Carl,
You should join Bookshare, if only to read Thomas Frank's new book, Listen,
Liberal. He talks about Obama, the Democratic party, and the Liberal Class,
as simply and honestly as I've ever heard and as far as I'm concerned, he's
right on all counts. He analyzes stuff we've been talking about on this
list: the sharing economy, why Obama made the choices he made, what the
Democratic party has become, the whole God awful mess.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 10:25 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: Virginia Jarvis
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Democratic Convention Hosted by Republican
Donors, Anti-Obamacare Lobbyists
Isn't it way past time that Americans had a Second National Party to choose
from?
Carl Jarvis
On 5/12/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Adams-Sarthou wrote.
Excerpt: "The Democratic Party's 2012 platform pledged to 'curb the
influence of lobbyists and special interests.' But the 2016 convention
in Philadelphia will be officially hosted by lobbyists and corporate
executives, a number of whom are actively working to undermine
progressive policies achieved by President Barack Obama, including
health care reform and net neutrality."
2012 Democratic Convention. (photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty)
Democratic Convention Hosted by Republican Donors, Anti-Obamacare
Lobbyists By Lee Fang and Zaid Jilani, The Intercept
11 May 16
The Democratic Party's 2012 platform pledged to "curb the influence of
lobbyists and special interests." But the 2016 convention in
Philadelphia will be officially hosted by lobbyists and corporate
executives, a number of whom are actively working to undermine
progressive policies achieved by President Barack Obama, including
health care reform and net neutrality.
Some of the members of the 2016 Democratic National Convention Host
Committee, whose job is to organize the logistics and events for the
convention, are hardly even Democratic Party stalwarts, given that
many have donated and raised thousands of dollars for Republican
presidential and congressional candidates this cycle.
The composition of the 15-member Host Committee may appear out of sync
with the rhetoric of Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders
and Hillary Clinton, but the reality is that the party, in the form of
the Democratic National Committee, has moved decisively to embrace the
lobbying industry. In October 2015, DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman
Schultz, D-Fla., reportedly huddled with dozens of lobbyists to plan
the convention in Philadelphia, and provided the influence peddlers
involved with a menu of offerings in exchange for donations. In
February, news reports revealed that the DNC had quietly lifted the
Obama-era ban on federal lobbyist donations to the party and
convention committee.
Anna Adams-Sarthou, the communications director for the Philadelphia
2016 Host Committee, wrote in an email to The Intercept that she has
"no concerns" about lobbyists participating in the effort, because
"the Host Committee is a nonprofit entity that does not lobby."
he Host Committee, however, is deeply involved in planning events for
the delegates, fundraising, and handling media relations, among other
responsibilities.
"Our Host Committee is made up a diverse group of civic leaders that
have led efforts like this in the past, many of whom were integrally
involved in the bid for Philadelphia to host the convention,"
The Host Committee's finance chair is Daniel Hilferty. In his day job,Adams-Sarthou wrote.
Hilferty is CEO of Independence Blue Cross, a health insurance giant
that covers nine million people. In December, Hilferty became board
chairman of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of America, a
trade group that lobbies for the insurance industry, and he serves on
the board of directors of America's Health Insurance Plan's (AHIP),
the insurance industry lobbying group that spearheaded the campaign
against the Affordable Care Act. Lobby registration documents show the
BCBS Association is actively supporting a number of Republican bills
to roll back provisions of the ACA.
In an interview conducted late last year, Hilferty said he plans to
make "sure to work closely at the congressional level, with the
administration, with the Department of Health and Human Services and
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to have input" into
how the ACA is implemented under the next administration.
Hilferty has also donated heavily to Republicans this cycle, giving
$10,000 to Prosperity for Pennsylvania, a Super PAC supporting the
reelection of Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; $1,000 to the PAC supporting
Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah; $1,000 to Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.; $2,700 to
Chris Christie's presidential campaign; $25,300 to the NRCC, a GOP
committee designed to re-elect House Republicans; and $2,700 to Jeb
Bush. Hilferty also gave $2,700 to Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Allyson Schwartz, a former Democratic lawmaker, is a co-chair of the
Host Committee. She was recently named head of a new advocacy group
for the health insurance industry called Better Medicare Alliance. The
group, according to the Center for Public Integrity, was set up by
APCO, a lobbying firm for health insurance companies, to push to
expand Medicare Advantage plans, the privately managed programs that
were curtailed with the enactment of the ACA.
