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Senator Clinton Doesn't Really Oppose the Colombian Trade Agreement: Just look at Her Senior Staff, Including Bill Clinton

Submitted by mark karlin on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 9:10am.

EditorBlog

BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

by Mark Karlin
Editor and Publisher, April 9, 2008

Mark Penn, Not Gone and Not Forgotten

I recently detailed how Mark Penn’s visit with the Colombian ambassador to the U.S. about the proposed free trade agreement with that nation, where union leaders are regularly assassinated, was in all likelihood carried out as part of his dual roles as then top Clinton campaign strategist and on behalf of Burson-Marsteller, which he also represented since he never stepped down as CEO -- and that was fine with Senator Clinton.

The key evidence in this theory is that the President of Colombia, as I detailed, denounced Barack Obama for his opposition to the Colombia trade agreement -- opposition due primarily to union rights concerns (particularly the right not to be murdered) -- two days after the meeting with Penn, and then again two days later. So twice in one week the Colombian President lacerated Obama but didn’t utter a word about Hillary Clinton’s claimed opposition to the trade agreement.

It’s extremely unusual for a foreign country to become officially and vocally involved, at the presidential level, in taking sides in a presidential primary race in the United States, to say the least. But it is even more remarkable that the leader of Colombia would only launch an attack on one of the candidates, even though the other candidate is holding out to Pennsylvania union voters that she also opposes the pact.

Mark Penn, as we said, wasn’t "officially" demoted because he met with the Colombian ambassador. As we observed, his title was "officially" taken away because he got caught, allegedly by Republican dirty trickster, Roger Stone, about whom BuzzFlash also has written. (If true, then Stone leaked the story to The Wall Street Journal.)

In what is likely an election ruse by the Clinton campaign to pretend to be against the Colombia agreement, they even misled the press into posting headlines and stories that Penn was fired. But that was a lie. He is still, according to published reports, daily on press phone calls and also directly advising Hillary Clinton -- and he speaks regularly with Bill, who, in turn, advises Hillary. In short, nothing much has changed except that the Clinton campaign was panicking because union leaders were calling and asking for Penn’s head.

So Senator Clinton, who along with Bill, allegedly loves Penn’s loyalty since 1996 (Penn was brought into the Clinton inner circle by Dick Morris, by the way, in ’96, and Morris was brought into the White House by -- well -- Hillary Clinton, and she brags about it in her memoir) decided to simply change Penn’s nameplate, but keep him as a key adviser on her campaign. Penn was, and this is undisputed, not fired, not by a long shot.

The New Republic recently published an analysis about why the Clintons are so fond of Penn, and here is one of the reasons that The New Republic notes:

Others in the party object to, if not Penn's disdain for liberals, then his chronic inability to hide that disdain. "One of his favorite things is the 'double-push off,'" chuckles the colleague from a past race. "On the one hand, he's attacking Bush and pushing off of him. On the other hand, he's attacking and pushing off the excesses of the left." And while this tendency risks alienating many within the party's base, Penn's rough handling of liberals rarely upset the Clintons too severely, considering Bill's historical success with triangulation.

But back to why Hillary Clinton is probably lying about her opposition to the Colombian free trade pact. The answer is simple, very key people on her staff -- and her political partner, Bill -- support it. In fact, Bill has financially benefited from the relationship to at least the tune of $600,000.

It’s not just Mark Penn. Howard Wolfson, who is now the new "co-key-strategist" of Clinton’s campaign has a large (perhaps million dollar) equity interest in a firm doing work on behalf of passing the pact.

