Stephanie
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Hope and Change Baby.
links in article at site
SNIP:
posted at 3:05 pm on February 15, 2012 by Ed MorrisseyDuring the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama pledged to flush lobbyists out of the halls of power and bring hope and change to Washington. Obama also pledged not to hire lobbyists in his administration, signed an executive order to that effect, and then issued dozens of waivers to his own rule. Not only did Obama start his administration by reneging on his lobbyist pledge, insiders in his administration conducted informal lobbying on behalf of companies to whom they were connected and manged to snag nearly $4 billion in federal funding in the green-tech stimulus, the Washington Post reports:
Venture capitalists play key role in Obama’s Energy Department - The Washington Post
To believe those quiet conversations dont happen in the hallways about a project being in a certain congressmans district or being associated with a significant presidential donor, is naive, said Gold, who once worked at the Office of Management and Budget. When youre putting this kind of pressure on an organization to make decisions on very big dollars, theres increased likelihood that political connections will influence things.
One of the most eyebrow-raising connections in this story is that of Steven Spinner, who served as a DoE loan adviser and whose wife worked for the law firm Wilson Sonsini, which handled a number of loan applications for the green-tech stimulus. How did that work out for Mrs. Spinner? Wilson Sonsini clients got $2.75 billion in stimulus cash, almost three-quarters of the amount tracked in this report. The law firm tells the Post that it doesnt believe their employment of Spinners wife influenced DoE loan decisions and if you have a few bucks, they can sell you a few shares of Solyndra, too.
read it all with comments.
WaPo finds nearly $4 billion in green-tech stimulus funds went to WH-connected firms « Hot Air
links in article at site
SNIP:
posted at 3:05 pm on February 15, 2012 by Ed MorrisseyDuring the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama pledged to flush lobbyists out of the halls of power and bring hope and change to Washington. Obama also pledged not to hire lobbyists in his administration, signed an executive order to that effect, and then issued dozens of waivers to his own rule. Not only did Obama start his administration by reneging on his lobbyist pledge, insiders in his administration conducted informal lobbying on behalf of companies to whom they were connected and manged to snag nearly $4 billion in federal funding in the green-tech stimulus, the Washington Post reports:
Venture capitalists play key role in Obama’s Energy Department - The Washington Post
During the next three years, the department provided $2.4 billion in public funding to clean-energy companies in which Wagles former firm, Vantage Point Venture Partners, had invested, a Washington Post analysis found. Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers.
Obamas program to invest federal funds in start-up companies and the failure of some of those companies is becoming a rallying cry for opponents in the presidential race. Mitt Romney has promised to focus on Obamas record as a venture capitalist. And in ads and speeches, conservative groups and the Republican candidates are zeroing in on the administrations decision to extend $535 million to the now-shutteredsolar firm Solyndra and billions of dollars more to clean-tech start-ups backed by the presidents political allies.
White House officials stress that staffers and advisers with venture capital ties did not make funding decisions related to these companies. But e-mails released in a congressional probe of Obamas clean-tech program show that staff and advisers with links to venture firms informally advocated for some of those companies.
David Gold, a venture capitalist and critic of Obamas investments in clean tech, said that even if staffers had been removed from the final decision-making, they had the kind of inside access to exert subtle influence.
To believe those quiet conversations dont happen in the hallways about a project being in a certain congressmans district or being associated with a significant presidential donor, is naive, said Gold, who once worked at the Office of Management and Budget. When youre putting this kind of pressure on an organization to make decisions on very big dollars, theres increased likelihood that political connections will influence things.
One of the most eyebrow-raising connections in this story is that of Steven Spinner, who served as a DoE loan adviser and whose wife worked for the law firm Wilson Sonsini, which handled a number of loan applications for the green-tech stimulus. How did that work out for Mrs. Spinner? Wilson Sonsini clients got $2.75 billion in stimulus cash, almost three-quarters of the amount tracked in this report. The law firm tells the Post that it doesnt believe their employment of Spinners wife influenced DoE loan decisions and if you have a few bucks, they can sell you a few shares of Solyndra, too.
read it all with comments.
WaPo finds nearly $4 billion in green-tech stimulus funds went to WH-connected firms « Hot Air