Political Forum - View Single Post - Johnson Quits Obama's Vice Presidential Search Team

Obama2008 · #15 (**permalink**) 06-12-2008, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOOOOOO

Name one. And the guy on the Barack Hussein Obama team that pardonded Frank Rich is next.

You're kidding right? I'll name many for you

Quote:

No longer with the campaign

Eric Burgeson, former energy policy adviser. Resigned after revelations that he was the leader of the energy lobbying effort at the firm of Barbour Griffith & Rogers. That put him at odds with the new McCain campaign rule prohibiting volunteers from providing advice on issues involved in their lobbying. He is a former chief of staff to Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman. Barbour Griffith & Rogers had $21 million in revenue in 2006.

Doug Davenport, former regional campaign manager. A DCI Group lobbyist with an extensive political background. Resigned his campaign spot. While his name has been removed from the DCI Web site, in the past it reported that he worked as deputy political director of the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego. It also reported that he served on the political staff of Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and in the re-election campaign of George H.W. Bush. DCI Group had $3.08 million in revenue in 2007.

Doug Goodyear, former convention manager. A Scottsdale resident who had been selected by the McCain campaign to manage the Republican National Convention, he resigned after garnering attention for his work as a lobbyist representing Myanmar's (Burma) military junta. He said he did not want “to become a distraction in this campaign.'' Goodyear is CEO and founding partner of the DCI Group, which has offices in Washington and Phoenix. Since its start in 2001, the firm has lobbied for earmarks on behalf of the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. Its corporate clients have included Qualcomm, AT&T, General Motors, Goldman Sachs and Lockheed Martin. Since April of 2005, Goodyear and his wife Carla have donated $51,000 to Republican candidates and organizations, according to the records of the Center for Responsive Politics.

Tom Loeffler, former co-chairman and national finance director. Resigned shortly after revelations that his lobbying firm, The Loeffler Group, had been paid $15 million by Saudi Arabia. A Republican congressman from Texas from 1979 to 1987, Loeffler held fundraising positions in the presidential campaigns of former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm and former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole. Raised more than $300,000 for the 2004 Bush campaign; was designated a “Super Ranger.” Last year, Loeffler Group's $3.08 million in revenues from U.S. clients included $180,000 from AT&T; $240,000 from Qualcomm; $240,000 from Southwest Airlines, and $120,000 from the National Association of Broadcasters.

Craig Shirley, former consultant to McCain campaign. A public relations veteran with long ties to Republican causes, Shirley was asked by the McCain campaign to step down because of his work for an independent group that has lampooned Hillary Clinton and is now taking aim at Barack Obama. Participation in such groups, which conduct public campaigns intended to influence federal elections, is sharply restricted under new rules issued by the McCain campaign. Politico.com reported that Shirley's company, Shirley & Banister Public Affairs, did public relations work for the movie "Stolen Honor," which attacked former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry for undermining the treatment of Vietnam veterans. The film complemented efforts of the group “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.”

Still with the campaign

Wayne Berman, national finance co-chairman. Berman is half of one of Washington's most prominent power couples. His wife, Lea, became White House social secretary, or unofficial hostess, in 2005. She is a former chief of staff to Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney. Both Bermans are known as prolific fundraisers for Republican candidates. Wayne Berman is managing director of Ogilvy Government Relations, which saw its lobbying revenue grow from $13.7 million in 2005 to $22.2 million in 2007. He was an assistant commerce secretary in the administration of the first President Bush and served on the transition team of the current President Bush.

Charlie Black, chief adviser. One of the pioneering figures in the burgeoning Washington industry that combines campaign consulting with big-time corporate lobbying. He has worked in every presidential campaign since 1976, earning a reputation as a master strategist and developing contacts. Last year, according to a tally by the Center for Responsive Politics, his firm, BKSH & Associates, reported income of $8.1 million from a client roster that included AT&T, General Motors, General Electric, JP Morgan Chase, Lockheed Martin, Occidental Petroleum and gaming-industry giant GTECH. He also has represented numerous foreign governments. Black severed his ties with the lobbying firm in March.

