. Questions of nepotism and sweetheart deals for tobacco companies aside, ethical members of Congress don’t embarrass their colleagues – and betray the public – by trying to sneak legislation under the radar screen.” [Washington Post, 6/11/03; St. Louis Post Dispatch, 6/13/03; House Lobbying Disclosure Database; Roll Call, 9/8/03; Politico]
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Do we need such a senator?

Thursday, April 15, 2010

betty boop for president 1932

folks might wish to make comparison with Sara P