Obama’s Empty Ethics Promises
Conn Carroll /
As a candidate, President Barack Obama promised to “Shine the Light on Washington Lobbying” by creating “a centralized Internet database of lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings in a searchable, sortable and downloadable format.” That database will be completed any day, we’re sure, but President Obama has definitely already “shined a light” on how Washington really works.
Consider Obama’s failed Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Tom Daschle. As the New York Times reported this February, in the four years since he left the Senate, Daschle managed to make over $5 million and “live a lavish lifestyle by dint of his name.” But throughout that entire four year period, Daschle never registered as a lobbyist despite working for the lobbying firm Alston & Bird. Instead, Daschle merely “consulted” for clients with business before the federal government including two Indian tribes, a firm with heavy stakes in ethanol subsidies, and another with key issues before the Federal Aviation Administration.
And Daschle’s not alone. The Washington Post reports today: (more…)