The New York Times reported on just some of the Clinton team connections to passing the Colombia Free Trade Agreement:

To help make its case, Colombia had already hired at least three firms on Capitol Hill, in addition to the work by Mr. Penn’s firm, Burson-Marsteller, paying out from $15,000 to $40,000 a month. Collectively the Colombian government has paid more than $1 million to firms that have negotiated or lobbied on behalf of the deal.
They include the Glover Park Group, the fast-growing firm set up by former Clinton White House aides including Joe Lockhart, who was chief spokesman for the president. (Howard Wolfson, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign communications director, was a partner at the firm but has taken a leave of absence.)
The ties between the lobbying firms and the Clinton campaign illustrate the complexity of Washington’s political world, where players are often switching positions or playing multiple roles. While Mr. Wolfson has taken a leave from Glover Park, for example, he still has equity in the firm valued at $500,000 to $1 million, according to a disclosure form.
A long list of former Clinton administration aides, including Mack McLarty, the former counsel to the president; Donna E. Shalala, the health and human services secretary; and Leon E. Panetta, the onetime chief of staff, also have come out in support of the deal. It puts them in alliance with Mr. Bush and Republican leaders.

Either Senator Clinton has very poor judgment about how who you employ is perceived by foreign governments, or she is basically lying about her opposition to the Colombian Free Trade Agreement in order to placate the union vote in PA, which she desperately needs.

Either way, she is not a good match for a presidency that has to deal with both perception and action when dealing with sensitive issues like the proposed Colombian Free Trade Agreement and the challenge of the Colombian political mess in general. Senator Clinton hired all these people already knowing about their multiple conflicts of interest, not just on the Colombian trade proposal, but also on unions, big tobacco, big oil, and so on. In short, she was sending out a signal in her choice of key campaign staff that business would be conducted as usual in D.C. with the K Street lobbyists -- and against the public interest. Otherwise, she would have picked a different staff.

As for Bill, no one, especially Hillary, denies that they have a political partnership. She also benefits from his earnings, as in the case with Colombia. This is an inherent conflict of interest, given that Bill Clinton is her chief surrogate and is a former President of the United States. Lobbying is all about influence, and no one has more influence on Hillary Clinton than Bill Clinton, and vice versa, by their own accounts.

When Penn went to the Colombian embassy, a spokesperson claimed not to know whether Penn was representing the Clinton campaign or Burson-Marsteller:

A spokesman for Colombia's President Álvaro Uribe said the ambassador met with Mr. Penn to discuss the bilateral agenda. "There have also been meetings with the advisers to the campaigns of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain," he said. "It's the embassy's job to explain Colombia's reality."
"The spokesman said he didn't know if Mr. Penn was representing Sen. Clinton or Burson-Marsteller, which signed a $300,000, one-year contract with the Colombian Embassy in March 2007 to work on behalf of the trade deal and anti-drug-trafficking initiatives, according to the Justice Department filings."

That is an astonishing statement, but it reveals that either Senator Clinton is utterly naïve in terms of the game of perception and foreign policy, or knew all along what Penn was up to, her reported feigned outrage aside.

How can you hire as your key strategist a liberal hating guy who insists on not taking a leave of absence from a firm that represents the lead line-up of bad boy corporations, and then claim ignorance about what he is up to?

The very act of letting Penn remain CEO of Burson-Marsteller, while paying his own firm (another one, yes) more than $10 million (and currently owing him an estimated $2.5 to $3 million), sends a signal to the dark side of the corporate world. (Blackwater was one of Burson-Marsteller’s clients.)

It is quite worthy of note that when Senator Clinton finished questioning Crocker and Petraeus on April 8th, "… reporters spilled out to follow her down the hallway and stairwell … Shortly afterward, she was asked, twice, why she was keeping Mr. Penn on the campaign and whether his influence had waned. She had nothing to say, and walked out the door."

Nothing to say, indeed.

BUZZFLASH EDITOR'S BLOG

Why not an American Company???

Submitted by VoteResponsibly08 on Sat, 04/12/2008 - 4:36pm.

Press Release Source: CakeMail Inc. Barack Obama Fundraising Campaign Chooses Canadian Tech Company Wednesday April 9, 11:13 am ET YA THAT'S WRIGHT OBAMA...

