Roll Call is reporting that during the typical Friday afternoon document dump — a practice used to hide actions that might prove somewhat embarrassing to the White House — the administration quietly announced that some of the former restrictions on lobbying ballyhooed about during the late campaign have been lifted.
Let special interests ring!
Roll Call (see here, but subscription is required) says that the administration lifted bans on lobbyists that have some part of spending “stimulus” funds. So now getting hooks into bloated federal spending is open season for the very lobbyists that Obama pretended to disdain only months ago.
So much for hopinchange.
The ban on oral communication now applies only to competitively bid applications on the stimulus package and it applies equally to lobbyists as well as non-lobbyists, according to a White House blog post written by ethics official Norm Eisen.
Additionally, the administration is still also pretending at “transparency” because one of the new rules is that there be “immediate internet disclosure” of this renewed contact that lobbyists are to have with federal agencies. Not that such a thing is anywhere near de rigueur at this point… but, um, you know how hard The One is working, right?
So why the reverse? According to Roll Call:
The decision to change the policy follows the 60-day review period that the Obama administration set for the Office of Management and Budget to review the new lobbying rules. Several watchdog groups and lobbying entities, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American League of Lobbyists and the AFL-CIO, raised concern over the recently imposed rules.
So, I guess the hopinchangieness wasn’t as hopey and changie as it was once imagined?
Steve Maley
KnightsofMalta
Dan Spencer
Moe Lane
Dan McLaughlin
I think I've finally figured it out.
Josh Painter (Diary) Saturday, May 30th at 10:21AM EST (link)There’s a big trash compactor under Obama’s bus. That’s the only possible way he could have room for all the stuff he’s thrown under it.
- JP
“An armed society is a polite society” – Robert A. Heinlein, “Beyond This Horizon” (1942)
don't think it's a trash compactor under the bus...
ddlbb Saturday, May 30th at 10:45AM EST (link)he’s towing a giant porta-jon to hold all the stuff he’s shoveling.
why is the whole world seeing the joke that this administration is (brits are now being joined by the russians, for pete’s sake), but our citizens are still drawn to the hypnotic obama light?
voters remorse hasn't set in yet, too early.
Common_Cents (Diary) Saturday, May 30th at 10:55AM EST (link)The kool aid drinkers are starting to wake up w/ a hangover realizing their kool aid was spiked. But they are in total denial. I’ve had many liberals get hostile with ME when pointing out Obama’s follies. They are really just projecting their anger and disappointment for Obama, on me, the messenger.
It’s always hardest to see yourself and acknowledge that you’ve been duped. It’s so obvious from the outside, especially other countries.
Obama=Golfer in Chief, Leading from,
behind, the Back Nine.Leaders don’t create movements. Movements create leaders. Get involved. Your future depends on it.
Govt “invests” YOUR tax money for POLITICAL return rather than economic return.
There was a ban on lobbyists in the current administration ?
Kenny Solomon (Diary) Saturday, May 30th at 10:36AM EST (link)Next thing you know, The Mess-I-Yah will nominate someone to SCOTUS who’s more radical than himself and also stop aid to Israel.
Oh….. He did both of those things already.
I was thinking the same thing
bk (Diary) Saturday, May 30th at 11:00AM EST (link)It’s not like he had banned any lobbyists until now anyway.
No difference
Matthew (Diary) Saturday, May 30th at 10:50AM EST (link)This makes no difference since so many folks got waivers any way.
At least now he doesn’t have to deal with the nearly weekly embarrassment of “well THIS lobbyist is super important and essential, so we got a waiver.” It’s just accepting he was never going to be held to his own standards.
WhiteHouse.gov - The 1st Amendment doesn't apply to ANYBODY regarding Simulus money (and maybe any other item that will help Obama destroy America).
Kenny Solomon (Diary) Saturday, May 30th at 5:11PM EST (link)Is this some sort of a joke ?
Does Mr. Eisen think he’s writing for The Onion ?
Update on Recovery Act Lobbying Rules: New Limits on Special Interest Influence
First, we will expand the restriction on oral communications to cover all persons, not just federally registered lobbyists.
Click on the link below and read the thing yourself.
This is from THE WHITE HOUSE WEBSITE’s “Briefing Room” and a blog placed by Norm Eisen, Special Counsel To The President For Ethics And Government Reform.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Update-on-Recovery-Act-Lobbying-Rules-New-Limits-on-Special-Interest-Influence
————————-
Remember this…………….EVERYTHING they do against America is on purpose and planned on many layers….. to anger, enrage and incite those they fear most.
Different take from "The Hill"
novimir Sunday, May 31st at 12:59AM EST (link)The Hill reported this action quite differently. I don’t subscribe to Roll call so I can’t compare and contrast. The Hill article can be read here:
http://thehill.com/business–lobby/k-street-watchdogs-praise-new-stimulus-lobbying-rules-2009-05-30.html
Just adding information
Well, Obama might have been getting writer's cramp
Adjoran (Diary) Sunday, May 31st at 8:14PM EST (link)from filling out all those waivers he was issuing for lobbyists since he took office.
Besides, as NRO’s Jim Geraghty noted about a year ago: “All statements from Barack Obama come with an expiration date. ALL of them.”
True ‘dat, fo’ shizzle.
60 Day review period???
mixboxconservative (Diary) Monday, June 1st at 8:27AM EST (link)I must have missed the speech where he told America about the 60 day review period,oh wait he’s the Chosen one!!!!