Saturday, July 31, 2010

OBAMA'S CULTURE OF CORRUPTION - THE LA RAZA DEMS SELLING US OUT TO ILLEGALS

Shaping up to be the most corrupt
administration in American history:
• Obama’s team: Not the “best of the Washington insiders,” as the liberal media style them, but rather, a dysfunctional and dangerous conglomerate of business-as-usual cronies and hacks
• In the first two weeks alone of his infant administration, Obama had made no fewer than 17 exceptions to his “no-lobbyist” rule
• Why the fact that the massive infusion of union dues into his campaign treasury didn’t trouble him in the least reveals Obama’s credibility as a reformer
• The lack of unprecedented pace of withdrawals and botched appointments -- and how getting through the confirmation process was no guarantee of ethical cleanliness or competence, even as Obama’s cheerleaders were glorifying the Greatest Transition in World History
• Inconsistency: How Obama, erstwhile critic of the campaign finance practice known as “bundling,” happily accepted more than $350,000 in bundled contributions from billionaire hedge-fund managers
• How Obama broke his transparency pledge with the very first bill he signed into law -- helping make hostility to transparency is a running thread through Obama’s cabinet
• Michelle Obama: Beneath the cultured pearls, sleeveless designer dresses, and eyelashes applied by her full-time makeup artist, is a hardball Chicago politico
• Joe Biden: It’s not just that he lies, it’s that he lies so well that you think he really believes the stuff he makes up
• Treasury Secretary Geithner: His ineptness and epic blundering -- including how he nearly caused the collapse of the dollar in international trade with a single remark
• The appalling story of Technology Czar Vivek Kundra, the convicted shoplifter in charge of the entire federal government’s information security infrastructure
• Obama’s “Porker of the Month” Transportation Secretary, Roy LaHood: An earmark-addicted influence peddler born and raised on the politics of pay-to-play
• SEIU: Responsible for installing a cabal of hand-chosen officers who exploited their cash-infused fiefdoms for personal gain and presided over rigged elections -- in the process, becoming all that they had professed to stand against as representatives of the downtrodden worker
• How Obama lied on his “Fight the Smears” campaign website when he claimed that he “never organized with ACORN”
• ACORN: How the profound threat the group poses is not merely ideological or economic -- it’s electoral
• ACORN’s own internal review of shady money transfers among its web of affiliates: How it underscores concerns that conservatives have long raised about the organization
• Liar, liar, pantsuit on fire: How Hillary Clinton has already trampled upon her promise not to let her husband’s financial dealings sway her decisions as Secretary of State
• How even a few principled progressives are finally beginning to question the cult of Obama -- even as Obama sycophants in the mainstream media continue to celebrate his “hipness” and “swagga”
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The Democrats’ Culture of Corruption
by Roger Hedgecock (more by this author)
Posted 10/23/2009 ET
Updated 10/26/2009 ET

Democrats took control of the House in 2006 and the White House in 2008 by successfully painting the Republican majority as a "Culture of Corruption."

Will voters now hold Democrats to the same standard as an even worse culture of corruption unfolds among Democrats?

To kick off the Culture of Corruption campaign against the Republicans, on January 18, 2006, Nancy Pelosi gathered Democratic House leaders for a press conference in the Thomas Jefferson building of the Library of Congress to declare "Independence from special interests" and "an end to the Republican culture of corruption."

Pelosi charged that the Republican House majority had "turned Congress into an auction house--for sale to the highest bidder", vowed to end "the K Street project" and to lead the effort "to turn the most closed, corrupt Congress in history into the most open and honest Congress in history."

Pelosi went on to specifically vow that she would "end 'dead of night' special interest provisions that turn bills into special interest giveaways" and that "lawmakers must have the opportunity to read every bill before they vote on it. It's common sense."

She further vowed to "prohibit cronyism on key appointments by making sure any individual appointed to a position has proven credentials" and demanded "strong (ethics) enforcement, with an active and functioning Ethics Committee."

Pelosi concluded the press conference flatly promising "With this agenda, Democrats will create the most open and honest government in history, and put power back where it belongs -- in the hands of all the people".

Nearly four years later, power flows to more lobbyists than ever, thousand-page plus bills are not made available for anyone to read before they’re voted on and special interest amendments festoon these bills like ornaments on the White House Christmas tree. More than 30 "czars" (too many of them radical leftists) are appointed with no "proven credentials".