Hillary

Submitted by andyod on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 2:18am.

I find it fascinating that when you don't like something Bill did Hillary is somehow involved in it. But if you like what Bill did Hillary was just serving tea to those involved.Heads I win;tails you lose.

This Article insults the intellegence of American People

Submitted by VoteResponsibly08 on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 11:02pm.

You talk about anti-American words by Obama himself: Twenty Years.. My Friend, my uncle, my preacher,I am going to turn the page, a litany of complaint about America..This is what you should be researching and writing about! Shame on you with your idiotic Article...

One vote per Senator

Submitted by gabbyone on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 3:32pm.

Each Senator, the last time I checked, gets one vote on this issue. If Clinton votes no which she says she will do, it will make this article a huge waste of time for everyone who has read it. It doesn't matter if every person that surrounds her is in favor of the Columbia deal, it only matters how she votes. Axelrod was a lobbyist for Exelon. We have proof that Obama voted for a bill that helped Exelon and he sold out his constituents that live near the Braidwood Nuclear Plant in the process. He got paid his 20 pieces of silver by Exelon in contributions. So why aren't your knickers in a knot about that?......oh that's right, it's Obama.

It will be a waste of time..This Article is totally untrue

Submitted by VoteResponsibly08 on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 10:16pm.

To begin with,First Dick Morris is a digruntle employee and who was really dropped by the Clintons becasue he was caught hiering a Prostitute to suck her toes (true) and at the same time was advising the president on the phone in front of the Prostitute. He absolultely hates Hillary now and lies thru his teeth. I would not put it passed Dick Morris to have concored with Mark Penn to really hurt Hillary. Hillary is totally againsT this Columbia trade deal and I understand Mark Penn was not fired due to some loyalty, which we think he does not desrve! BUT was demoted and probably soon will be totally out!Hillary is not for this Columbia trade deal and she has always been leary of NAFTA. I must again reiterate that there are no words to discribe the cesspool of a man Dick Morris is... please see the following for a good look at who is Dick Morris the back stabber! A disloyal man who makes his money putting Hillary down..He is a lier and a true wannabe journalist Putz Winer..See below January 24, 2008 Dick Morris For reporting that is an embarrassment to the profession of journalism, and for being beholden to corporate paymasters rather than the citizens of America. Beyond being outed in the '90s for paying a prostitute to suck her toes (we are not making this up), Dick Morris is, among other things, a regular television "pundit," "columnist," and "author." He is also advising Mike Huckabee, behind the scenes, on what appears to be his 10-seconds of fame campaign. Morris is actually a character assassin and has spent much of his recent infamous media "career" obsessing over Hillary Clinton. It is somewhat ironic, because as we have pointed out, Hillary Clinton boasts in her memoirs that she was responsible for reconciling Morris and Bill Clinton, resulting in Morris becoming a key "triangulation" advisor to Bill Clinton in the mid-'90s. Morris fell out of favor with the Clintons after his toe-sucking hooker incident (in which he let the prostitute listen in on his phone calls with President Bill Clinton) -- and since then has attacked Hillary Clinton with a misogynist ferocity that makes Chris Matthews come off as Phil Donahue. Media Matters noted in a January 21 posting: In his January 20 column, nationally syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak wrote that "Former Clinton Adviser" Dick Morris is "asking for a contribution between $25 and $100 or more to finance a critical film documentary of Sen. Hillary Clinton." According to Novak, in a mailing sent out by The Presidential Coalition, a group run by Republican activist and discredited former congressional staffer David Bossie, Morris wrote: "If you liked how the Swift Boat Veterans turned the tide against John Kerry, you understand how a top Clinton aide can turn the tables and stop a Clinton-style liberal from becoming the next president of the United States." After a couple of crass, vitriolic books that treated Hillary Clinton as if she were a vampire, it's not surprising that Dick Morris would be into Jerry Falwell style Clinton slime videos. As BuzzFlash reader Niliad of Woodland Hills, California, observed in her nomination of Dick Morris for BuzzFlash Media Putz of the Week: "He is just so down and dirty. He salivates in thinking that he can bring this lady down. He is an abusive SOB. The way he talks about Hillary is disgusting. He is in the same realm as Matthews and Hannity, only lower than low." Most of the BuzzFlash Media Putz winners engage in reprehensible media trash talk for the big bucks, but we've thought a lot about Dick Morris. In his case, we think that he is just a guy who believes that he is getting messages from afar transmitted through a tinfoil hat that he probably sleeps with. So it's not that Morris is just looking for the money; it's just that he has scrambled eggs in place of the gray matter in his brain. But then again, he's making a good living out of being a Hillary-basher, so maybe he's cashing in on cesspool "analysis" in the end. What kind of guy, after all, pays a few hundred bucks to a hooker to suck her toes? The kind of guy who is our BuzzFlash Media Putz of the Week: Dick Morris.

