Media Spewing Obama's Phony Lobbyist Storyline

Obama's make believe budget is a boondoggle for lobbyists and special interests across the country. If you spend trillions of dollars and create a slew of new regulations you are going to dramatically expand the number of lobbyists, that is poli-sci 101. Now we have the president attempting to frame the budget debate where he is the hero and opposition must be corrupt. Republicans would be wise to throw this argument right back in his face and point out that his budget is designed for special interests, ones that donate and vote for the Democratic party and paid for by all off us.

ap-WASHINGTON March 1st– President Barack Obama challenged the nation's vested interests to a legislative duel Saturday, saying he will fight to change health care, energy and education in dramatic ways that will upset the status quo.

"The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long," Obama said in his weekly radio and video address. "But I don't. I work for the American people."

He said the ambitious budget plan he presented Thursday will help millions of people, but only if Congress overcomes resistance from deep-pocket lobbies.

"I know these steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they're gearing up for a fight," Obama said, using tough-guy language reminiscent of his predecessor, George W. Bush. "My message to them is this: So am I."

Remember the Obama rule, when he says he is not doing something it usually means he is doing it. Be it raising taxes in a recession, bailing out greedy homeowners, or claiming a withdrawal from Iraq.

Some headlines over the past couple days:

• Obama Ready To Rumble With Lobbyists And Special Interests-Tampa Tribune
• Obama challenges lobbyists to fight-AP
• Obama: I Work for Americans, Not LobbyistsGloves Off, Game On, Obama Tells Powerful Lobbies-ABC News
• OBAMA CHALLENGES LOBBYISTS-nypost

A minor sample to be sure, but reflective of the tone. Of course Obama has numerous connections with lobbying groups as this interesting article from the Columbia Journalism Review points out:(Its clear not everyone is buying Obama's talking points)

Campaign Desk — February 15, 2008 09:00 AM

Obama’s Lobbyist Line

A “more complicated truth” on campaign contributions

By Trudy Lieberman

Saturday night at a Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Richmond, Virginia, Barack Obama did it again. He said he hadn’t taken money from lobbyists. The election, he said, was boiling down to “a choice between debating John McCain about lobbying reform with a nominee who’s taken more money from lobbyists than he has, [presumably Hillary Clinton] or doing it with a campaign that hasn’t taken a dime of their money because we’ve been funded by you the American people.” That he does not take money from lobbyists or from political action committees (PACs) is a point Obama often makes on the campaign trail, and his no-dirty-money rhetoric has positioned him as the candidate brave enough to shun business as usual in Washington. In November in Iowa, he said corporate lobbyists “have not funded my campaign.” And in December he said in a New Hampshire Public Radio program, “I intend to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over, that they had not funded my campaigns…” His message of financial purity is catching on. For just one recent example, a student writing in The Daily Evergreen, the student newspaper at Washington State University, told his readers last week that Obama has been careful not to compromise himself, “rejecting campaign support from Political Action Committees and lobbyists.”

The word “lobbyist” seems to have a particular meaning in Obama’s campaign vocabulary. His stump speeches imply that he is not taking money from people who want things from the government and push for them. The reality is that he has.

Change what you call a lobbyist and voila, Obama doesn't take money from them. Of course Obama has massive majorities in Congress to work with but somehow he is till trying to frame the debate as if he is the underdog.