Taking Care Of Axelrod

An industry group that has allied itself with the White House on the health care fight has hired David Axelrod's old firm, which still owes him $2 million and is now run by his son.  Well, the appearance of impropriety doesn't seem to faze this Administration.

We have also seen this before.  Back when Michelle Obama was implementing her controversial patient-dumping scheme at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Axelrod's firm (which he then owned) took a big payday.

Taking care of their cronies may not be change, but the Obamas believe in it.

Comments

[ensi]

You're right. Why can't Halliburton handle this anyway?

[JWB]

Corruption by Democrats isn't a problem, and doesn't bother me in the least.

Besides, it's Bush's fault.

[Neo]

This sounds like a moral issue.

Only Republicans are accountable on moral issues.

[MayBee]

This is from the Chicago Tribune link:

Those patients who seek out more expensive teaching hospitals for care could be treated more cost effectively elsewhere, medical center officials say.

I find that a pretty appalling statement.

[MayBee]

Susan Sher, Valerie Jarret, David Axelrod, and Michelle Obama were all involved in this scheme and are all at the WH now.

How do you know it was a horrible program? Because Obama never ever talks about it when he talks about HC reforem, even though the creators of it work for him now.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Come on Tom. Didn't you know that all the other public relations strategy firms are already booked solid?

This is just a product of putting out a bid, Chicago style, and knowing only one firm can meet the terms.

Again, David Axelrod grew up a red diaper doper baby with Communist parents, entered journalism, became the chief of staff to Mini-Lenin in Mayor Daley, and left that gig to run his own public relations firm representing deep pocketed clients with business interests with his former boss.

I wish I was making this shit up.

[MayBee]

Everything Obama has done in public life has financially enriched him and his friends.

UofC hired him, then when he was a shoo-in for state senate, hired Michelle. Michelle hired Axelrod. Obama used Rezko to get Whitaker a job with Blagojevich. Then Michelle hired Whitaker. Whitaker still has that job.
Obama ran for federal office and his book sales increased. Michelle's salary was raised. Axelrod got paid via tax-free campaign donations. Jarret and Sher came along.

[PeterUK]

Credit where credit is due,the man stays bought.

[MayBee]

Oh and let's not forget the Annenberg challenge where he funneled charitable donations to his friend's pet projects.

[clarice]

Maybe:"How do you know it was a horrible program? Because Obama never ever talks about it when he talks about HC reforem, even though the creators of it work for him now"

Don't you think it just as odd that no reporter has asked him about his one health care experience?

[TOPSECRETK9]

Most telling is Axelrod didn't return emails on this question, yet is timely with the emails normally.

Hey, can we get congress to supoena his emails so we can see the nature of his communications with his old firm that he use for "research and strategy" for the DNC?

[TOPSECRETK9]

suBpoena

[clarice]

Maybe we can get Armitage to leak something and then get a special prosecutor to check out everything in Axelrod's office.

Gabriel. Nuce to see you again!

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Maybee: There are two conduits for all of these events. It's Marilyn Katz and her MK Communications and the firm of Sidley & Austin. The key natural resource that ties them all together is energy. They use energy to force voters into their camp. It's a South Side legend. Do not pay your electric or your gas bills. The machine will make sure they get paid. Spend your money on other things, mainly overpriced groceries, alcohol, and leisure.

It's exactly how you get nice cars parked at dilapidated homes.

These are the same radicals that built the Weatherman and then relied on the Chicago Democratic Machine to facilitate their rehabilitation into the mainstream again.

They're in charge of the Executive branch and it is just unreal.

[Ignatz]

--You're right. Why can't Halliburton handle this anyway?--

So Barry is just as bad as satan and the anti-christ, AKA, Bushcheneymcchimpyhitlerburton?
Shouldn't that have been disclosed pre election?
Would have saved a bundle on those Hope 'n Change posters.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

I'd like to be around more, but I'm literally knee deep in tracking the work of MK Communications in Chicago. It's basically Axelrod lite. Similar clients, similar connections, similar strategy, same benefactors - corporations, non profits, and elected officials they implement their Leninist political philosophy.

It all goes back to several precincts in Brooklyn.

A lot of this research could be hosted by Pro-Publica or one of the other Sunlight Foundation funded projects. However, I don't know how much I trust these projects. Sunlight gets money from Pierre Omidyar. Omidyar is another son of globe traveling privilege. He also attended Punahou. Sunlight actually has Mike Klein running the show. This guy is Mr. Connected and his financial base is very much driven by war and conflict.

