Pay no attention to that 1%er cash behind the curtain…
Mr. Podesta, named a senior adviser to President Obama, is not currently a lobbyist and therefore does not have to worry about the Obama administration’s self-imposed ban on hiring lobbyists to administration jobs. But he will nonetheless arrive at the White House after having run an organization that has taken millions of dollars in corporate donations in recent years and has its own team of lobbyists who have pushed an agenda that sometimes echoes the interests of these corporate supporters.
These financial ties offer a hint of the blurry lines in Washington between the research organizations like Mr. Podesta’s — which is a virtual external policy arm of the Obama administration — and lobbying shops. The ties could also cause some complications for Mr. Podesta as he heads into the West Wing.
The parts of this article that aren’t apologetic are, as always, incurious. Quotes from the Center For American Progress” are left unchallenged. If they were coming from a right-leaning advocacy group they would be the subject of a seven part series. It all has a “so this is what is happening and it’s no big deal” feel.
At least we have learned that the lobbyist taint wears off if there is a buffer between doing that and heading to the White House.
Yeah.
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