Free Republic

"It's good to have an enemy," says George Birnbaum, one of the godfathers of modern populism. "Very rarely will you find someone who's loved by everybody." A political consultant for 30 years, he helped Benjamin Netanyahu come to power in a surprise victory in Israel in 1996, and Hungary's Viktor Orban in 2010. He has clients in many countries, and flits nowadays between New York, Dubai and Harare. George Birnbaum built his reputation as one of "Arthur's kids" - under mentor and late business partner Arthur Finkelstein, a brilliant mathematician who re-invented the art of political campaigning in the US,...

Special counsel Robert Mueller on Monday night released a memo detailing then-national security adviser Michael Flynn's interview with FBI agents, in which Flynn repeatedly lied about his contacts with former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The FBI officials who interviewed Flynn, including former agent Peter Strzok, gave him multiple opportunities to describe his conversations with Kislyak. Flynn denied that he spoke to the then-Russian ambassador about sanctions. The memo about the FBI interview was filed by Mueller in federal court in Washington, D.C. Flynn is set to be sentenced in that federal court on Tuesday. DEVELOPING

Fellow FReepers, please excuse the vanity but I cannot find a source that has noted the incredible admission of Obama being too busy to know of Birnbaum's resignation last Thursday to the fact that Bill Clinton was at the White House that very morning apparently to get their stories straight on the Sestak scandal. Thursday afternoon, May 27th, when asked how he could possibly not have known about her resgination/firing, he responded that he "had a bunch of other stuff going on." (video here: http://hotair.com/archives/2010/05/27/obama-um-im-not-sure-if-the-mms-director-was-fired-or-resigned/ ) Later we learned that Bill Clinton was at the White House meeting with Obama...

Elizabeth Birnbaum's departure was first reported as a "firing." Later, a "resignation." When asked for clarity, President Obama told the press corps today he had no idea. "Did she resign," asked CBS White House Correspondent Chip Reid. "Was she fired? Was she forced out? And if so, why?" "I found out about her resignation today," the president answered, "so I don't know the circumstances in which this occurred." An incredulous press corps followed up. "How is it that you didn't know about Ms. Birnbaum's resignation/firing before?" asked another reporter. Mr. Obama: "Well, you're assuming it was a firing. If it...

How could he not have? At his presser today, the president claimed that he did not know whether the head of the Minerals Management Service, Elizabeth Birnbaum, had resigned or was fired. Obama said he didn't know because he was engaged all morning and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was busy giving testimony on Capitol Hill. But the president also said that he received multiple daily updates on the Gulf situation and described it as his "top priority." Now the NYT reports this: S. Elizabeth Birnbaum, who took over as director of the Minerals Management Service last July, announced her resignation...

Whether we realize it or not, Washington has come to a standstill and at a very dangerous time. Democrats, who have control on paper, have neither enough votes in Congress nor enough support among the American people to move a serious agenda. Yet the problems the country faces are large and growing. In many ways, there's a vacuum at the top that no one knows how to fill. The central dilemma is that the economy continues to wobble, and yet the government can't - or won't - do much to right it. Massive federal budget deficits - bloated by earlier...

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an associate famously collected $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees from six Indian tribes and devoted a lot of their time to trying to persuade Republican lawmakers to act on their clients' behalf. But Abramoff didn't work just with Republicans. He oversaw a team of two dozen lobbyists at the law firm Greenberg Traurig that included many Democrats. Moreover, the campaign contributions that Abramoff directed from the tribes went to Democratic as well as Republican legislators. Among the biggest beneficiaries were Capitol Hill's most powerful Democrats, including Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) and Harry M....

More Than Ever, Business Chooses Republican Ticket Despite common perceptions, business -- especially big business -- has never been monolithically Republican. Executives have been far too pragmatic for that. They have long used campaign giving to buy their way into the offices of both Republicans and Democrats. Until now. More than any time I can remember, business interests have decided to choose sides in this presidential election year. And the result will likely be a boon to President Bush and his fellow Republicans. The shift hasn't been absolute, of course -- nothing in politics is. But everywhere you look, there...