The press might touch on some of these matters, but the General Counsel will quash the most damaging details.

[MayBee]

Fascinating, Gabriel. Please keep digging.

And if Obama ever decides to get involved in energy, I'll worry. Oh wait....

[hrtshpdbox]

Sarah Palin has a record of exposing and halting energy corruption. Just sayin'.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

By the way, I don't know what type of commitments the Obama White House has made to other countries. But let me put it this way. Every action that the Obama White House takes to tie the hands of the ultra competitive United States market is one additional favor granted to China, India, and Brazil.

The whole "reset" craze is actually "elevate the interests of other nations over the one you are elected to represent". Naturally they seem rather quiet in their objections to US policy.

People like Jim Rogers get it. He's getting the heck out of markets that are socializing risk.

If this pace continues uncorrected there's going to be a war in South America.

[Alessandro Machi]

Back in the mid 90's, Barack Obama was finishing up his book about his sperm donor father in Bali while his mother was dying from cancer in Hawaii. That is one aspect of Barack Obama's experience with health care.

[Extraneus]

Sarah Palin has a record of exposing and halting energy corruption. Just sayin'.

Yes, hrtshpd. I noticed she had nothing in her facebook note about possible motives, yet I find it doubtful that she wouldn't know the bit about Soros' interest in Petrobras. Perhaps today's comment was just an opening salvo, such as was done with the death panels.

[clarice]

Gabriel, when you're finished let me know if you want help getting it published..

[the bishop]

Yes, they're sending Huntsman, is kind of a hawk on China, as Ambassador, they are begging the Saudis, How long before the Narodny Bank is up for a loan for us.

[ben]

"Well, the appearance of impropriety doesn't seem to faze this Administration."

I nominate this phrase for understatement of the year.

[Jane]

Every action that the Obama White House takes to tie the hands of the ultra competitive United States market is one additional favor granted to China, India, and Brazil.

Apropos to nothing I've been invested in those 3 markets for a few months now and they are kicking ass. Brazil particularly.

[ben]

"Shouldn't that have been disclosed pre election?
Would have saved a bundle on those Hope 'n Change posters."

It would have been immediately termed a "distraction", so the MSM could go back to talking about an unidentified aid being somewhat concerned years ago that McCain might be getting too close to a woman.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

THE HISTORY OF THE PUBLIC OPTION

[MayBee]

Obama looooves Lula. He says it all the time.

[DrJ]

You do know that the word “lula” means “penis” in Urdu, right?

[Extraneus]

Obama Rethinking Health Care Pitch

More emotional appeal may surface as Obama's backers criticize him for focusing on regulatory details instead of lofty themes.

[Extraneus]

From that same article...

The president is expected to present a more emotional appeal during a conference call Wednesday with liberal religious groups.

Are there officially "liberal" religious groups Obama is speaking with today, or was this some sort of Freudian slip?

[Rob Crawford]

More emotional appeal may surface as Obama's backers criticize him for focusing on regulatory details instead of lofty themes.

Yay! More sob stories!

(I have to wonder at people who hear a story of someone else's suffering and instinctively call for government to force someone else to do something.)

[Extraneus]

Hey, you guys will be in DC on the 12th, right? Check it out. You might want to get out of town that night.

Robert Reich calls for 'march on Washington' in support of public option

Robert Reich, the former Labor secretary, scholar and commentator, called Tuesday for a “march on Washington” on Sept. 13 —“Grandparents Day” — in support of a health care bill that offers a public option.

[Ignatz]

--More emotional appeal may surface as Obama's backers criticize him for focusing on regulatory details instead of lofty themes.--

This is a joke right?
All Barry can do is vomit forth empty, lofty themes and wouldn't know a detail if it bit his lula.

[Ignatz]

--You might want to get out of town that night.--

The Lollipop Guild is not that threatening is it?

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Are there officially "liberal" religious groups Obama is speaking with today, or was this some sort of Freudian slip?

There are. The United Church of Christ is liberal. You won't see them on this conference call, but you will find their farm team represented.

You might also call his liberal religious support "his neighbors". They are in fact his neighbors. Why, they're just 10-15 blocks away from his Kenwood home. We call them the Catholic Theological Union and the Chicago Theological Seminary.

In short, the moralizers that claim abortion is freedom for women and need a Sunstein nudge to take their support for federally funded abortion to the streets.

[Neo]

Plant and her colleagues had just administered a racial Implicit Association Test to 74 white college students. A common tool in psychology lab work, the IAT purports to measure the kinds of biases people may not admit or even know they harbor. It is one of the more troubling, and fascinating, realities in Plant's line of work that when the test is administered to whites, about 75% typically show some degree of anti-black bias.