Kirk Blalock, fundraiser. Blalock is chairman of Young Professionals for McCain. In the 2000 race, he became a Pioneer in the Bush campaign by raising at least $100,000. He later became the White House director for business outreach, working to rally support for the president's tax-cut bills. In 2002, he joined the firm of Fierce, Isakowitz. The firm's client list includes the Business Roundtable, which since 2003 has paid $1.2 million in fees; defense contractor EADS, which since 2005 has paid $900,000; and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, which since 2006 has paid $810,000. The firm also lobbies for Peru, Vietnam, and the Korean International Trade Association.

Carlos E. Bonilla, campaign economic adviser. Bonilla is a lobbyist with The Washington Group, a large firm that touts its ability to work with Democrats and Republicans. After a stint as an economist with the House Budget Committee, he joined the George W. Bush White House, serving as special assistant to the president for economic policy. Since joining The Washington Group in 2003, he has lobbied on behalf of such clients as Time Warner, Motorola and National Public Radio. The Washington Group's revenues in 2007 were $4.82 million.

Kirsten Chadwick, fundraiser. Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, described Chadwick as “a prolific fundraiser.” She is finance director of Young Professionals for McCain. As a special assistant to the president, she worked in the Bush White House on trade issues, promoting the Central American Free Trade Agreement. She lobbies with the lobbying firm of Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock, whose 2007 revenues were $7.4 million. She recently lobbied the White House and the U.S. trade representative on behalf of defense contractor EADS North America. Her clients have also included Time Warner, Motorola and United Parcel Service.

Bryan Cunningham, fundraiser. An attorney, Cunningham worked for Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., as a staffer on the Republican High Tech Task Force in 2003. He later became a lobbyist for Cisco Systems. In 2005, he joined the powerhouse lobbying firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers as director of legislative affairs for technology and telecommunications. According to a tally by the Center for Responsive Politics, the firm's income doubled to $21 million between 2000 and 2006. Its clients have included Qwest Communications, Bell South, Lockheed Martin, Daimler Chrysler and Phillip Morris.

Rick Davis, campaign manager. With partner Paul Manafort, who held positions in the Ford and Reagan administrations, Davis built his lobbying business, Davis Manafort, even as he continued to consult on political campaigns. While many lobbyists approach a variety of federal agencies, forms that Davis filed for his work on behalf of such clients as SBC Telecommunications, Bell South and Verizon show that he lobbied only the Senate. Davis took a leave from the firm in 2006. He also managed McCain's 2000 presidential campaign. He was deputy campaign manager in Bob Dole's 1996 campaign.

Christian Ferry, deputy campaign manager. In 2004 and 2005, Ferry and Rick Davis lobbied on behalf of Scottsdale-based Preserve Luke Air Force Base LLC. They received $125,000 in the lobbying effort, which aimed to keep Luke off the Defense Department's list of bases recommended for closure.

Timothy P. McKone, fundraiser. In 1996, McKone took a leave of absence from his post as chief lobbyist for SBC Communications Corp. (formerly Southwestern Bell) to serve as director of government affairs for the 1996 Republican convention in San Diego. In 1998, as a partner in the Davis Manafort firm, he lobbied for SBC and Comcast on telecommunications issues and Fruit of the Loom on trade issues. He is now a lobbyist for AT&T, which reported spending more than $15.5 million on its 2007 lobbying efforts.

Peter Madigan, fundraiser. Partner in the lobbying firm of Johnson, Madigan, Peck, Boland & Stewart, which had revenue of $5.9 million in 2007. The company's Web site boasts that he has “a proven track record of assisting corporations with removal of congressional barriers for merger and acquisition” efforts of clients. A Washington veteran, Madigan in the 1980s was a congressional staffer and then an official in the Office of Management and Budget.

Mike Meece, fundraiser. After stints as a deputy chief of staff at the Commerce Department and as a special assistant to the president in the George W. Bush White House, Meece in 2006 started his own small lobby firm. The Meece Group had $1.4 million in revenue in 2007.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/specia...byist0526.html

There are more. I had to delete some due to the size of this post, but it is obvious that the "purge" of McCain lobbyists was not too successful, and may be described as a complete failure.