The President shakes down Wall Street for campaign contributions as a "thank you" present (as the New York Times put it) for the big bailouts. Candidate Obama repeatedly said, "I'm the only candidate who doesn't take money from corporate PACs and lobbyists," but he really never bought the Pelosi "corruption" rhetoric.

On October 1, 2007, candidate Obama spent three hours in person and in a video conference in the Miami offices of Greenberg Traurig with employees and partners of this billion dollar law and lobbying firm once associated with Jack Abramoff. Obama raised $125,000 from the firm that year.

Charlie Rangel claims ignorance on taxes owed on rental income, even as he writes tax law for the House. On Pelosi’s orders, the Ethics Committee ignores Charlie's lapses and refuses to hold hearings or investigate. Charlie keeps his chairmanship. He does not resign as Tom DeLay did.

"Turbo Tax" Tim Geithner claims ignorance on taxes not paid he previously acknowledged in writing he would pay. Tim becomes the Treasury Secretary.

The revolving door of executives from “too big to fail” companies into the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve and then back out to jobs and big bonuses in the firms they “regulated” stinks of corruption.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid holds days of closed door meetings with two other Democrat Senators and Rahm Emanuel from the White House to secretly write the health "reform" bill. A "dead of night" amendment at Reid's request immunizes only his state of Nevada from increased costs associated with the "reform" bill's expansion of Medicaid.

“The Most Honest and Open Government” sounded good, but calling Reid, Pelosi, and Obama’s actual practices the most open and honest is a whole lot like saying that Tammany Hall represented good government for the citizens of the City of New York!

To be sure the GOP has had its problems with corruption; but for every Jack Abramoff there is a Jack Murtha. For Every Duke Cunningham, there is a William Jefferson (D-La.) with a freezer full of cold hard cash. Where’s the promised clean, honest, and open government ?

For Nancy Pelosi’s 2006 assertion to ring true one would have to see the pool of lobbying and pay-for-play money dry up. The number of registered lobbyists has increased since Obama’s inauguration to over 18,000 and campaign contributions to both parties are coming in like there is no recession.

It is not for nothing that Washington, D.C. has a 6% unemployment rate and the Washington Times regards the Beltway as the new ‘it’ town when it comes to being young, rich and beautiful. These are not the best and brightest, they are the bought and paid for -- and they are buying and selling you, on behalf of the Pelosi, Rangel, Geithner, Reid, Obama regime.

Lest I be labeled a naked partisan, let me give some credit to Obama, who was correct when he said in 2006, “"Freedom today is in jeopardy it is being threatened by corruption. Corruption is not a new problem…it is a human problem.” Obama was right. But when he uttered those words he was speaking to students at the University of Nairobi about their country, Kenya. Sadly those words now apply to Obama’s America.

It is a shame the President and the Democrat congressional leadership has come up so short for those who voted to see hope and change but who instead have experienced being short changed by the new culture of corruption.

Will American voters hold the Democrats accountable in 2010 ? Will the Republicans offer an alternative or show any sign that they have learned their lesson?

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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Thursday, July 9, 2009

And Harvard economics professor JEFFREY MIRON will weigh in on the state of the U.S. economy—and why the only plausible argument for bailing out banks crumbles on close examination.
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GET THIS BOOK!

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Obamanomics: How Barack Obama Is Bankrupting You and Enriching His Wall Street Friends, Corporate Lobbyists, and Union Bosses