But in this case, her subjects were displaying almost no bias against African Americans. In fact, about 45% appeared to be favoring blacks over whites.

"It made us stop dead in our tracks," she said. "I mean, this was unheard of."

...

In their studies, white Obama supporters showed favoritism for whites over blacks in certain hypothetical situations -- perhaps because by supporting Obama, they felt bestowed with non-racist "moral credentials" that made them more comfortable siding with fellow whites.

[Rob Crawford]

A common tool in psychology lab work, the IAT purports to measure the kinds of biases people may not admit or even know they harbor.

Previous versions of the IAT were used in Salem, MA, in the late 1600s.

[glasater]

Only Republicans are accountable on moral issues

Conservatives are always going to be held to a higher standard--that's just the way it is.

Nobody expects anything from entities like JWB.

[bgates]

You do know that the word “lula” means “penis” in Urdu, right?

Um, duh.

[Extraneus]

We don't have enough Urdu speakers here.

[PeterUK]

"Robert Reich calls for 'march on Washington' in support of public option".

He would never catch up.

[PeterUK]

"Oh and let's not forget the Annenberg challenge where he funneled charitable donations to his friend's pet projects."

An there's everyone saying Obama had no experience.

[PeterUK]

Puts a whole new meaning on ,
"Be Bop a Lula".

[Charlie (Colorado)]

I wish I was making this shit up.

Me too.

[clarice]

Today everyone's a comedian!

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

"Be Bop a Lula".

GMTA.

[glasater]

I'm sure that some of the regulars have waded through this article by Hugh Hewitt on Axelrod and all the links.

It is extensive to say the least!

[MayBee]

I read Urdu poetry.

There once was a man from Sialkot
Whose Lula was so long.....

[PeterUK]

I hung from his thong
and out his sarong,
He knew not to knot it or not.

[PeterUK]

Obama logo update.

[MayBee]

ha!

[clarice]

PUK????

[PeterUK]

Sorry,just dropped a yoghurt.

Obama logo update.

I think the other one was about Obama donors.

[matt]

Dr J;

so what does be bop a lula mean in Urdu?

[matt]

speaking of which, PUK, Instapundit featured my post on the banality of evil....I was pretty stoked.

[pagar]

From the link posted by Glasater @5:20 PM

First two sentences:

The allegations in this Bloomberg story --if true-- pose a huge problem for a senior advisor to the president, David Axelrod. This is the heart of the problem:

IMO, sentence two is wrong. The heart of the problem is that there is no one in Washington that cares, at least enough to do anything about it. This is the man who brought them the presidency. No one is going to investigate this. No one is going to be punished for this. You can get away with anything in America today if you are a Democrat.

[PeterUK]

Matt,Congratulations!

[DrJ]

so what does be bop a lula mean in Urdu?

I'd suspect "not much," but I could check with my Urdu-speaking friend.

I learned of the meaning of Lula from a letter to the editor printed in The Economist shortly after Lula was elected. I've remembered it ever since! At that time my granddaughter was unable to pronounce that difficult magazine title and instead called it the "E-communist." They would be appalled I think.

But my Urdu-speaking friend is real, unlike Cleo's son, so I could ask her if you really are interested.

But maybe I should not further contribute to the delinquency of a blog!

[You might guess I am highly dismayed.]

Right on, Matt; several people also got pretty stoked about your instalaunch on the previous thread, Polls and Post Mortems. Not only is this evil banal, but it's mundane. Whew.

One of the problems about leftists is that they do not recognize evil. The worst evil they can think of is traditional religious morals.

[Extraneus]

You go, Matt.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Stephen Hayes made a funny today when he said the White House is making Brett Farve look decisive.

[the bishop]

Apparently the 'death panels' were part of the church chat, to discuss the 'rumors' effecting the health care debate

[Extraneus]

They're actually "life panels"?

[PeterUK]

Extraneus,

Actually "after life panels".

[Jane will cause you pain]

I was pretty impressed with teh Fox panel tonite. They made it pretty clear that the WH is in chaos right now.

[PeterUK]

"They made it pretty clear that the WH is in chaos right now."

All they had to do is read his CV.

[the bishop]

I'd say 'Norwegian Blue panels' but that's just me,

[Extraneus]

Beautiful plumage, i'nit?

[PeterUK]

bishop,
Are you inferring this administration is nailed to its perch?

