Research Briefing

Obama’s 2012 Bundlers Have Reasons For Trying To Get Obama On Their Side, But Some Of Obama’s 2008 Bundlers Aren’t Very Happy With Him Now

DESPITE OBAMA’S PLEDGE TO PREVENT SPECIAL ACCESS FOR LOBBYISTS, MANY OF OBAMA’S CAMPAIGN BUNDLERS ARE “IN THE BUSINESS OF INFLUENCING GOVERNMENT”

Obama During The Campaign: "Special Interests Have Turned Our Government Into A Game Only They Can Afford To Play ... They Get The Access While You Get To Write A Letter ... The Time For That Kind Of Politics Is Over. It's Through." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks Announcing Campaign For President, Springfield, IL, 2/17/07)

 “Big Bundlers” Are Replacing Big Donors As The Ones Who Get “Special Access And Influence.” “'It used to be before we had contribution limits, that it was people who gave very large contributions who got special access and influence,’ said Fred Wertheimer, president of the group Democracy 21. ‘The big donors have been replaced by big bundlers.’” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

Bundling For Obama “Offers Executives Another Path To Top-Level Access.” “Though Obama has refused to take contributions from lobbyists or political action committees, the rise of bundlers – the key players in contemporary fundraising – offers executives another path to top-level access.” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

Many Obama Bundlers’ Employers Have Had Run-Ins With Obama Regulators

Obama’s “Bundlers Include Business Executives Whose Companies Have Substantial Interests Before The Federal Government.” “But the president’s bundlers include business executives whose companies have substantial interests before the federal government.” (Nicholas Confessore, “New Stable Of Wealthy Donors Fueled Obama Campaign’s Record Fund-Raising Quarter,” The New York Times, 7/16/11)

• “In Some Cases, Grants, Loans And Contracts Were Given To Companies That Bundlers Were Heavily Involved Or Invested In.” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

While Comcast Pushed For Federal Approval To Purchase NBC Universal, Comcast’s Executive Vice President Was Waiting In Line To Raise Over $500,000 For Obama. “Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen, who oversees his company’s lobbying operation, has also pledged, with his wife Rhonda, to raise more than $500,000 for the President. In 2010, the operation Cohen oversees at Comcast spent more than $19 million on lobbyists, hiring 30 outside firms in addition to an in-house team of eight. With executives seeking regulatory approval for Comcast’s purchase of NBC-Universal, Comcast employees also increased their donations to candidates from both parties to a total of $2,551,879 in the 2010 cycle, up 30% over the $1.96 million given in the 2008 cycle.” (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,” 7/20/11)

UBS CEO Robert Wolf Has Already Raised Up To $500,000 For Obama. “UBS Group Americas CEO and chairman Robert Wolf is a bundler and close presidential ally who has already raised up to $500,000 on behalf of the president’s reelection campaign this cycle, and was also a bundler in 2008.” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

• While UBS “Has Tangled With Government Regulators” At The SEC. “Financial giant UBS has tangled with government regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission, recently settling a dispute over fraudulent municipal bond gains.” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

 David Hill, VP And Associate General Counsel Of Verizon, Has Bundled For Obama While Verizon Has Issues Before The FCC And Other Agencies. “David Hill, the vice president and associate general counsel for telecommunications giant Verizon, has bundled donations for the president, while Verizon’s regulatory issues have are overseen by the FCC and other federal regulators.” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

Or Who Have Profit Interests In The Obama Agenda

 While Some Of Obama’s 2008 Bundlers’ Companies Have Profited, Or Are Poised To Profit, From The Obama Agenda. “Some Obama bundlers have ties to companies that stand to gain financially from the president’s policy agenda, particularly in clean energy and telecommunications, and some already have done so. Level 3 Communications, for instance, snared $13.8 million in stimulus money. At least 18 other bundlers have ties to businesses poised to profit from government spending to promote clean energy, telecommunications and other key administration priorities.” (Fred Schulte, John Aloysius Farrell, And Jeremy Borden, “Obama Rewards Big Bundlers With Jobs, Commissions, Stimulus Money, Government Contracts, And More,” IWatch, 6/15/11) 

“Steve Westly, A Major Investor In The Electric Car Company Tesla, Bundled Up To $200,000 For The President This Cycle — While His Company Received A $465 Million Loan From The Department Of Energy.” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