BY TIMOTHY P CARNEY


Editorial Reviews
Obama Is Making You Poorer—But Who’s Getting Rich?
Goldman Sachs, GE, Pfizer, the United Auto Workers—the same “special interests” Barack Obama was supposed to chase from the temple—are profiting handsomely from Obama’s Big Government policies that crush taxpayers, small businesses, and consumers. In Obamanomics, investigative reporter Timothy P. Carney digs up the dirt the mainstream media ignores and the White House wishes you wouldn’t see. Rather than Hope and Change, Obama is delivering corporate socialism to America, all while claiming he’s battling corporate America. It’s corporate welfare and regulatory robbery—it’s Obamanomics.
Congressman Ron Paul says, “Every libertarian and free-market conservative needs to read Obamanomics.” And Johan Goldberg, columnist and bestselling author says, “Obamanomics is conservative muckraking at its best and an indispensable field guide to the Obama years.”
If you’ve wondered what’s happening to America, as the federal government swallows up the financial sector, the auto industry, and healthcare, and enacts deficit exploding “stimulus packages,” this book makes it all clear—it’s a big scam. Ultimately, Obamanomics boils down to this: every time government gets bigger, somebody’s getting rich, and those somebodies are friends of Barack. This book names the names—and it will make your blood boil.
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Obama Is Making You Poorer—But Who’s Getting Rich?
Goldman Sachs, GE, Pfizer, the United Auto Workers—the same “special interests” Barack Obama was supposed to chase from the temple—are profiting handsomely from Obama’s Big Government policies that crush taxpayers, small businesses, and consumers.
Investigative reporter Timothy P. Carney digs up the dirt the mainstream media ignores and the White House wishes you wouldn’t see. Rather than Hope and Change, Obama is delivering corporate socialism to America, all while claiming he’s battling corporate America. It’s corporate welfare and regulatory robbery—it’s Obamanomics. In this explosive book, Carney reveals:
* The Great Health Care Scam—Obama’s backroom deals with drug companies spell corporate profits and more government control
* The Global Warming Hoax—Obama has bought off industries with a pork-filled bill that will drain your wallet for Al Gore’s agenda
* Obama and Wall Street—“Change” means more bailouts and a heavy Goldman Sachs presence in the West Wing (including Rahm Emanuel)
* Stimulating K Street—The largest spending bill in history gave pork to the well-connected and created a feeding frenzy for lobbyists
* How the GOP needs to change its tune—drastically—to battle Obamanomics
If you’ve wondered what’s happening to our country, as the federal government swallows up the financial sector, the auto industry, and healthcare, and enacts deficit exploding “stimulus packages” that create make-work government jobs, this book makes it all clear—it’s a big scam. Ultimately, Obamanomics boils down to this: every time government gets bigger, somebody’s getting rich, and those somebodies are friends of Barack. This book names the names—and it will make your blood boil.
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Praise for Obamanomics
“The notion that ‘big business’ is on the side of the free market is one of progressivism’s most valuable myths. It allows them to demonize corporations by day and get in bed with them by night. Obamanomics is conservative muckraking at its best. It reveals how President Obama is exploiting the big business mythology to undermine the free market and stick it to entrepreneurs, taxpayers, and consumers. It’s an indispensable field guide to the Obama years.”
—Jonha Goldberg, LA Times columnist and best-selling author
“‘Every time government gets bigger, somebody’s getting rich.’ With this astute observation, Tim Carney begins his task of laying bare the Obama administration’s corporatist governing strategy, hidden behind the president’s populist veneer. This meticulously researched book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how Washington really works.”
—David Freddoso, best-selling author of The Case Against Barack Obama
“Every libertarian and free-market conservative who still believes that large corporations are trusted allies in the battle for economic liberty needs to read this book, as does every well-meaning liberal who believes that expansions of the welfare-regulatory state are done to benefit the common people.”
—Congressman Ron Paul
“It’s understandable for critics to condemn President Obama for his ‘socialism.’ But as Tim Carney shows, the real situation is at once more subtle and more sinister. Obamanomics favors big business while disproportionately punishing everyone else. So-called progressives are too clueless to notice, as usual, which is why we have Tim Carney and this book.”
—Thomas E. Woods, Jr., best-selling author of Meltdown and The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to American History
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• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Press (November 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596986123
• ISBN-13: 978-1596986121
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ARE AMAZED AT HOW UTTERLY BRAZEN THESE CORPORATE OWNED POLITICIANS ARE?
GET THIS BOOK!
Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies
by Michelle Malkin
Editorial Reviews
In her shocking new book, Malkin digs deep into the records of President Obama's staff, revealing corrupt dealings, questionable pasts, and abuses of power throughout his administration.
From the Inside Flap
The era of hope and change is dead....and it only took six months in office to kill it.
Never has an administration taken office with more inflated expectations of turning Washington around. Never have a media-anointed American Idol and his entourage fallen so fast and hard. In her latest investigative tour de force, New York Times bestselling author Michelle Malkin delivers a powerful, damning, and comprehensive indictment of the culture of corruption that surrounds Team Obama's brazen tax evaders, Wall Street cronies, petty crooks, slum lords, and business-as-usual influence peddlers. In Culture of Corruption, Malkin reveals:
* Why nepotism beneficiaries First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are Team Obama's biggest liberal hypocrites--bashing the corporate world and influence-peddling industries from which they and their relatives have benefited mightily
* What secrets the ethics-deficient members of Obama's cabinet--including Hillary Clinton--are trying to hide
* Why the Obama White House has more power-hungry, unaccountable "czars" than any other administration
* How Team Obama's first one hundred days of appointments became a litany of embarrassments as would-be appointee after would-be appointee was exposed as a tax cheat or had to withdraw for other reasons
* How Obama's old ACORN and union cronies have squandered millions of taxpayer dollars and dues money to enrich themselves and expand their power
* How Obama's Wall Street money men and corporate lobbyists are ruining the economy and helping their friends In Culture of Corruption, Michelle Malkin lays bare the Obama administration's seamy underside that the liberal media would rather keep hidden.