David Cohen is the special advisor to the Host Committee, and serves
as the executive vice president of Comcast, overseeing the company's
lobbying and regulatory strategy. In addition to being a "Hillblazer"
- one of Hillary Clinton's bundlers who has raised $100,000 or more -
Cohen has been a particularly bitter and duplicitous leading opponent
of the rules regarding net neutrality, the principle that all Internet
traffic must be treated equally. And despite hosting fundraisers for
Clinton at his home last summer, Cohen has spent heavily to help elect
a Republican Congress, including recent donations to the NRCC; Sen.
Toomey; Sen. Scott; Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; as well as $33,400 to
the NRSC, a committee for helping elect GOP members to the Senate.
The Philadelphia Host Committee chair, former Gov. Ed Rendell, headed
for Wall Street as soon as he left office, and has since represented a
number of controversial special interests. In 2011, as New York was
debating regulations on fracking, Rendell wrote a pro-fracking opinion
column in the New York Daily News, while failing to disclose that he
was a paid consultant at a private equity firm that had investments in
the industry.
That same year, Rendell started providing paid speeches on behalf of
the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), a fringe Iranian exile group that was
considered a terrorist organization by the State Department at the
time (it was delisted in 2012).
The former governor also joined the group Fix The Debt - an
organization backed by private equity billionaire Pete Peterson that
advocates for cutting Social Security benefits - co-chairing its
activities alongside Judd Gregg.
Rendell is currently a special counsel at the law and lobbying firm
Ballard Spahr; earlier this year, the firm launched a new election law
group, advising clients on campaign finance and lobbying strategy.
"The Democratic Party, especially the DNC, have never liked Obama's
policies to disengage lobbyists from campaign fundraising," says Craig
Holman, an expert on ethics and campaign finance with Public Citizen.
"The party only went along with the restrictions because Obama was the
party leader. As soon as Obama could no longer be viewed as the leader
of the party, the DNC quietly repealed the lobbyist restrictions. The
public learned about it only weeks later."
"Party bosses have always preferred a Wild West when it comes to
fundraising," he adds. "If party bosses had their way, we would have
no restrictions on campaign contributions to the parties and return to
the days of Tammany Hall."
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not
valid.
2012 Democratic Convention. (photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty)
https://theintercept.com/2016/05/11/lobbyists-dnc-2016-convention/http
s://th eintercept.com/2016/05/11/lobbyists-dnc-2016-convention/
Democratic Convention Hosted by Republican Donors, Anti-Obamacare
Lobbyists By Lee Fang and Zaid Jilani, The Intercept
11 May 16
he Democratic Party's 2012 platform pledged to "curb the influence of
lobbyists and special interests." But the 2016 convention in
Philadelphia will be officially hosted by lobbyists and corporate
executives, a number of whom are actively working to undermine
progressive policies achieved by President Barack Obama, including
health care reform and net neutrality.
Some of the members of the 2016 Democratic National Convention Host
Committee, whose job is to organize the logistics and events for the
convention, are hardly even Democratic Party stalwarts, given that
many have donated and raised thousands of dollars for Republican
presidential and congressional candidates this cycle.
The composition of the 15-member Host Committee may appear out of sync
with the rhetoric of Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders
and Hillary Clinton, but the reality is that the party, in the form of
the Democratic National Committee, has moved decisively to embrace the
lobbying industry. In October 2015, DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman
Schultz, D-Fla., reportedly huddled with dozens of lobbyists to plan
the convention in Philadelphia, and provided the influence peddlers
involved with a menu of offerings in exchange for donations. In
February, news reports revealed that the DNC had quietly lifted the
Obama-era ban on federal lobbyist donations to the party and
convention committee.
