Recent John Locke Foundation Headliner Timothy Carney focuses a recent blog entry on the president’s statements about lobbyists’ contributions to his re-election campaign:
“We don’t take a dime from D.C. lobbyists or special-interest PACs—never have and never will.” That’s from Obama’s latest fundraising email. And it’s also grossly misleading.
What would be true is this: We have a policy of refusing donations from individuals currently registered as federal lobbyists.
When Obama says he doesn’t accept money from “D.C. lobbyists,” the normal person would conclude that he doesn’t accept money from the CEOs of lobbying firms, or from VPs for Government Affairs, or from company executives that petition administration officials to change policy so as to help their company. But all of these types have given generously to Obama.
For instance, as I wrote in July:
Antoinette Bush is an alumnus of the Senate Commerce Committee, and today she works on “legislative matters” for legendary law-and-lobbying firm Skadden Arps. She’s not registered, and she’s a $35,800 Obama donor.