• Publisher: Regnery Publishing (July 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596981091
• ISBN-13: 978-1596981096

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JUDICIAL WATCH’S TEN MOST CORRUPT............................................ 2007
Unfortunately the corruption of these politicians noted is only a drop in the bucket of what they’re guilty of.
One common ground for all of them is they will all protect and cover each other’s crimes.

1. SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON D-NY: In addition to her long and sordid ethics record, Senator Hillary Clinton took a lot of heat in 2007 – and rightly so – for blocking the release her official White House records. Many suspect these records contain a treasure trove of information related to her role in a number of serious Clinton-era scandals. Moreover, in March 2007, Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint against Senator Clinton for filing false financial disclosure forms with the U.S. Senate (again). And Hillary’s top campaign contributor, Norman Hsu, was exposed as a felon and a fugitive from justice in 2007. Hsu pleaded guilty to one count of grand theft for defrauding investors as part of a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.
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CLINTON IS A MAJOR LA RAZA SUPPORTER AND ADVANCED BUSH’S BIT BY BIT AMNESTY ALONG WITH HER OWN CHAIN MIGRATION WHICH IS CALCULATED TO DOUBLE THE 40 MILLION ILLEGALS ALREADY HERE.
CLINTON IS ALSO VERY MUCH IN BED WITH THE SAUDIS WHOM GAVE 10 MILLION TO BILL CLINTON’S LIBRARY. NO COMMENT ON THE FACT THE SAUDIS ARE MAJOR FINANCIERS OF TERRORISM, INCLUDING BOMBERS IN IRAQ KILLING OUR PEOPLE, OR THE SAUDI FUNDED WAHHABI SCHOOLS WHICH PROMOTE ULTRA-FASCIST MUSLIM IDEOLOGIES.
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2. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI):
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3. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID):
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4. SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on military construction, Feinstein reviewed military construction government contracts, some of which were ultimately awarded to URS Corporation and Perini, companies then owned by Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum. While the Pentagon ultimately awards military contracts, there is a reason for the review process. The Senate's subcommittee on Military Construction's approval carries weight. Sen. Feinstein, therefore, likely had influence over the decision making process. Senator Feinstein also attempted to undermine ethics reform in 2007, arguing in favor of a perk that allows members of Congress to book multiple airline flights and then cancel them without financial penalty. Judicial Watch’s investigation into this matter is ongoing.
YOU SAW FEINSTEIN, AND HER PIMP-HUSBAND, RICHARD C BLUM, AT OBAMA’S INAUGURAL. BLUM KEEPS DEM POLS MOUTH CLOSED TIGHT ON FEINSTEIN’S SELF-SERVING CORRUPTION, PIMPED BY BLUM, BY HANDING OUT MONEY LEFT AND RIGHT. BLUM HAS PAID LEGAL BRIBES TO – BOXER – KERRY – KENNEDY – CLINTON – OBAMA – AND THE OTHER WAR WHORE, JOE LIEBERMAN.
DIANNE FEINSTEIN IS THE PAID ADVOCATE FOR RED CHINA IN CONGRESS.
FEINSTEIN TRADED TWO (BOXER’S) NO IMPEACHMENT PROMISES TO GEORGE W. BUSH FOR HER PIMP’S ACCESS TO THE CARLYLE BIG BUSH SAUDI OIL WAR PROFITEERING CLUB. WITH HER FIRST WAR PROFITS CHECK FEINSTEIN WENT OUT AND PURCHASED A $17 MILLION DOLLAR MANSION IN SAN FRANCISCO. FEINSTEIN RANKS AS ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT POLITICIANS IN AMERICAN HISTORY WHICH MADE HER ATTRACTION TO BOTH BUSH AND OBAMA OBVIOUS.