Anna Adams-Sarthou, the communications director for the Philadelphia
2016 Host Committee, wrote in an email to The Intercept that she has
"no concerns" about lobbyists participating in the effort, because
"the Host Committee is a nonprofit entity that does not lobby."
he Host Committee, however, is deeply involved in planning events for
the delegates, fundraising, and handling media relations, among other
responsibilities.
"Our Host Committee is made up a diverse group of civic leaders that
have led efforts like this in the past, many of whom were integrally
involved in the bid for Philadelphia to host the convention,"
The Host Committee's finance chair is Daniel Hilferty. In his day job,
Hilferty is CEO of Independence Blue Cross, a health insurance giant
that covers nine million people. In December, Hilferty became board
chairman of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of America, a
trade group that lobbies for the insurance industry, and he serves on
the board of directors of America's Health Insurance Plan's (AHIP),
the insurance industry lobbying group that spearheaded the campaign
against the Affordable Care Act. Lobby registration documents show the
BCBS Association is actively supporting a number of Republican bills
to roll back provisions of the ACA.
In an interview conducted late last year, Hilferty said he plans to
make "sure to work closely at the congressional level, with the
administration, with the Department of Health and Human Services and
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to have input" into
how the ACA is implemented under the next administration.
Hilferty has also donated heavily to Republicans this cycle, giving
$10,000 to Prosperity for Pennsylvania, a Super PAC supporting the
reelection of Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; $1,000 to the PAC supporting
Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah; $1,000 to Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.; $2,700 to
Chris Christie's presidential campaign; $25,300 to the NRCC, a GOP
committee designed to re-elect House Republicans; and $2,700 to Jeb
Bush. Hilferty also gave $2,700 to Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Allyson Schwartz, a former Democratic lawmaker, is a co-chair of the
Host Committee. She was recently named head of a new advocacy group
for the health insurance industry called Better Medicare Alliance. The
group, according to the Center for Public Integrity, was set up by
APCO, a lobbying firm for health insurance companies, to push to
expand Medicare Advantage plans, the privately managed programs that
were curtailed with the enactment of the ACA.
David Cohen is the special advisor to the Host Committee, and serves
as the executive vice president of Comcast, overseeing the company's
lobbying and regulatory strategy. In addition to being a "Hillblazer"
- one of Hillary Clinton's bundlers who has raised $100,000 or more -
Cohen has been a particularly bitter and duplicitous leading opponent
of the rules regarding net neutrality, the principle that all Internet
traffic must be treated equally. And despite hosting fundraisers for
Clinton at his home last summer, Cohen has spent heavily to help elect
a Republican Congress, including recent donations to the NRCC; Sen.
Toomey; Sen. Scott; Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; as well as $33,400 to
the NRSC, a committee for helping elect GOP members to the Senate.
The Philadelphia Host Committee chair, former Gov. Ed Rendell, headed
for Wall Street as soon as he left office, and has since represented a
number of controversial special interests. In 2011, as New York was
debating regulations on fracking, Rendell wrote a pro-fracking opinion
column in the New York Daily News, while failing to disclose that he
was a paid consultant at a private equity firm that had investments in
the industry.
That same year, Rendell started providing paid speeches on behalf of
the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), a fringe Iranian exile group that was
considered a terrorist organization by the State Department at the
time (it was delisted in 2012).
The former governor also joined the group Fix The Debt - an
organization backed by private equity billionaire Pete Peterson that
advocates for cutting Social Security benefits - co-chairing its
activities alongside Judd Gregg.
Rendell is currently a special counsel at the law and lobbying firm
Ballard Spahr; earlier this year, the firm launched a new election law
group, advising clients on campaign finance and lobbying strategy.
"The Democratic Party, especially the DNC, have never liked Obama's
policies to disengage lobbyists from campaign fundraising," says Craig
Holman, an expert on ethics and campaign finance with Public Citizen.
"The party only went along with the restrictions because Obama was the
party leader. As soon as Obama could no longer be viewed as the leader
of the party, the DNC quietly repealed the lobbyist restrictions. The
public learned about it only weeks later."
"Party bosses have always preferred a Wild West when it comes to
fundraising," he adds. "If party bosses had their way, we would have
no restrictions on campaign contributions to the parties and return to
the days of Tammany Hall."
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
