Figures: Obama Re-Hires David Plouffe To Fix America’s Problems

President Barack Obama is attempting to get his old mojo back with the Saturday announcement by the White House of the re-hiring of his former campaign manager, David Plouffe, to oversee the 2010 midterm elections in the House, Senate and governor’s races.

"Team Obama", Robert Gibbs, David Plouffe and David Axelrod

This is merely an attempt at putting a fresh coat of paint on a rusty vehicle. Obama’s team just does not get it and this was reinforced on the Sunday news shows.

Robert Gibbs on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace said that Scott Brown’s win last Tuesday was because, “More people voted to express support for Barack Obama than to oppose him.” He then had the audacity to state that the stimulus bill has “saved or created over one million jobs”; an already tired and disproved Democratic talking point.

David Axelrod on CNN’s State of the Union, mirrored the same line on the economic stimulus (no coincidence, but he said it is 2 million jobs!), “Given the speed with which this program had to be undertaken, there’s been a remarkable lack of controversy about it, I think the Vice President and his team who have run this program have done an extraordinary job and it is making a difference in communities around the country”

The true telling of their mindset comes from Obama himself. In his weekly presidential address he criticized the Supreme Court’s favorable decision on First Amendment rights of corporations and labor unions to permit them to directly spend on political campaigns. “I can’t think of anything more devastating to the public interest. The last thing we need to do is hand more influence to the lobbyists in Washington, or more power to the special interests to tip the outcome of elections.”

This from the President who received more than $60.7 million in campaign donations from the public services union SEIU and $9.5 million from Wall Street PACs. Obama’s promise of transparency, no lobbyist and an end to the influence of special interests in his White House is a complete failure.

Here are former lobbyists Obama has tapped for top jobs:

• Eric Holder, attorney general, was registered to lobby until 2004 on behalf of clients including Global Crossing, a bankrupt telecommunications firm.
• Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture, was registered to lobby as recently as last year on behalf of the National Education Association.
• William Lynn, deputy defense secretary, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for defense contractor Raytheon, where he was a top executive.
• William Corr, deputy health and human services secretary, was registered to lobby until last year for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a non-profit that pushes to limit tobacco use.
• David Hayes, deputy interior secretary, was registered to lobby until 2006 for clients, including the regional utility San Diego Gas & Electric.
• Mark Patterson, chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for financial giant Goldman Sachs.
• Ron Klain, chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, was registered to lobby until 2005 for clients, including the Coalition for Asbestos Resolution, U.S. Airways, Airborne Express and drug-maker ImClone.
• Mona Sutphen, deputy White House chief of staff, was registered to lobby for clients, including Angliss International in 2003.
• Melody Barnes, domestic policy council director, lobbied in 2003 and 2004 for liberal advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the American Constitution Society and the Center for Reproductive Rights.
• Cecilia Munoz, White House director of intergovernmental affairs, was a lobbyist as recently as last year for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group.
• Patrick Gaspard, White House political affairs director, was a lobbyist for the Service Employees International Union.
• Michael Strautmanis, chief of staff to the president’s assistant for intergovernmental relations, lobbied for the American Association of Justice from 2001 until 2005.

Don’t forget the Healthcare bill paybacks that Obama made to Big-Pharma and the waiver of the Cadillac healthcare plan taxes to the AFL-CIO. As well as the Senate’s payoffs to gain passage of their version of the bill.

• The “Cornhusker Kickback,” to Ben Nelson.
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), $10 billion in new funding for community health centers.
• Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) exemption for non-profit insurers from a hefty excise tax.
• Pennsylvania, New York and Florida – all won protections for their Medicare Advantage beneficiaries
• $300 million increase for Medicaid in Louisiana, that won the vote of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu.

President Obama tested the re-branding of his populist rhetoric in a speech in Ohio on Friday, where he dropped the ‘g’s’; “I won’t stop fightin” and attacked the “fat-cat bankers”.

The simple truth is that they will continue their far left agenda as stated in an opinion piece today in the Washington Post, by the same David Plouffe, “November doesn’t need to be a nightmare for Democrats”.

His miracle cure is to tell his fellow Democrats to extol the “success” of the Stimulus package, not accept any lectures on spending and pass their health insurance reform bill without delay.

Talk about not hearing the people — these Democrats are looking up their ass to see if their hat is on straight.

(HT to my late maternal grandmother’s cockney expression.)

Posted: 1800PT
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