Marc Benioff, Chairman Of Salesforce.com Raised More Than $500,000 For Obama. “Marc Benioff, who raised more than $500,000, is also chairman of Salesforce.com, a company whose software the Obama administration has adopted for wide use in federal agencies.” (Nicholas Confessore, “New Stable Of Wealthy Donors Fueled Obama Campaign’s Record Fund-Raising Quarter,” The New York Times, 7/16/11)

• Salesforce.com “Consults With Almost Half Of All Cabinet Level Agencies,” And Had Been Pushing For The Shift To Cloud Computing That Obama Announced On Wednesday. “Benioff’s company, Salesforce.com, consults with almost half of all cabinet level agencies on cloud-based computing - and on Wednesday, the administration announced the shuttering of 800 federal government data centers in conjunction with a major move towards storing information in the ‘cloud’ – that is, with contractors like Benioff’s, which had been pushing for the technology shift.” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

Wade Randlett Has Bundled Over $500,000 While His Energy Company, NextFuels, Works With The Federal Government And Stands To Gain From Obama’s “Green Energy Push.” “And bundler Wade Randlett’s green energy startup NextFuels bundled up to half a million for the president’s reelection effort, while working with the federal government on fuel issues. The company also stood to gain from a green energy push by the Obama administration in 2010.” (Byron Tau And Ben Smith, “Many Bundlers Have Administration Business Ties,” Politico, 7/21/11)

Or Who Run Lobbying Shops

Obama’s 2012 Bundler List “Features A Number Of People Involved In The Business Of Influencing Government.” “A list of Obama’s own top fundraisers features a number of people involved in the business of influencing government, including the head of a lobbying and public relations firm, the corporate executive who oversees Comcast’s lobbying efforts and the chairwoman of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s political action committee, among others.” (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,” 7/20/11)

• “Their Contributions Are Accepted, However, As Long As They Hire Other People To Make Most Of The Person-To-Person Contacts With Federal Officials.” (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,”  7/20/11)

“Drug Giant Pfizer’s Top Government Relations Executive, Sally Susman, Has Pledged To Raise Between $200,000 And $500,000 For Obama’s Re-Election Effort.” (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,” 7/20/11)

• Pfizers Government Relations Team Spent Over $41 Million On Lobbyists In 2009 And 2010, At The Height Of The ObamaCare Debate. “She oversees a government relations operation that spent more than $26 million on lobbyists in 2009 at the height of the health care reform debate and more than $15 million in 2010.” (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,” 7/20/11)

Kenneth Jarin Is Raising Over $200,000 For Obama And Is A Co-Partner At A Government Relations Firm That Lobbied Obama’s Department Of Transportation This Year. “Kenneth Jarin, who plans to raise between $200,000 and $500,000 for Obama, is the the co-partner in charge of government relations at Ballard Spahr, which represented telecom company LightSquared before the Department of Transportation in 2011.” (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,” 7/20/11)

Or Who Were Given Government Appointments After Bundling For Obama In 2008

43 Of Obama’s ’08 Bundlers Who Received Government Appointments Are Bundling Again For 2012. “In total, 43 bundlers from 2008 later received government appointments and have returned as bundlers for 2012.” (Peter H Stone And Aaron Mehta, “27 Obama Bundlers Have Already Topped $500,000,” iWatchnews, 7/15/11)

• “Of Those, Five Were Listed As Giving $500,000 Or More So Far In 2012.” (Peter H Stone And Aaron Mehta, “27 Obama Bundlers Have Already Topped $500,000,” iWatchnews, 7/15/11)

One Such Bundler Is Michael Kempner. “Michael Kempner, Cresskill, N.J., was named to the Council for Community Solutions.” (Peter H Stone And Aaron Mehta, “27 Obama Bundlers Have Already Topped $500,000,” iWatchnews, 7/15/11)

