...their livelihood is disappearing fast.
Posted on 01/30/2011 8:44:33 PM PST by NormsRevenge
RANCHO MIRAGE, California (Reuters) – About 1,000 chanting protesters rallied on Sunday outside a California resort where conservative lawmakers and business executives met for a political strategy session hosted by billionaires Charles and David Koch.
About two dozen police officers in riot gear lined up in front of the Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in the upscale desert town of Rancho Mirage to keep the protesters away from the gated entrance.
...
Another group, some dressed in hazardous material suits, tried to encircle the resort with yellow caution tape in a symbolic effort to "quarantine" the meeting, but they were dispersed by police.
Many of the boisterous activists, some chanting "Dirty Money, Dirty Money," carried signs with such slogans as "Power to the People" and "Tea Party Founded and Funded by the Kochs."
The rally was organized by the liberal group Common Cause, which has accused of the Koch brothers and other business interests of using corporate largess to exercise undue influence over U.S. politics.
The Koch brothers kept the guest list for this weekend's private, invitation-only gathering confidential, but U.S. House Republican leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and conservative columnist Herman Cain were reported among the participants.
Previous meetings have featured such Republican luminaries as Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, according to Common Cause.
...
In a letter calling on participants to join the meeting in Rancho Mirage, Charles Koch argued that "prosperity is under attack by the current administration and many of our elected officials."
The brothers own Koch Industries, an energy conglomerate ranked by Forbes magazine as the second-largest privately held company in the United States, and are known to underwrite the Cato Institute and other libertarian and conservative causes.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
25 arrested at California conservative meeting
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2665968/posts
And from whom does Common Cause get its funding?
Great Kansans.
some of Common Cause’s “Accomplishments” since 2000.
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4860205
#
2000 - Successfully works for legislation to unmask and require disclosure of “527” political groups.
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2001 - Lobbies successfully with a coalition for the Help America Vote Act, which provided funding to states for improvement of the nation’s system of voting.
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2002 - Leads successful multi-year campaign to enact the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, banning soft money in federal campaigns. In 2003, in a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law.
#
2003 - Leads coalition to raise public awareness about the Federal Communication Commission’s efforts deregulate media ownership. Campaign resulted in more than 2 million Americans contacting the FCC to complain about the rules change.
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2004 - Launches major voter mobilization and election monitoring programs for presidential election.
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2005 - Wins the fight against efforts to cut federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and gathers 150,000 petition signatures calling for the resignation of CPB Chairman Ken Tomlinson for partisan and unethical behavior.
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2006 - Leads the charge against disgraced Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and fights for major ethics reform.
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2007 - Successfully lobbies for passage of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act.
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2008 - Leads successful campaign to create the first-ever independent ethics commission in the US House of Representatives.
#
2010 - Spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that lifted the decades-old ban on corporate and union spending round elections, Common Cause redoubles efforts to pass the Fair Elections Now Act, which would allow candidates to run competitive campaigns on small donations and fair elections funds.
But it’s okay for them to be bussed to rallies, right?
The Alinsky technique of self-projection is in full effect.
You are caught screwing a prostitute in a dirty hotel in person by your wife and you scream for her to stop screwing around on you with gigalos.
It is the most exemplary case of Astroturfing I have ever seen.
Soros Army, the Global Marxist push is moving forward.
One day, you will have to fight, in your street.
Mark my words, this sh*t is about to hit the fan.
The rally was organized by the liberal group Common Cause
—
About Common Cause
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970 by John Gardner as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.
Today, Common Cause is one of the most active, effective, and respected nonprofit organizations working for political change in America. Common Cause strives to strengthen our democracy by empowering our members, supporters and the general public to take action on critical policy issues.
soooo,, are they a liberal group or a “nonpartisan” group?
Ummm, I guess they never heard of George Soros?
“And from whom does Common Cause get its funding?”
Does Open Society (Soros) ring a bell?
Oh, but that’s OK. The ends justifying the means and all...
This is their vision..
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4860183
—
Our Vision
Common Cause is dedicated to restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest and accountable government that serves the public interest, and empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard in the political process.
In this spirit, Common Cause serves as an independent voice for change and a watchdog against corruption and abuse of power.
—
They want democracy but use the very tactics to wield power that they accuse folk at the conservative group retreat of wielding..
Psssssst!, Common Cause, check out this list of Wall Street execs who have ties to The Soetoro Administration....
BRAINARD, LAEL. Brainard is the United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is an associate and protege of Mr. Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin.
CRAIG, GREGORY. Another example of the revolving door between Goldman Sachs and Obama’s administration. Craig served as Obama’s White House Counsel and after resigning, has taken on a position as Goldman Sach’s chief lawyer in defending against its SEC suit. A former Goldie, Robert Hormats, sits at the top of SEC’s enforcement group too. What a hoot!