You don't get it.

Submitted by bettysdad on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 3:46pm.

The point Gabby, is that this is one more example of Mrs. Bill Clinton LYING. What Obama did or didn'y do is not the point. She's a consistent LIAR.

YOU YOU DON'T GET IT..OBAMA IS NOT A LIER? YA WRIGHT

Submitted by VoteResponsibly08 on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 10:24pm.

TALK ABOUT LIERS THAT GET AWAY WITH IT BECASUE THEY GET A FREE PASS FROM THE PRESS..HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THIS ANTI-AMERICAN OBAMA'S LIES.\ 1.) Selma Got Me Born - LIAR, your parents felt safe enough to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. 2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - LIAR, he was a privileged, well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government. 3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - LIAR, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had 4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - LIAR, your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya. It is the first widespread violence in decades. 5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - LIAR, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn’t allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man. 6.) My Name is African Swahili - LIAR, your name is Arabic and ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama. 7.) I Never Practiced Islam - LIAR, you practiced it daily at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years,until your wife made you change, so you could run for office. 8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - LIAR, you were registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making faces (check your own book). 9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - LIAR, not one teacher says you could speak the language. 10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia, I Have More Foreign Experience - LIAR, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even speak the language. What did you learn, how to study the Koran and watch cartoons. 11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - LIAR, except for Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never been anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest allies. 12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - LIAR, you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were just fine. 13.)An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - LIAR, Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist. 14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - LIAR, Life has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and never did, exist. 15.) I Won’t Run On A National Ticket In ‘08 - LIAR, here you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough experience by then, and you are all about having experience first. 16.) Present Votes Are Common In Illinois - LIAR, they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES. 17.) Oops, I Misvoted - LIAR, only when caught by church groups and democrats, did you beg to change your misvote. 18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - LIAR, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE. 19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - LIAR, you were a senior lecturer ON LEAVE. 20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - LIAR, you didn’t write it,introduce it, change it, or create it. 21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - LIAR, it took just 14 days from start to finish. 22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - LIAR, your bill was rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation - mainly because of your Nuclear Donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came. 23.) I Have Released My State Records - LIAR, as of March, 2008, state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing all the special interests pork hidden within. 24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - LIAR, you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens. You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books. 25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - LIAR, your 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your own bill. 26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - LIAR, even your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part. 27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - LIAR, they were not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office. 