Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Smell the Obama hypocrisy

Via Donna Darko, Roseanne:

Obama's presidential campaign has received nearly $5 million dollars from securities and investment firms and $866,000 from commercial banks through October of 2007. Obama's top contributor so far is Goldman Sachs (provider of $369,078 to Obama), identified by Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) investigators as "a major proponent of privatizing Social Security as well as legislation that would essentially deregulate the investment banking/securities industry."

Eight of Obama's top twenty election investors are securities and investment firms: Goldman Sachs, Lehman Bros. (number 2 at $229,090), J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. (# 4 at $216,759), Citadel Investment Group (#7 at 4166,608), UBS AG ($146,150), UBS-America ($106,680), Morgan Stanley ($104,421), and Credit Suisse Group ($92,300). The last two firms are also known to be leading privatization advocates (Center for Responsive Politics 2007a).

Senator Obama has made the following statement," I don't take money from oil and gas companies and I don't take money from lobbyists." From the Center for Responsive Politics he accepted $160,000.00 from major oil companies, Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP and others. Two of his top bundlers George Kaiser and Robert Cavnar are CEO's for major oil companies. Last month, Obama accepted another $8400.00 from ExxonMobile, $12,370.00 from Chevron and $6500.00 from British Petroleum.. These are the funds and contributors for 2008 Finance/Insurance $15,087,469.00, $7,035,249 Communications, $6,715,680.00 Securities, $5,069,186.00 $10,261,541.00 Education there is a little more than $8,000,000.00 undisclosed. . .

From Donna Darko:

Rosanne wasn’t kidding. Popular progressive website, opensecrets.org, confirms it. According to Rosanne, Obama’s top contributor is Goldman Sachs ($523,478), a major proponent of privatizing Social Security and legislation that would deregulate the investment banking/securities industry (Center for Responsive Politics). Eight of Obama’s top twenty investors are securities and investment firms and one is a leading privatization advocate (Center for Responsive Politics 2007a).

When Obama parroted GOP talking points about the crisis of Social Security, liberals who fought Bush's privatization scam were taken aback. Of course, some of 'em were soothed by BO's baritone explanation. Others more qualified, Paul Krugman, recognized it's a sucker's game. Like Krugman, I don't believe Obama supports the privatization of Social Security. Barry declares as much on his website. And we can trust him, can't we? *cough*

But something is afoot with such sizable donations from Wall Street and Big Oil donors. Maybe his automatic workplace pension plan and savings incentives are the reason for the investment and banking moolah. M'yeah, that's it. What else could it be? Factoring in how he's hectored Hillary for accepting money from lobbyists as if he doesn't cozy up to K Street... whassup?

To outspend Clinton 3-to-1, sometimes 4-to-1, in advertising requires some major cha-ching. And he's got a new ad attacking Hillary Clinton for taking lobbyist money in contradiction to his own lobbyist network.

Can't you smell it?