Matthew Boyle
The Daily Caller
10/25/2011
President Barack Obama’s new senior campaign adviser is a longtime Wall Street lobbyist, and has the potential to damage the president’s aspirations to appeal to the protesters currently “occupying” New York City’s Zuccotti Park.
Obama’s new adviser, Broderick Johnson, has an extensive history of lobbying for big banks and corporations, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2007, he lobbied for JP Morgan Chase and in 2008 Johnson lobbied for Bank of America and Fannie Mae. From 2008 through 2010, he lobbied for Comcast and in 2011 he lobbied for Microsoft.
Johnson is currently a partner at D.C.-based communications firm Collins Johnson Group, which boasts that it excels at “providing superior strategic planning and political consulting services to multinational corporations, government entities, political campaigns and parties, elected leaders, nonprofit organizations, issue groups, investors and entrepreneurs.”
Including open houses and social events, Johnson has visited the White House 17 times since 2009, according to White House visitor logs. One of those meetings was with Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett….
The article continues at The Daily Caller.
Update: Despite ‘ban,’ fat-cat lobbyists bankroll Obama
President Obama doesn’t take campaign contributions from lobbyists — unless you count the owners and CEOs of lobbying firms, corporate vice presidents for government relations, or managing directors for public policy.
“We don’t accept any money from special-interest groups or Washington lobbyists,” the Obama campaign bragged in a recent email touting the $70 million raised last quarter by the campaign and the Democratic National Committee. But if you comb through the actual filings with the Federal Elections Commission, you see how misleading this claim is…
Update 2: Michelle to hold fund-raiser at Enron trader’s mansion
John D. Arnold, whom the New York Times described as “a former star trader at Enron who is now an energy hedge fund billionaire,” will host a fund-raiser at his mansion in Houston for Michelle Obama on Tuesday. John Arnold was one of the top bundlers for President Obama, raising $176,400 in the 2008 campaign. He has donated $114,900 personally to Democratic candidates and the party in recent years, including $28,500 to Obama’s victory campaign, according to Federal Elections Commission records…
Update 3: Enviros oddly unhappy with Obama’s new senior political lobbyist adviser
…Environmentalists are unhappy with President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign for hiring a former lobbyist for the Keystone XL pipeline as a senior adviser…