28.) No One Contacted Canada About NAFTA - LIAR, the Candian Government issued the names and a memo of the conversation your campaign had with them. 29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - LIAR, you missed the Iran Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the destruction of Israel. 30.) I Am Not Acting As President Yet - LIAR, after the NAFTA Memo, a dead terrorist in the FARC, in Colombia, was found with a letter stating how you and he were working together on getting FARC recognized officially. 31.) I Didn’t Run Ads In Florida - LIAR, you allowed national ads to run 8-12 times per day for two weeks - and you still lost. 32.) I Won Michigan - LIAR, no you didn’t. 33.) I won Nevada - LIAR, no you did not. 34.) I Want All Votes To Count - LIAR, you said let the delegates decide. 35.) I Want Americans To Decide - LIAR, you prefer caucuses that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate during small windows of time. 36.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - LIAR, you passed 26, most of which you didn’t write yourself. 37.) My Campaign Was Extorted By A Friend - LIAR, that friend is threatening to sue if you do not stop saying this. Obama has stopped saying this. 38.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - LIAR, you used tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against you. 39.) I Don’t Take PAC Money - LIAR, you take loads of it. 40.) I don’t Have Lobbysists - LIAR, you have over 47 lobbyists, and counting. 41.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - LIAR, your own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon. 42.) My Campaign Never Took Over MySpace - LIAR, Tom, who started MySpace issued a warning about this advertising to MySpace clients. 43.) I Inspire People With My Words - LIAR, you inspire people with other people’s words. 44.) I Have Passed Bills In The U.S. Senate - LIAR, you have passed A BILL in the U.S. Senate - for Africa, which shows YOUR priorities. 45.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - LIAR, you weren’t in office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time, unlike Kucinich, who seems to be out gutting you Obama. You also seem to be stepping back from your departure date - AGAIN. 46.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - LIAR, your plan leaves us all to pay the 15,000,000 who don’t have to buy it. 47.) I Only Found Out About My Investment Conflicts Via Mail - LIAR, both companies you site as having sent you letters about this conflict have no record of any such letter ever being created or sent. 48.) I Am As Patriotic As Anyone - LIAR, you won’t wear a flag pin and you don’t put your hand over your heart during the Anthem. 49.) My Wife Didn’t Mean What She Said About Pride In Country - LIAR, your wife’s words follow lock-step in the vein of Wright and Farrahkan, in relation to their contempt and hatred of America. 50.) Wal-Mart Is A Company I Wouldn’t Support - LIAR, your wife has received nearly a quater of a million dollars through Treehouse, which is connected to Wal-Mart. 51.) Treehouse Is A Small Company - LIAR, the CEO of Treehouse last year, made more than the CEO of Wal-Mart, according to public records. 52.) University Of Chicago Hospital Pay Is Fair - LIAR, your wife’s pay raise was nearly 150% her already bloated rate and the hospital is a Non-Profit Hospital, which made $100,000,000 in the last 3 years. They overcharge blacks VS whites for services, and overcharge everyone in general by 538%! 53.)I Barely Know Rezko - Only 5 Billed Hours - LIAR, you have known him for 17 years, and decided to do a real estate deal with him during a time when he was proven to be under investigation. Despite this, you divided your property and had them take off $300K before the mortgage problems started. Then Rezko’s wife buys the lot beside it that you can’t afford, saving you $625,000. 54.) My Donations Have Been Checked Thoroughly - LIAR, you only gave back Hsu ($72K) and Rezko (first $66K, then when caught lying $86K, then when caught lying again $150K and now caught lying YET AGAIN OBAMA, it’s $250k) their money when publically called on their involvement in your campaigns. 55.) My Church Is Like Any Other Christian Church - LIAR, your church is so extreme, the pastor who married you, Rev. Wright, just got done blaming the US for 9/11 and named Louis Farrahkan their person of the year. 56.) I Disagree With My Church All The Time - LIAR, you still have yet to repudiate Wright, who married you and your wife, and you still donate large sums of money to assist the church in furthering its message - hatred and revenge. You donated in 2006 alone, $22,500 to the church that you so terribly disagree with. That is nearly $500 PER WEEK - that sure is disagreement, Senator Obama. 