FEINSTEIN HAS LONG BEEN ENDORSED BY THE FASCIST MEXICAN SUPREMACIST POLITICAL PARTY OF LA RAZA, AND TIRELESSLY WORKS FOR NO AMNESTY, NO WALL, NO ID FOR ILLEGALS TO VOTE, NO ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS PROHIBITING THE EMPLOYMENT OF ILLEGALS, AND NO E-VERIFY.
FEINSTEIN HAS LONG ILLEGALLY EXPLOITED “CHEAP” LABOR ILLEGALS AT HER SAN FRANCISCO HOTEL.
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5. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY):
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6. Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR
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7. I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby: Libby, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick
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8. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): A “Dishonorable Mention” last year, Senator Obama moves onto the “ten most wanted” list in 2007. In 2006, it was discovered that Obama was involved in a suspicious real estate deal with an indicted political fund raiser, Antoin “Tony” Rezko. In 2007, more reports surfaced of deeper and suspicious business and political connections It was reported that just two months after he joined the Senate, Obama purchased $50,000 worth of stock in speculative companies whose major investors were his biggest campaign contributors. One of the companies was a biotech concern that benefitted from legislation Obama pushed just two weeks after the senator purchased $5,000 of the company’s shares. Obama was also nabbed conducting campaign business in his Senate office, a violation of federal law.
FEW HAVE TAKEN MORE MONEY FROM WALL STREET BANKSTERS THAN OBAMA, AND FEW HAVE DONE MORE FOR THEM TO PROTECT THEM FROM PROSECUTION, AND CONTINUE THE TRANSFER OF THIS ONCE GREAT NATION’S ECONOMY OVER TO THE CORPORATE CLASS WHICH OWNS HIM.
OBAMA IS A MAJOR HISPANDERER AND HAS PROMISED WALL STREET AMNESTY FOR 38 MILLION ILLEGALS TO KEEP WAGES DEPRESSED AND PROFIT MARGINS SWOLLEN. NO WORD FROM OBAMA ON MEXICAN GANGS MURDERING BLACKS IN COLD BLOOD IN LOS ANGELES. DO SEARCH LOS ANGELES TIMES.
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9. REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who promised a new era of ethics enforcement in the House of Representatives, snuck a $25 million gift to her husband, Paul Pelosi, in a $15 billion Water Resources Development Act recently passed by Congress. The pet project involved renovating ports in Speaker Pelosi's home base of San Francisco. Pelosi just happens to own apartment buildings near the areas targeted for improvement, and will almost certainly experience a significant boost in property value as a result of Pelosi's earmark. Earlier in the year, Pelosi found herself in hot water for demanding access to a luxury Air Force jet to ferry the Speaker and her entourage back and forth from San Francisco non-stop, in unprecedented request which was wisely rejected by the Pentagon. And under Pelosi’s leadership, the House ethics process remains essentially shut down – which protects members in both parties from accountability.

PELOSI HAS LONG HIRED ILLEGALS TO WORK HER 20 MILLION DOLLAR NAPA WINERY. SHE HAS SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENTS IN SUNKIST WHICH HAS A POLICY AGAINST PAYING LIVING WAGES OR HIRING LEGALS. SHE WORKS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS WITH THE OTHER LA RAZA SUPPORTERS, FEINSTEIN, BOXER, ESHOO, LOFGREN, SANCHEZ, WAXMAN, KENNEDY, HARMAN, BACA, HONDA, FONG, BECERRA AND REID TO KEEP THE BORDERS OPEN. SHE HAS WORKED TIRELESSLY TO SABOTAGE THE WALL TO PROTECT US FROM NARCO-MEX.

