Unbelievable. This is the finest hypocrisy I've stumbled across since, oh, last week.
Turns out that the GOP Pledge to America they've been yammering about was drafted by an ex-lobbyist with a firm whose paying clients-list includes insurance giant AIG, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil, Comcast, and Andarko Petroleum. The lobbyist, Brian Wild, worked for five years with the Nickles Group lobbying firm up until April. Wild's role as an author accidentally became public when early drafts of the Pledge pdf document were being passed to reporters ahead of the official release, and the pdf field for "Author" showed "Wild, Brian." See his registered lobbyist profile here.
Wild's involvement with the Pledge is interesting, since page 21 of the GOP document promises to "End TARP Once And For All" because Americans are "rightly outraged" at the program that was launched under Bush-Cheney in 2008 and continued by Obama when the financial system was unraveling. When Wild worked at Nickles, AIG paid the firm $740,000 in lobbying contracts; Exxon Mobil paid it $1.3 million, Pfizer paid $600,000.
Remember, the TARP fund gave AIG $47 billion at the moment the reinsurance industry was teetering toward ruin.
John Boehner hired Wild this year for his team. "A GOP source said that Wild -- who is on House Minority Leader John Boehner's payroll -- did help author the governing platform," according to reporting by Sam Stein.
The participation by the ex-lobbyist was uncovered by Sam Stein, writing in the Huffington Post.
It looks like Brian Wild fits the bill of the revolving-door lobbyist and government policymaker to a T: he was Congressman Pat Toomey's (R-Pa) legislative director and chief of staff 2001-2004. Toomey is running for Senate in Pennsylvania. Next, Wild worked for VP Dick Cheney in 2004 as Deputy assistant for legislative affairs before he landed with the Nickles Group in 2005. Before his work for Toomey was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's lobbyist.
A House GOP spokesman, Brendan Buck, said Wild's contribution was more for steering the project than the nitty gritty of all specific provisions.
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Other hypocrisies
While we're on the subject of fiscal integrity,
Marco Rubio – the former Speaker of the House in the Florida legislator who wants to become U.S. Senator – can make 'em cheer when he says government shouldn't spend more than it takes in. But he flouts his own advice.
The Rubio campaign won't deny - and won't release the GOP Amex statements to clear up - the charge reported last week that Rubio overstepped the line between a kitchen upgrade in his home and party campaign accounts.
Rubio's home expense may be a kitchen-table concern, or at least the kitchen floor. His campaign has sidestepped claims that Rubio used the RPOF (Republican Party of Florida) American Express card for $4,000-$5,000 kitchen flooring expense. The party, meanwhile, has released the RPOF card statements for Rubio for 2007-08 but are holding back on the prior 2 years for the RPOF card they issued Rubio in 2005 and 2006.
"The Florida Times-Union questioned Rubio earlier this week after allegations that he charged kitchen flooring on the card, but Rubio declined to address that question specifically."
Read the exchange between Rubio and the Times-Union editorial board on credit card statements.
More coverage here.
[RPOF] "Party spokeswoman Katie Gordon said the card was not supposed to be used for personal expenses. 'The RPOF American Express card is a corporate card and is meant to be used for business expenses,' she said when asked about the party's policy." - earlier coverage (February) about credit card use, including $765 from the Apple online store for computer supplies.
Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation asked Rubio yesterday if he would release the statements to clear up questions about his spending. Rubio would not agree to release these. He has told the Florida press the statements are an "internal party matter" that RPOF can decide.
Rubio campaign spokesman was firm that "no further credit card records would be released", according to the St. Petersburg Times.
Of course there's also Delaware candidate Christine O'Donnell taking heat for using campaign funds for her own living expenses in non-election periods and her housing rent.
These folks haven't gotten to Washington yet and they've raised concerns already about their abuse of funds supplied by the public. And these are the ones who say they would balance the budget?
Mama mia. Ay caramba. Oy vey.