Look, I’ve been saying for months now, that once the people figure out that Obama comes from a long line of South Chicago crooked pols, all but the hardcore Democrat support will wither. But as of yesterday morning, we seem to have some evidence in Michael Isikoff’s investigative piece in Newsweek, even though Newsweek tried to bury the story.
There does, however, seem to be a leak or two in the dike, and I doubt even Newsweek has the right amount of thumbs to plug them all.
In short, the story comes down to a rather interesting relationship between Obama, and David Axlerod. Says Isikoff:
When Illinois utility Commonwealth Edison wanted state lawmakers to back a hefty rate hike two years ago, it took a creative lobbying approach, concocting a new outfit that seemed devoted to the public interest: Consumers Organized for Reliable Electricity, or CORE. CORE ran TV ads warning of a “California-style energy crisis” if the rate increase wasn’t approved—but without disclosing the commercials were funded by Commonwealth Edison. The ad campaign provoked a brief uproar when its ties to the utility, which is owned by Exelon Corp., became known. “It’s corporate money trying to hoodwink the public,” the state’s Democratic Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said. What got scant notice then—but may soon get more scrutiny—is that CORE was the brainchild of ASK Public Strategies, a consulting firm whose senior partner is David Axelrod, now chief strategist for Barack Obama.
Last week, Obama hit John McCain for hiring “some of the biggest lobbyists in Washington” to run his campaign; Obama’s aides say their candidate, as a foe of “special interests,” has refused to take money from lobbyists or employ them. Neither Axelrod nor his partners at ASK ever registered as lobbyists for Commonwealth Edison—and under Illinois’s loose disclosure laws, they were not required to. “I’ve never lobbied anybody in my life,” Axelrod tells NEWSWEEK. “I’ve never talked to any public official on behalf of a corporate client.” (He also says “no one ever denied” that Edison was the “principal funder” of his firm’s ad campaign.)
Ummmm Yeah.
Well, we can see where this one’s going, can’t we?
Addendum:(Bit) Welcome Real Clear Politics readers
Tags: Barack Obama, california style, Chicago Politics and Obama, chief strategist, commonwealth edison, CORE, corporate money, David Axelrod, democrat support, Democratic, disclosure laws, Edison, Exelon, michael isikoff, Newsweek, relationship, South Chicago, state lawmakers
