Speak Out Network
CBC MEETING
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It took a few months, but the Congressional Black Caucus finally had its jobs meeting at the White House. |
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Christine R. Rickett on -
You are right Obama drama. But a key factor must not be pushed aside. The Tea Party rallied in each state getting people to vote for Tea Party candidates. The Tea Party candidates even strong armed other republicans to get their way. We - not just the poor and middle class blacks but poor and middle class whites must get out and vote as many republicans out of office - TAKE NO PRISONERS. When we get out in the masses and vote our candidates in to do what we want just as the Tea Party did. The Tea party is working on getting rid of more moderate republicans and democrats to control Washington completely. You see what just happenned. There will be no point in having a President at all, black or white, democrat or republican if we don't outvoted the Tea Party. iF WE DON'T VOTE MORE DEMOCRATS IN OFFICE, IN 2010.
The - TEA PARTY - WILL STRIP SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND EVERYTHING ELSE WE CARE ABOUT. THEY WON'T CARE ABOUT THE POOR WHITES. THEY WILL JUST BE CAUSALITIES OF WAR. THEY HATE OBAMA AND THEY HATE US. THE STATES RIGHTS THEY FIGHT FOR IS THE RIGHTS THEY LOST TO OWN SLAVES.
If people think our situation is awful now. There will be a great depression if we don't fight back with our votes. We, black folks will be in the fields as our ancesors. Now, that's a fact!!!
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Permalink Reply by Christine R. Rickett on
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Christine R. Rickett said:You are right Obama drama. But a key factor must not be pushed aside. The Tea Party rallied in each state getting people to vote for Tea Party candidates. The Tea Party candidates even strong armed other republicans to get their way. We - not just the poor and middle class blacks but poor and middle class whites must get out and vote as many republicans out of office - TAKE NO PRISONERS. When we get out in the masses and vote our candidates in to do what we want just as the Tea Party did. The Tea party is working on getting rid of more moderate republicans and democrats to control Washington completely. You see what just happenned. There will be no point in having a President at all, black or white, democrat or republican if we don't outvoted the Tea Party. iF WE DON'T VOTE MORE DEMOCRATS IN OFFICE, IN 2010.
The - TEA PARTY - WILL STRIP SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND EVERYTHING ELSE WE CARE ABOUT. THEY WON'T CARE ABOUT THE POOR WHITES. THEY WILL JUST BE CAUSALITIES OF WAR. THEY HATE OBAMA AND THEY HATE US. THE STATES RIGHTS THEY FIGHT FOR IS THE RIGHTS THEY LOST TO OWN SLAVES.
If people think our situation is awful now. There will be a great depression if we don't fight back with our votes. We, black folks will be in the fields as our ancesors. Now, that's a fact!!!
We have to press all the Democrats - white and black and vote out republicans. That's what will push the President.
The vote is a powerful tool.
The Tea Party folks know that.
That is why such a small group is doing the dictating.
The masses sat back in the mid election.
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Permalink Reply by Christine R. Rickett on
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Christine R. Rickett said:You are right Obama drama. But a key factor must not be pushed aside. The Tea Party rallied in each state getting people to vote for Tea Party candidates. The Tea Party candidates even strong armed other republicans to get their way. We - not just the poor and middle class blacks but poor and middle class whites must get out and vote as many republicans out of office - TAKE NO PRISONERS. When we get out in the masses and vote our candidates in to do what we want just as the Tea Party did. The Tea party is working on getting rid of more moderate republicans and democrats to control Washington completely. You see what just happenned. There will be no point in having a President at all, black or white, democrat or republican if we don't outvoted the Tea Party. iF WE DON'T VOTE MORE DEMOCRATS IN OFFICE, IN 2010.
The - TEA PARTY - WILL STRIP SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND EVERYTHING ELSE WE CARE ABOUT. THEY WON'T CARE ABOUT THE POOR WHITES. THEY WILL JUST BE CAUSALITIES OF WAR. THEY HATE OBAMA AND THEY HATE US. THE STATES RIGHTS THEY FIGHT FOR IS THE RIGHTS THEY LOST TO OWN SLAVES.