DONILON, THOMAS. Thomas Donilon is Deputy National Security Adviser to Barack Obama (despite having a career that is mostly involved with domestic politics). Donilon was a lawyer at O’Melveny and Myers and made almost $4 million representing meltdown clients including Penny Pritzker (of Chicago) and Goldman. This from Michelle Malkin’s article RealClearPolitics. More information is available on Donilon over at Whorunsgov.com.
ELMENDORF, DOUGLAS. Elmendorf became Obama’s Director of the Congressional Budget Office in January 2009. Elmendorf previously was the Director of the Hamilton Project; it’s third. Note too that the first 3 Directors of the Hamilton Project ALL serve in the Obama administration. While other journalists/writers have explored the links between Goldman Sachs and Obama, few have looked at the connection between the Hamilton Project and the Obama administration. Note again that the Hamilton Project was funded by Robert Rubin and Goldman Sachs.
EMANUEL, RAHM. Rahm, of course, was Obama’s Chief of Staff, the very first person Obama selected to be in his administration. Rahm has lengthy and fruitful ties to Goldman, and vice versa. Rahm took in about $75,000 from Goldman Sachs as a Congressman and was on a $3,000 a month retainer from Goldman while he worked as Bill Clinton’s chief fund raiser.
FARRELL, DIANA. Diana Farrell is Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (since January, 2009) in the administration of President Barack Obama. She formerly worked for two years at Goldman Sachs in New York according to Whorunsgov.com.
FRIEDMAN, STEPHEN. Chairman of Obama’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. According to Wikipedia, Friedman worked for much of his career with Goldman Sachs, holding numerous executive roles. He served as the company’s co-chief operating officer from 1987 to 1990, was the company’s co-chairman from 1990 to 1992, and the sole chairman from 1992 to 1994; he still serves on the company board.
FROHMAN, MICHAEL. Robert Rubin’s Chief of Staff while Rubin served as Secretary of the Treasury and an Obama “head hunter” according to “Rubin Proteges Change Their Tune as They Join Obama’s Team” in the New York Times.
GEITHNER, TIMOTHY. He’s one of the most documented of all people within the Obama administration while serving as Obama’s Secretary of the Treasury. While at the head of the New York Fed, Geithner prior to the crisis not only failed to see storm clouds on the horizon, he also in 2008 ordered the bailed out AIG not to disclose its sweetheart payments to big banks including, you guessed it, Goldman Sachs.
GENSLER, GARY. Gensler was a Goldman Sachs partner who is Obama’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission head. Gensler is the guy who as a former Treasury official exempted the $58 trillion credit default market from oversight. Those financial instrumentals played a key role in the global economic downturn and led to billions of dollars in profits for banks like Goldman Sachs.
GREENSTONE, MICHAEL. Greenstone is the 4th Director of the Hamilton Project. Just as attorney Craig went from advising Obama to defending Goldman Sachs against the SEC complaint, Greenstone has used the revolving door to go from went an economic adviser position to Obama to one of the Goldman Sachs outlets, in this case its think tank embedded in the Brookings Institution and funded by Goldman and Robert Rubin. All 3 previous Directors of the Hamilton Project work in the Obama administration.
HAMILTON PROJECT, THE. The pro-corporatist think group funded by Goldman Sachs and Robert Rubin and cleverly hidden in the Brookings Institution as their Rosemary’s Baby/Trojan Horse. Espouses cutbacks in entitlements, strict budgetary thinking applied to all social programs (but not the defense department); outsourcing of American jobs overseas; more NAFTA-type agreements. Three of the first 4 Directors of the Hamilton Project serve in the Obama Administration. The fourth went from an economic adviser to Obama to the Hamilton Project.
HORMATS, ROBERT. The top economics official at Obama’s State Department, Hormats spent the prior 27 years at Goldman Sachs, including as the Vice Chairman of Goldman’s international arm. KASHKARI, NEEL. Former Vice President of Goldman Sachs in San Francisco where he where he led Goldman’s Information Technology Security Investment Banking practice. Kashkari served under Treasury Secretary Paulson and was kept on by Obama after his inauguration for a limited period to work on TARP oversight.
KORNBLUH, KAREN. Sometimes called "Obama’s brain", she serves as Obama’s Ambassador to the OECD. Kornbluh was Deputy Chief of Staff to Mr. Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin.
For the rest of the list and more detailed info on the list above, go to: Firedoglake.com A List of Goldman Sachs People in the Obama Government: Names Attached to the Giant Squid’s Tentacles
Hypocracy, lying and cheating are OK for the liberal agenda because it is for the common good.
ping
wait until they find out about the Super Bowl luxury suite the GOP/RNC has rented (what is that... $230,000?) I’m glad I never give them a penny.
Was willie Green in the crowd?
What a load! The most corrupt and abusive administration I've seen in my lifetime is in Washington right now. What the hell are these jackasses doing in California? Some "watchdog".
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