Solyndra, Lightsquared, and now Solayzme are all companies that are closely connected to the Obama campaign and all got government money. While the Obama Administration has been attacking Republicans as “crony capitalists” and using an army of left-wing pseudo-journalists to make the attacks, the Obama Administration has been rewarding campaign friends with government contracts.In Barack Obama’s America, he, not the marketplace, picks the winners and losers. But just how far into the government and into the Obama campaign does this crony capitalism go?In an email sent out by Jo Ellen Kaiser to a group of online left-wing sites, she notes that

In response to member inquires about solid advertising opportunities, The Media Consortium would like to present the opportunity to partner with IB5k Network. IB5k Network is actively seeking progressive publishing partners who accept online advertising for politically progressive candidates. We hope and expect this to be a lucrative and relevant ad stream through 2012.IB5k’s first opportunity for Media Consortium members is a great one with Obama for America. Available immediately, these static (no video or audio) digital ads ask viewers to sign up via email for Obama campaign updates. This is a short ad campaign starting immediately through the 5th of January.The advertisement is available in in 300×250, 728 x 90 and 160 x 600 sizes. A preview of the creative is available here: http://a.ib5knetwork.com/lt/obama_test.html.We know this is a busy time of year for everyone, but we believe this is a great opportunity with which to begin a relationship with IB5k. The Obama team set the gold standard for online political campaigns in 2008, and is certain to be placing many more ads through 2012. By beginning to work with IB5k now, you will be pre-approved to run those ads!

Jo Ellen Kaiser is the Executive Director of the Media Consortium and the email she sent came from her Media Consortium email address to a google group. The Media Consortium “is proud to partner with the We the People Campaign for Campaign Cash, a collaborative editorial effort to expose the influence of corporate money on the political process.”IB5K, LLC, the company Jo Ellen Kaiser is pushing on her email list as the Obama advertiser, is a government contractor. So the group dedicated to exposing “the influence of corporate money on the political process” is helping out a company that’s a government contractor and not just any government contract, but one that got its start on Obama 2008, then got a government contract, and is now handling online advertising for Obama 2012.But hey! If you work with IB5K now, “you will be pre-approved to run” ads for Obama 2012.

Back in November of 2010, the Wall Street Journal ran an article by Joe Walker on entrepreneurial former Obama workers. There was this interesting nugget about one of Obama’s campaign workers, Joe Beckman.

Mr. Beckmann, 30, says he learned how to collaborate with a network of volunteers and supporters while working on Mr. Obama’s video team. His company similarly relies on 300 freelancers— filmmakers, graphic designers and programmers—sprinkled across the country.”It’s hard when you have this many people in different time zones, to keep them all feeling connected,” says Mr. Beckmann, who uses emails, personal visits and company retreats to keep his team focused on common goals. “The model for this really came from the Obama campaign.”So far, it appears to be working for Mr. Beckmann. He says he’s won a government contract to provide email-related services to Hill staffers, and he’s helping Mystery Guitar Man—the YouTube sensation known for quirky YouTube videos—build a monetizable website. He expects IB5k to be profitable off of $1.2 million in revenue this year.

Campaign for Obama, get a federal contract. Is it really that easy?According to Beckmann’s company website, which highlights work for Barack Obama and whose clients include the DNC, the DGA, and a host of liberal groups,

At the end of the day, our method saves you money. While members of our trust have been responsible for everything from creating initiatives at Obama for America, building 21st century cable networks from scratch, successfully bridging the gap between television and online video audiences, to developing custom-built software for Congress

I guess it really could be as easy as going to the Federal Procurement Data System, plugging in the names of all the Obama campaigners or their related businesses, and finding out who got a government contract after working for Barack Obama.Except, for some reason, Joe Beckmann’s company IB5K, which the Wall Street Journal reports has a government contract and whose website reports it is developing software for Congress, does not appear in the Federal Procurement Data System. That brings us back to the Media Consortium, a group of left-wing pseudo-reporting sites that are going to be subsidized by the Obama campaign’s campaign cash via a vendor who, were we talking about wingers, would be excoriating the crony capitalists getting government contracts after working for the winger campaign and not appearing in the federal procurement database.And yet here they are pitching an Obama advertising company that, after one of its principle partners worked on the Obama campaign got a government contract and now is again also handling Obama campaign advertising.