57.) I Have Clean Connections Despite Rezko - LIAR, you are not only connected to Exelon and Rezko, you are also connected to Hillary PAC supporter Mr. Hsu, AND an Iraqi Billionaire of ill repute, Nadhmi Auchi, who ripped off people in the Food For Oil, Iraqi deal. Seems Mr. Auchi may have helped Obama buy his million dollar property long before Obama had millions of dollars. Wonder what favors Mr. Auchi expects, when Obama leaves Iraq free to be taken over by special interests such as him. 58.) I never heard sermons like Rev. Wright’s, that have been in videos all day, You Tube - LIAR! 3 days later during your Mea Culpa BS speech you said “Did I hear controversial statements while I sat in that church? Yes I did.” 59.) The Passport Invasion is a conspiracy to find dirt on me! - LIAR. Your own Campaign Foreign Policy Advisor is the CEO of the company that looked into your records. PS - You had them look into yours to hide the fact you looked into Clinton’s and McCain’s more than a year before! 60.) Rev. Meeks has nothing to do with my campaigning - LIAR. Rev. Meeks appeared in ads for your Senate Campaign, donated to you, and helped raise money, then AND NOW. PS - He also seems to despise America. 61.) My wife didn’t mean America is ignorant, she was just using a phrase - LIAR. Again, MicHELLe’s comments perfectly sync with Wright’s, Meeks’, and Farrakhans, both in language, anger, and direction. 62.) I am very Anti-Terror - LIAR. [03/30/2008] One of your good pals is long time radical and terrorist William Ayers, with whom you have been seen in the last 12 months and who has helped the now jailed khalidi, Professor at Columbia who invited Ahmadinejad to the University, to raise money for Palestinian terrorism attacks against Israel. PS - Your church published a pro Hamas Manifesto - guess you weren’t there on THAT Sunday either? How lucky for you. 63.) I have the best plan to cure the Mortgage Crisis - LIAR. [03/30/2008] You and your campaign buddy Penny SubPrime Bank Collapse Prizker have had your little fingers full of subprime cash - Obama has taken $1,180,103 from the top issuers of subprime loans: Obama received $266,907 from Lehman, $5395 from GMAC, $150,850 from Credit Suisse First Boston, $11,250 from Countrywide, $9052 from Washington Mutual, $161,850 from Citigroup, $4600 from CBASS, $170,050 from Morgan Stanley, $1150 from Centex, and last but certainly NOT LEAST - Obama received $351,900 from Goldman Sachs. I am sure that cash all came from folks who knew the subprime loan they had was a dream, eh? 64) I played greater role in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion - LIAR - [03/31/2008] It was found that Obama — the day after sitting for the interview — filed an amended version of the questionnaire, which appears to contain Obama’s own handwritten notes added to one answer. Read Obama had greater role on liberal survey 65) I did NOT play the race card: - LIAR - [03/31/2008] Obama was the first to play the race card. According to Phialdelphia Inquirer, Quietly, the storm over the hateful views expressed by Sen. Barack Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has blown away the most insidious myth of the Democratic primary campaign. Obama and his surrogates have charged that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has deliberately and cleverly played the race card in order to label Obama the “black” candidate. Read more here 66) I did not take money from oil companies: - LIAR - [03/31/2008] THE FACTS: True enough, Obama does not take money from oil companies. No candidate does. It is illegal for corporations to give money to politicians. Corporations, however, do have political action committees that collect voluntary donations from employees and then donate them to candidates. Obama doesn’t take money from PACs. He also doesn’t take money from lobbyists. But he does accept money from executives and other employees of oil companies and two of his fundraisers are oil company executives. As of Feb. 29, Obama’s presidential campaign had received nearly $214,000 from oil and gas industry employees and their families, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Clinton had received nearly $307,000 from industry workers and their families and Republican Sen. John McCain, the likely GOP presidential nominee, received nearly $394,000, according to the center’s totals. Two of Obama’s fundraisers are Robert Cavnar, the chairman and chief executive of Houston-based Mission Resources Corp., and George Kaiser, the president and CEO of Tulsa-based Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. Source: Associated press via Yahoo News