• Kemper Is The President Of MWW Group, A Public Relations Firm That’s Billed Millions For Lobbying The Federal Government. “Perhaps the most prominent example is Michael Kempner, the president and chief executive officer of MWW Group, a public relations firm that billed more than $4 million in federal lobbying in 2010.” (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,” 7/20/11)
• Kempner Is Also An Operating Partner In A Private Equity Firm That Owns MWW’s Biggest Lobbying Client, iGPS, Which Spent Almost $1 Million Lobbying The FDA and EPA In 2010. “Though Kempner is not registered as a lobbyist, he is an operating partner in the private equity firm Pegasus Capital Advisors, which owns MWW’s biggest lobbying client, iGPS, a company that produces plastic shipping pallets. In 2010, iGPS spent nearly $1 million lobbying Congress, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mostly on new rules that would restrict the use of a fire-retardant chemical that iGPS uses in its pallets.”  (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,”  7/20/11)    
• Kempner Hosted A Fundraiser In 2010 That Told Donors They Could Talk To Obama’s EPA Commission “About Issues Of Concern.”  “He offered to host a June 2010 Democratic fundraiser in New York that promised donors the chance to talk to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson about  ‘about issues of concern to you,’ according to the invitation. (The event was canceled at the last minute after Republicans raised concerns in the midst of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis.)” (Michael Scherer, “No Registered Lobbyists Among Top Obama Fundraisers, But Influence Seekers Abound,” Time’s “Swampland,”  7/20/11)

MEANWHILE MANY OF OBAMA’S 2008 BUNDLERS CAUGHT UP IN THE HYPE ARE SAYING THEY’RE OUT FOR 2012

Many Of Obama’s 2008 Bundlers “Won’t Be Coming Back” For 2012. “Four years later, many of those new bundlers say they won’t be coming back.” (Ben Smith, Maggie Haberman, Byron Tau, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Bundlers Flee Political ‘Machine,’” Politico, 7/21/11)

• There Are “At Least 27 Top Bundlers From 2008 Who Have Not Yet Bundled Even $50,000 For The 2012 Campaign.” “Stewart Bainum, a Chevy Chase, Md., hotel chain CEO who with his wife, Sandy, raised $500,000 for Obama in 2008, told iWatch News last month that he expected fundraising for Obama’s re-election to be more difficult than 2008.  At the time he said he hadn’t ‘tested the waters yet.’  Bainum did not show up on the list, one of at least 27 top bundlers from 2008 who have not yet bundled even $50,000 for the 2012 campaign.”  (Peter H Stone And Aaron Mehta, “27 Obama Bundlers Have Already Topped $500,000,” iWatchnews, 7/15/11)

Obama’08 Bundler Pete Garcia: “It’s A Political Machine Now.” “‘It’s a political machine now,’ said Pete Garcia, the chief financial officer of a Washington State biotech company who fell for Obama early and hard in 2008, and raised more than $200,0000 in his first dive into political fundraising.” (Ben Smith, Maggie Haberman, Byron Tau, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Bundlers Flee Political ‘Machine,’” Politico, 7/21/11)

Another Obama ’08 Bundler: The “Clinton Folks” Are Taking Over, “They’re Political Whores And They Want The Access And The Credit.”  “‘I would bet you that 90 something [of former bundlers] are guys like me - we still love the president, but we did it because we believe in the cause,’ said another early, large-scale bundler. ‘But now we’re getting bumped by the old Clinton folks. This is what they do for a living. They’re animals and they’re political whores and they want the access and the credit.’” (Ben Smith, Maggie Haberman, Byron Tau, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Bundlers Flee Political ‘Machine,’” Politico, 7/21/11)

Willard Taylor, Who Hosted One Of Obama’s First NYC Events In 2007, Now Says Obama Has “Done A Terrible Job With Organizing For America And For His Base.” “‘I will obviously vote, but I don’t think we’re going to be actively involved in raising money,’ said Willard Taylor, a New York lawyer who, along with his wife Virginia Davies, hosted one of the first New York City Obama events in 2007, bucking the city’s nearly unified backing for Clinton. ‘I think he’s done a terrible job with Organizing for America and for his base, and with the recognition of the people who worked for him,’ said Taylor.” (Ben Smith, Maggie Haberman, Byron Tau, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Bundlers Flee Political ‘Machine,’” Politico, 7/21/11)

• Taylor: “I Frankly Think The Staff, The Re-Election Staff, Are Incompetent Fools.” (Ben Smith, Maggie Haberman, Byron Tau, “Barack Obama’s 2008 Bundlers Flee Political ‘Machine,’” Politico, 7/21/11)