...The last call, at 1 p.m., is on government reform and transparency. "
Posted on 01/28/2010 9:10:49 AM PST by LdSentinal
A day after bashing lobbyists, President Barack Obama’s administration has invited K Street insiders to join private briefings on a range of topics addressed in Wednesday’s State of the Union.
The Treasury Department on Thursday morning invited selected individuals to “a series of conference calls with senior Obama administration officials to discuss key aspects of the State of the Union address.”
The invitation, which went to a variety of stakeholders, was sent by Fred Baldassaro, a senior adviser at the Treasury Department’s Office of Business Affairs and Public Liaison.
The invitation stated, “The White House is encouraging you to participate in these calls and will have a question and answer session at the end of each call. As a reminder, these calls are not intended for press purposes.”
The calls are scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, with the first topic being job creation and economic growth.
The last call, at 1 p.m., is on government reform and transparency. Republicans have criticized the Obama White House for not being more transparent in its discussions with Congress on healthcare reform. Obama recently acknowledged that the legislative process has not been as open as he promised on the campaign trail.
Other issues that will be addressed on Thursday include education and climate change.
A handful of lobbyists told The Hill on Thursday morning that they received the invitations and were planning to call in.
Some lobbyists say they are extremely frustrated with the White House for criticizing them and then seeking their feedback. Others note that Democrats on Capitol Hill constantly urge them to make political donations.
One lobbyist said, “Bash lobbyists, then reach out to us. Bash lobbyists [while] I have received four Democratic invitations for fundraisers.”
In his State of the Union on Wednesday, Obama once again targeted K Street: “We face a deficit of trust — deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years. To close that credibility gap, we have to take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue — to end the outsized influence of lobbyists; to do our work openly; to give our people the government they deserve.”
The Treasury Department referred The Hill’s request for comment to the White House, which at press time had not responded to questions on this issue.
Lobbyists say the Obama White House has held many off-the-record teleconferences over the past year.
For example, lobbyists and others were invited to a teleconference with “senior Obama administration officials” on Monday to discuss the administration’s plan to improve the lives of middle-class families.
The invitation, which is addressed to “Friends,” emphasizes in bold and italics that “this call is for background information only and not intended for press purposes.” It advises callers to tell the operator “you’re joining the ‘White House Briefing Call.’ ”
Another lobbyist said these types of teleconferences occur “all the time.”
And that is why many on K Street are exasperated with Obama’s use of lobbyists as a punching bag. Some have said they understood why he used strong rhetoric on the campaign trail but are irritated the White House solicits their opinions while Obama’s friends in Congress badger them for political donations.
uhbma is a GREAT BIG BLACK SKINNED HOG WALLOWING IN THE FILTH OF HIS OWN LIES!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus
The boldness Obama is showing by doing this is breathtaking. He can only do that if he knows he will get a pass.
I simply multiply anything said by the RATs by -1 and all is right with the world again.
Sorry guys, the Freepers are wrong on this one.
There was no K Street insider meeting.
It was Administration Recruitment Day at the WH.
They both pre$ent each other with pretty little appea$ement bobble$.
OBAMA DOESN’T KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD TRANSPARENCY. HE CAME OUT OF NO WHERE, HAS DONE NOTHING POSITIVE FOR THE COUNTRY (BUT OH, HE’S ENRICHED HIS FRIENDS!), WOULDN’T KNOW THE TRUTH IF IT BIT HIM ON THE POPO. HE IS BENT ON FIRMLY INPLANTING HIS COMMUNISM AGENDA ON THE “STUPID” AMERICAN PEOPLE BY ANY DEVIOUS MEANS AVAILABALE TO HIM, THUS IF HIS LIPS ARE MOVING HE IS LYING. JUST MHO.
have always wondered why *NO ONE* ever came forward from Obama’s past
saying they knew him, attended school with him, was his friend, etc. *NO
ONE*, not one person has ever come forward from his past. *VERY* *VERY
STRANGE*. This should really be a cause for great concern. MA
To those who voted for him, YOU HAVE ELECTED THE BIGGEST UNQUALIFIED FRAUD
that America has ever known!
This is very interesting stuff. Sort of adds credence to the idea of The
Manchurian Candidate thing having happened here!
Stephanopoulos of ABC news said the same thing during the 08’ campaign. He
too was a classmate of BO’s At Columbia class of 1984. He said he never had
one class with him.
Was he there?
While he is such a great orator, why doesn’t anyone in Obama’s college
class remember him? Maybe he never attended class! Maybe he never
attended Columbia? He won’t allow Colombia to release his records
either. Suspicious isn’t it???
NOBODY REMEMBERS OBAMA AT COLUMBIA !!!!!!!
Looking for evidence of Obama’s past, Fox News contacted 400 Columbia
University students from the period when Obama claims to have been there,
but none remembered him.
Wayne Allyn Root was, like Obama, a political science major at Columbia
who also graduated in 1983. In 2008, Root says of Obama, “I don’t know a
single person at Columbia that knew him, and they all know me. I don’t
have a classmate who ever knew Barack Obama at Columbia. Ever! Nobody
recalls him. I’m not exaggerating, I’m not kidding. “Root adds that he
was also, like Obama, “Class of ‘83 political science, pre-law” and says,
“You don’t get more exact or closer than that. Never met him in my life,
don’t know anyone who ever met him. At the class reunion, our 20th reunion
five years ago, who was asked to be the speaker of the class? Me. No one
ever heard of Barack! And five years ago, nobody even knew who he was.
The guy who writes the class notes, who’s kind of the, as we say in New
York, the macha who knows everybody, has yet to find a person, a human who
ever met him. Is that not strange? It’s very strange. “Obama’s
photograph does not appear in the school’s yearbook and Obama consistently
declines requests to talk about his years at Columbia, provide school
records, or provide the name of any former classmates or friends while at
Columbia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Allyn_Root#column-one
NOTE: Root graduated as Valedictorian from his high school, Thornton-Donovan
School, then graduated from Columbia University in 1983 as a Political
Science major (in the same class as President Barack Obama WAS SUPPOSED TO
HAVE BEEN IN).
Can it be that BHO is a complete fraud?? More intrigue concerning “The Man
who wasn’t there.
...The last call, at 1 p.m., is on government reform and transparency. "
That's weird. I didn't get my invitation yet. I wonder if it got lost somehow?
[...] these calls are not intended for press purposes."
Lunacy.
Interesting, yesterday I likened Obama followers to a battered wife...the syndrome is remarkably similar.
The only people, besides the photographer of the silly pictures of him smoking, that I recall were kids from the elite school in Hawaii and a teacher or two from Indonesia. No college. None. It is the most bizarre thing.
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