Free Republic

Lawrence Summers, a top economic adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama, was paid about $5.2 million by hedge fund D.E. Shaw in the past year, disclosure forms released by the White House showed on Friday. Summers was also paid $2.7 million in speaking fees by a range of organizations and companies, including several troubled Wall Street financial firms. The disclosure documents on Summers and other White House officials advising Obama on the global financial crisis covered 2008 and the first few months of this year. Summers became an official adviser on January 20 when Obama took office. Summers, who was...

As reported by Ed Morrissey (2008), two years ago when the large nuclear utility Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) wanted Illinois state lawmakers to back a large rate hike two years ago, it took a creative lobbying approach. Its parent company, Exelon Corporation, contracted with ASK Public Strategies, a consulting firm, to a build a fake "front company" that appeared to be devoted to the public interest called Consumers Organized for Reliable Electricity (CORE). Then the "front company" (CORE) ran TV ads warning of a “California-style energy crisis” if the rate increase wasn’t approved. The CORE ads, however, failed to disclose in...

Rusty at TheJawaReport connects the dots between the Obama campaign, a major PR firm, and a variety of baseless anti-Palin smears being circulated by lefty bloggers. As he notes, "Within an hour of this post going up, YouTube videos implicating Ethan Winner were yanked, sockpuppet accounts deleted, and more importantly, the Wikipedia entry on David Axelrod began to edit out mentions of his well-known astroturfing campaigns." If he were totally off base, would everything be coming down off the net? Sure seems like somebody's got something to hide. UPDATE: I like the way Ace puts it: "eswinner" is not sitting...

The master of "Astroturfing" has a second firm that shapes public opinion for corporations David Axelrod has long been known for his political magic. Through his AKP&D Message & Media consultancy, the campaign veteran has advised a succession of Democratic candidates since 1985, and he's now chief strategist for Senator Barack Obama's bid for President. But on the down low, Axelrod moonlights in the private sector. From the same River North address, Axelrod operates a second business, ASK Public Strategies, that discreetly plots strategy and advertising campaigns for corporate clients to tilt public opinion their way. He and his partners...