10. SENATOR HARRY REID (D-NV): Over the last few years, Reid has been embroiled in a series of scandals that cast serious doubt on his credibility as a self-professed champion of government ethics, and 2007 was no different. According to The Los Angeles Times, over the last four years, Reid has used his influence in Washington to help a developer, Havey Whittemore, clear obstacles for a profitable real estate deal. As the project advanced, the Times reported, “Reid received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Whittemore.” Whittemore also hired one of Reid’s sons (Leif) as his personal lawyer and then promptly handed the junior Reid the responsibility of negotiating the real estate deal with federal officials. Leif Reid even called his father’s office to talk about how to obtain the proper EPA permits, a clear conflict of interest.
ON BEHALF OF HIS BIG GAMBLING BRIBE-STERS, REID WORKS WITH THE CALIFORNIA LA RAZA GIRLS FOR OPEN BORDERS, AMNESTY AND NO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAINST ILLEGALS. HIS STATE IS NOW 25% ILLEGAL, AND NEXT TO CALIFORNIA, HAS THE HIGHEST RATES OF FORECLOSURES.
SENATOR BARBARA BOXER, CA. Although Boxer did not make the TOP TEN CORRUPT in 2007, it’s probably only because there wasn’t enough room. Boxer is as corrupt as they come. She has used her elected office to collect a staggering fortune labeled “CONSULTANT FEES”, which she then siphoned off to her son, lawyer DOUGLAS BOXER. Senator Barbara Boxer voted NO to stop this form of corruption, and keeps herself on the SENATE’S NO ETHICS COMMITTEE to sabotage any investigations into FEINSTEIN’S massive corruption. Other politicians that collect special interest bribes they refer to as “CONSULTANT FEES” are Kennedy and JOE BIDEN who has collected big money from BIG BANKERS. This made the clown an obvious choice to be VICE PRESIDENT for OBAMA pandering for more BANKSTERS BRIBES.
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WHAT DID THE BANKSTERS KNOW ABOUT OUR ACTOR OBAMA THAT WE DIDN’T KNOW?
Records show that four out of Obama's top five contributors are employees of financial industry giants - Goldman Sachs ($571,330), UBS AG ($364,806), JPMorgan Chase ($362,207) and Citigroup ($358,054).
BARACK OBAMA HAS COLLECTED NEARLY TWICE AS MUCH MONEY AS JOHN McCAIN
BY DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
July 1st 2008
Wall Street firms have chipped in more than $9 million to Barack Obama. Zurga/Bloomberg
Wall Street is investing heavily in Barack Obama.

Although the Democratic presidential hopeful has vowed to raise capital gains and corporate taxes, financial industry bigs have contributed almost twice as much to Obama as to GOP rival John McCain, a Daily News analysis of campaign records shows.

"Wall Street wants change and wants a curtailment in spending. It wants someone who focuses on the domestic economy," said Jim Cramer, the boisterous host of CNBC's "Mad Money."

Cramer also does not discount nostalgia for the go-go 1990s, when Bill Clinton led the largest economic expansion in history.

"It wants a Clinton like in 1992, but not a Hillary Clinton," he said. "That's Barack Obama."

For both candidates, Wall Street's investment and banking sectors have become among their portliest cash cows, contributing $9.5 million to Obama and $5.3 million to McCain so far.

It's a haul that is already raising concerns that, as the nation's faltering economy has become issue No. 1, the two candidates may have a hard time playing tough on issues like market regulation or corporate-tax loopholes.

"No matter who wins in November, Wall Street will have a friend in the White House," said Massie Ritsch of the Center for Responsive Politics, which crunched the data for The News.

Wall Street's generosity toward Obama, in particular, would seem to run counter to its self-interests.

In addition to calling for corporate and capital gains tax hikes, Obama has proposed raising income taxes on those earning more than $250,000.

But Wall Street is often motivated by something more than money - winning.

"In general, these are professional prognosticators," said Ritsch. "And they may be putting their money on the person they predict will win, not the candidate they hope will win."

Records show that four out of Obama's top five contributors are employees of financial industry giants - Goldman Sachs ($571,330), UBS AG ($364,806), JPMorgan Chase ($362,207) and Citigroup ($358,054).

McCain's top five include Wall Street's Merrill Lynch ($230,310) and Citigroup ($219,551).

Obama's Wall Street haul is not the biggest ever. That distinction belongs to President Bush, who as an incumbent in 2004 raised $10,852,696 from Wall Street interests through April that year - about $1 million more than Obama.

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