Obama Gonna Do What Obama Gonna Do.

There is a lot of discussion about what Obama is going to do with regards to appointments and with his agenda and whether he is going to be governing from the center or the left or any number of other things. While this speculation is fun and amusing the issue is whether or not any one has any influence over what Obama is planning to do with regards to these topics. I really dont think it matters what pundits or bloggers or reporters or the press says about these things, it wont have any impact whatsoever on what obama plans to do.

If we look back on the primaries and on the election is there an instance where what the press or the blogosphere was saying forced Obama to materially change his plans regarding policy, strategy or tactics. One thing people admire about Obama is his ability to game plan and then stick to that plan. The 50 state strategy and the relentless focus on ground level organizing are just a couple of examples of important long term strategies implemented by Obama.

What then will influence the Obama administration? can they be moved at all towards one policy or another? Obama has committed himself to limiting lobbyist access and has no real affinity for the press and he does not care about what the blogosphere is doing. It will be interesting to see if phone calls the the white house switchboard have the same impact that calls to a senator do.

Read more...

More on the Dark Side of the Convention

The Convention in Denver has largely been a peaceful affair. The speeches given by both Clintons, John Kerry, Joe Biden and others really rocked the house. There were no instances of Clinton loyalists stabbing the Obama in the back and the unity was evident for all to see. That was all in front of the cameras. Behind the scenes there was some business being done. It is almost fitting that some of this stuff is coming up right at the time the Jack Abramoff the king of corruption is going to e sentenced. I wrote yesterday on the ATT party thrown for the Blue Dogs efforts on their behalf in congress. Wednesday there arose another story from the dark side of the convention, that of Asa Eslocker an ABC News producer arrested attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel.

A police official later told lawyers for ABC News that Eslocker is being charged with trespass, interference, and failure to follow a lawful order. He also said the arrest followed a signed complaint from the Brown Palace Hotel.

Snip

Video taken at the scene shows a man, wearing the uniform of a Boulder County sheriff, ordering Eslocker off the sidewalk in front of the hotel, to the side of the entrance.

The sheriff's officer is seen telling Eslocker the sidewalk is owned by the hotel. Later, he is seen pushing Eslocker off the sidewalk into oncoming traffic, forcing him to the other side of the street.

It was two hours later when Denver police arrived to place Eslocker under arrest, apparently based on a complaint from the Brown Palace Hotel, a central location for Democratic officials.

During the arrest, one of the officers can be heard saying to Eslocker, "You're lucky I didn't knock the f..k out of you."

Video Here

Eslocker and crew were there investigating the role of corporate lobbyists and wealthy donors at the convention. That is some important work and we hope that there efforts to expose the seedy ties between corporations and our nations lawmakers. As of interest is what happens in the courts with this case. The facts at issue are unclear as it would have to be checked whether the hotel did in fact own that sidewalk.

In any event it is obvious why the hotel and these particular guests would be opposed to seeing themselves portrayed as corrupt. A story to keep an eye on...

Read more...

The Dark Side of the Convention

The Democratic Convention is the place to be right now. Denver is the center of the political world and so everyone from delegates to politicians to journalists has flocked. One thing to remember though is that where the powerful go so do the special interests and the lobbyists. These people are not there to party and have a vacation, these people are there to work.

They way they work is to set up parties and receptions. They invite lawmakers and power brokers to these events. They invite some to pitch their money and there interests and they invite others for a job well done. If you doubt that you can read this piece by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com

Last night in Denver, at the Mile High Station -- next to Invesco Stadium, where Barack Obama will address a crowd of 30,000 people on Thursday night -- AT&T threw a lavish, private party for Blue Dog House Democrats, virtually all of whom blindly support whatever legislation the telecom industry demands and who also, specifically, led the way this July in immunizing AT&T and other telecoms from the consequences for their illegal participation in the Bush administration's warrantless spying program. Matt Stoller has one of the listings for the party here.

The blue dogs are a blight on the Democratic Party. The one thing i cant stand about them is not that they are more conservative than i would like, they are, but its that they refused to stand up as a classic conservative or a liberal. they threw the 4th amendment under the bus for campaign contributions. You cant balme everything on the BD though. They just happened to be the ones serving corporate interests on this particular bill. They are not at all alone in their attitudes, as Greenwald illustrates

It was really the perfect symbol for how the Beltway political system functions -- those who dictate the nation's laws (the largest corporations and their lobbyists) cavorting in total secrecy with those who are elected to write those laws (members of Congress), while completely prohibiting the public from having any access to and knowledge of -- let alone involvement in -- what they are doing. And all of this was arranged by the corporation -- AT&T -- that is paying for a substantial part of the Democratic National Convention with millions upon millions of dollars, which just received an extraordinary gift of retroactive amnesty from the Congress controlled by that party, whose logo is splattered throughout the city wherever the DNC logo appears -- virtually attached to it -- all taking place next to the stadium where the Democratic presidential nominee, claiming he will cleanse the Beltway of corporate and lobbying influences, will accept the nomination on Thursday night.

While you watch the powerful speeches by public officials keep this ATT event in mind. The glitz and the glam are one side of the convention, the corporate money and lobbying is the other.

Read more...