lobbyist endorsements

Submitted by lruiz490 on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 12:22pm.

You all want to see somethign really interesting? Go to www.rollcall.com/politics/kstendorsements.html and you will see that Hillary Clinton has more lobbyist endorsemtents on K-street than John McCain AND Barrack Obama combined! How do you like them apples?- concerned citizen

endorsements!

Submitted by andyod on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 2:24am.

Joe Lieberman got the best endorsement of all......Barack Obama. "I am absolutely certain Connecticut is going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the U.S. Senate so he can continue to serve on our behalf." Barack Obama, March 30, 2006, >http://boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/03/31/obama_rallies_state_democrats_throws_support_behind_lieberman/

watch this

Submitted by jimigee (not verified) on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 12:18pm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCHfrLkGYlM

Casting Call... oink, oink

Submitted by askolnick on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 12:13pm.

Guys, take a good look at Mark Penn's photo above and imagine sticking a corkscrew tail on his huge butt. Maybe stick a couple of pig ears above that porcine face and you know would you'd have?

Why, a perfect "Squealer," the slinking propagandist pig in George Orwell's great parody of Stalinist Russia, Animal Farm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squealer_%28Animal_Farm%29

I'd love to see a remake movie of this classic, with Penn in the role of Squealer. He'd be perfect.

While he probably would not like the idea, if there's one thing we know about this penultimate flack, it's that he will do ANYTHING for money. We just need to find enough investors to raise the money.

And John McCain, while he would need a lot of padding for the part, he'd make a perfect "Napolean," the treacherous, totalitarian pig leader of Animal Farm.

Who knows, when McCain loses the election in November, he might consider retiring from politics and taking up acting.

I was trying to think of a part for Hillary. However, I'd like to save her for another movie remake: Shakespeare's Macbeth. She'd be outstanding in that role, don't you think?

May I remind all of the silly movie ideas..

Submitted by VoteResponsibly08 on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 10:53pm.

We are at war, our children, sisters, brother, mothers and fathers are dying in the war. Our economy is into a recession, people are loosing their homes, jobs and many are dying because they do not have the healthcare that we should have here in our beloved America. The price of gas is incredible at least where I am from the prices areat $4.00 plus. WE MAY BE ELECTING A MAN THAT SUPPORTS ANTI-AMERICANS WHO HATE AMERICAN AND HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH OUR ENEMIES.. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT IN YOUR MOVIE THEORY..IT WILL BE A MOVIE OF THE DEPRESSION OF ALL TIME OR EVEN A VERY SCARY MOVIE!!!

When did Faux Noise buy out Buzzflash?

Submitted by SFnomad on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 11:23am.

What a joke this place has become.

Yep, and rip snortingly funny

Submitted by askolnick on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 12:10pm.

"What a joke this place has become."

So SFnomad, you also laughing your head off when you read the Loony Tune comments from right-wing trolls?

The more they spit and rant over Buzzflash's criticisms of Bush, McCain, Bill and Hillary Clinton, the more I laugh my head off.

Keep them coming.

"So SFnomad, you also

Submitted by SFnomad on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 2:49pm.

"So SFnomad, you also laughing your head off when you read the Loony Tune comments from right-wing trolls?"

It's hard to tell the difference between the right-wing trolls and the "progressive" left-wing nutbags. They spew the same Clinton hatred.

Good one!

Submitted by askolnick on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 2:54pm.

LOL! Good one, SFismad. keep 'em coming!

This is no different than her NAFTA lies

Submitted by phred42 on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 10:09am.

She tells the Canadians "don't worry" about my NAFTA negative campaign rhetoric - tha'ts just for the Peons so I can get elected - then blames it on Obama. She's made her Faustian deals with Mellon and Murdock Her campaign managers and McCain's are the SAME company of Lobbyists Why would anyone believe her on this Columbia crap? The coffee's burning and the Fat Lady will start singing as soon as she puts down the cup. PS; unless something has changed int he past 24 hrs - Penn wasn't fired - She simply changed his title. Jobd didn't change however.

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