[Extraneus]

I don't particularly like Ramesh Ponnuru, and NR's recent editorial about death panels and Sarah Palin has further turned me off to them in general, but Ramesh's comment today about co-ops is a little incoherent regardless.

Obama has said that the "public option" is needed in order to provide competition for health insurers and to "keep them honest."

I think I've read that there are ~1300 health insurance companies, but that they can't compete across state lines. Removing that restriction would instantly foster more competition, but is that really an objective? If so, why isn't this the solution?

As for the honesty thing, I have yet to see or hear an explanation for it. What have they been dishonest about? And even if that can be answered, why couldn't it be handled with regulation if they're not actually criminally implicated.

Anyone talking about the benefits of co-ops should address these two questions first, especially considering the fact that we know for sure that the "public option" is a Trojan horse for slitting the throats of the insurance companies and putting all of us on Medicare.

In general, I don't see Obama laying out what problems we're specifically trying to solve. This is very convenient if the "solutions" aren't actually intended to solve any problems, but instead are pretexts to sneak in more socialism.

Ramesh seems like a smart guy, but I think it's dumb to speak glowingly about co-ops if Obama himself won't explain the problem with the insurance companies or suggest any "honest" solutions.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Gabriel's got more inside skinny than me, it seems. I know about Axelrod and his firm, but I forgot entirely about Marilyn Katz.

Jambalya, and back later.

[RichatUF]

Extraneus-

NR's problem is that they are Romney boosters and they are in a pretty tight box in defending Romenycare but being against Obamacare. I really didn't get their editorial against "death panels" and Palin either, but whatever.

It is incoherent that a public option "co op" would somehow increase competition when they not only could set below market rates, they would act as a regulatory body in larding up more regulations against commercial competition. More later but Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Sallie Mae, and the National Flood Insurance Program should be lessons learned regarding "public private partnerships" and thinking government can somehow "increase" competition.

More later.

[clarice]

The Onion has a breaking story of great interest!
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/white_house_reveals_obama_is?utm_source=nav>Breaking

[Jim Ryan]

How about liminating tax write-offs for all health insurance except catastrophic? Might cause a movement toward catastrophic.

[Fresh Air]

Ramesh and the other weenies at NR need to go. Replace them with Mark Levin and a random intern from Pajamas Media. Any healthcare reform His Idiotness signs onto will be the camel's nose. Yet the dipsticks keep taking the bait.

Gabriel--

Try David Horowitz (FrontPage) and the "Discover the Networks" stuff. He's real big on exposing lefty radicals wherever they hide.

[Extraneus]

NR's problem is that they are Romney boosters and they are in a pretty tight box in defending Romenycare but being against Obamacare.

That would certainly explain it, Rich.

[Janet]

((You can get away with anything in America today if you are a Democrat.))

I agree with pagar....and nothing is more discouraging than that fact. The media is really the big enemy. There will always be kooky ideas and corruption, but if the media holds one party to account and gives the other party a pass, we can never totally win.

[the bishop]

I didn't take to that extent, but "you might
infer that, I wouldn't" That's certainly an Urquartism. Ponnuru, 'despite' his Princeton
education, doesn't seem to have gotten the point of the thing.

[Extraneus]

And here's Grassley extolling the virtues of co-ops.

“I don’t think a lot of senators have an understanding of the 150-year history of cooperatives in the United States,” he said. “They’re basic to the economy of the Midwest. Those of us who have an understanding of them know that they’re consumer-run, with all the benefits going to consumer members. There is no federal control over them. There is no government control over them any more than the control states have over other health-care issues. I see them as an opportunity to enhance health-care competition — just as cooperatives do in other areas of the economy.”

I don't want to say that Grassley isn't necessarily trustworthy, but isn't this just strategically dumb? We have them on the run. People are figuring out the Democrats' ulterior motives.

Perhaps Grassley can elucidate us as to what problem the co-ops solve before we start talking up a Democrat proposal which can be characterized as a Hail Mary pass designed to salvage the socialist dream of taking over the whole system? Is he saying our insurance premiums are too high? Is that the problem?

Btw, if they'd like to make all insurance premiums tax deductable, that would provide an immediate and significant cost reduction for those of us who pay them. Maybe Grassley could propose this instead of lecturing us about the beauty of co-ops.

[pagar]

Thanks Janet! Actually Gateway Pundit has a report now that indicates a "Democrat Party Consultant has being indicted . I don't know if anyone has done a survey to determine how many of the Democrat Party Consultants are Democrats? My guess is most of them are.There were three others arrested also, but from the original link, one would have no idea that the others were Democrats. The Gateway Pundit report identifies their political party, but not the original report linked. So I amend my original statement to read that 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999 % of them will never get arrested.

LUN

[cruella de centralcal]

Janet: I am so with you on your media indictment. I am convinced that it is even a bigger menace than the morons they prop up!

[Stephanie "the Ice Pick"]

Now we know why the Times thinks it can get away with saying there are no death panels...

LUN

[clarice]

AP has now picked up the Axelrod story though of course it has that special AP sauce.

[Stephanie "the Ice Pick"]

Check out the footnotes to Regions Financial Corp.’s (RF) latest quarterly report, and you’ll see a remarkable disclosure. There, in an easy-to-read chart, the company divulged that the loans on its books as of June 30 were worth $22.8 billion less than what its balance sheet said. The Birmingham, Alabama-based bank’s shareholder equity, by comparison, was just $18.7 billion.

So, if it weren’t for the inflated loan values, Regions’ equity would be less than zero. Meanwhile, the government continues to classify Regions as “well capitalized.”

POP! LUN

[If so, it ought to take some heat off Big K.]

Are these the New Mexicans whom the US Attorney there wouldn't pursue, which prompted Rove to get involved in getting him fired?

[Melinda Romanoff]

Very nice, Stephanie, very nice.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Not the bank stuff, 'cause I'll send the not so good stuff.

It's not going to be funny when it comes.

[PD]

"Are there officially "liberal" religious groups"

I don't know if they self-identify as such, but you might take a look here:

http://www.umc.org

Plenty o' social causes there. Fine. But look for mention of "Christ," "the glory of God," "cross," "holiness," "repentance," "sin," etc., and it's not so much in evidence. So I'd say it looks driven by liberal social concerns and is rooted firmly in the world.

[the bishop]

It really is liberation theology, what was called back then 'an option for the poor', an application of Marxist principles which created the Sandinista turbas or mobs, that intimidated opponents.

[DebinNC]

Excellent article, Matt.

I've often wondered about those good Nazi era Germans, and, for that matter, the antebellum Southerners, who considered themselves good Christians, yet owned slaves. I don't understand them, and I don't understand those who can't see what the rotten fruit of Obamaism will be.

[Stephanie "the Ice Pick"]

Ms. Romanoff, No one here has my email addy. How shall I get it to you?

[Melinda Romanoff]

Yes you did, stkey?

[the bishop]

This is the indictment link, in the LUN:

[Melinda Romanoff]

Oh, and it's been sent.

[Melinda Romanoff]

And if I'm wrong, clarice, pofarmer, hit, DrJ, narciso, and bad, know mine.

[Stephanie "the Ice Pick"]

Yes, didn't know if anyone picked it up.

Thanks!

[pagar]

Stephanie, I follow BB&T a little, and from what I'm seeing, it is apparent that their view is that the Colonial Bank loans are almost all junk. I don't know where I read it, but someone was saying that is true of all most all the regional bank real estate loans in that area.

Course one of the reasons may be that some banks apparently don't even know what real estate assets they own.

Bank Sells Woman's Home By Mistake

A very chilling story of bureaucratic errors gone wild.

[Melinda Romanoff]

I think you and I both see little details sometimes, and other times skip over minute details on the way to the ice cream, so to speak.

Or speck, I may not eat a lot of ice cream, but if it's a pork product, I've been known to roll over and beg. With cheese being a close second...

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I don't think co-ops and the public option are synonymous or anywhere close.

The "public" option means the "government" option. Government runs the show, makes the decisions, etc.

Co-ops allow large groups of people to pool their resources. IOW, spread the cost around. Co-ops elect boards and are answerable to their members.

They need to lift the ban on insurance companies operating across state lines and then fix it so people can join together to form insurance co-ops.

You could have a co-op for all waitress, waiters, busboys, cooks, hostesses so that all those who work long hours for small business restaurants/catering businesses could pool their numbers in a single co-op that could then purchase insurance similar to the way large corporations are able to do.

When I owned my own business, there was no way that I could provide cost effective health insurance to my 12 employees, but I would have loved to have been able to join a printer, copy, data entry & small publisher's co-op and buy insurance through them. It would be like joining a credit union.

I see my own kids and the kids of my friends, all adults now, all with steady, long term employment and none of them with health insurance available through their employer. A segment of the uninsured who won't get the benefit of a free ride via Medicaid/Medical because they earn too much to be considered eligible (nor would they want to get into the welfare system), but also cannot afford the prohibitively high cost of buying individual policies.

Anyway, it just seems there is a place for co-ops and they would keep the government out of it.