If people think our situation is awful now. There will be a great depression if we don't fight back with our votes. We, black folks will be in the fields as our ancesors. Now, that's a fact!!!
But Guess What? I'll save my energies trying to figure out how to reach our young folks and stay out of you heavy hitters path. There is enough jobs for us all.
I love you, my brother! LOL..
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Permalink Reply by Obama drama on -
You know, I figured people are sticking up for Obama because they are scared to do otherwise. I'm glad that you admit it. It's sickening to hear those that bestow qualities to Obama that he doesn't have. Rev. Wright tried to tell us he's just a politician that does not respect the truth! He tells the truth when it's convenient! He's been lying to us, making it seem he's trying to bring change and all the while selling us out!
I'm more afraid of Obama staying in office than the Tea Party taking office! Obama is giving everything away and making it seem like he's doing us a favor! It's like hey, I, Obama, stopped them from cutting even more. I, Obama, left the Bush Tax Cuts in order to assure a stable economy.
That's what you get from Obama as he sells us out! He's a flim-flam man! A real life, modern day Pied Piper, leading America to be drowned in the river of false hope as the economy crumbles beneath us. He didn't have to sign on to debt negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, but he did, knowing it was going to cause chaos! As a result, he signed on to giving up benefits he didn't have to! He could have demanded the debt ceiling be raised without giving up anything! No reason he should be giving up anything! He's selling us out trying to get the Republicans to help him out of the jam he's in because he blew eliminating Bush Tax Cuts twice! He concedes and they give him nothing! Then he acts like it's the Republican's fault he can't get taxes raised on the rich!
I'll give him credit for totally exposing the Tea Party but we already had a good sniff of how bad they were from jump. Only idiots got fooled by them. They want to strip out all the social programs so the rich don't have to pay so much in taxes. You're right that it leads back to a slave state of blacks worse than what they already are.
A lot of blacks are in prison already doing slave labor! Many blacks have no job! If they do, most are minimum wage! Many blacks are already working 12-16 hours, 6 days a week and barely keeping a roof over their head and food in their belly! That's slave hours and benefits! That's under Obama! We don't have to fear the Tea Party imposing it! It's already here! We need to fear the guy already allowing it! I agree that the Tea Party will increase the agony.
Can you imagine white America allowing the Tea Party destroying the Social programs! The Republican party won't allow it even if they controlled all the seats in congress! THAT WOULD BE POLITICAL SUICIDE! THE CITIES WOULD BE SET ON FIRE AND MILLIONS WOULD BE RUNNING A GUERILLA WAR AGAINST SUCH A GOVERNMENT! REPUBLICANS WOULD NEVER BE TRUSTED IN GOVERNMENT AGAIN! CAN'T HAPPEN!
The worse that can happen is the Tea Party restructuring the social programs and seriously reducing the benefits. That will be enough to push Republicans out of the government for years. The conservative Democrats will be kicked out with them because they are also foolishly selling lower taxes on the rich to create jobs. They know it's bogus but they sell it because that's what idiot Americans are buying. They'll be foaming mouth mad once they discover it's as grand a lie as it's been all these years under Bush and Obama once having their living standard significantly reduced!
A lot of people complain about the rich but a lot want to get rich and credit the rich with what we have. It's really a rich worship! The rich are gods to many Americans. They are busy stepping on each other to get to the top! Soon after they do, the rug is snatched from under them and they are in the unemployment line begging bread. It may take years before it happens. Then they have age working against them, trying to get employed, competing with kids right out of college. Nothing to protect them.
Still, they don't consider the rich and big corporations are diametrically against their best interest! They want to make money in stocks and get rich! They don't want to see taxes raised on the rich and big business because they feel it's their chance to get rich! They don't see it's causing the economy to be at a standstill because stimulus comes from taking the money from the top and putting it in the bottom to create wealth as it productively goes from hand to hand back to the top. Money trickles up, not down! Before they know it, CRASH! They lose a lot of money! They are cluelessly voting against their own interest! Obama is operating the economy against America's interest! He knows he should have taken his chance to get rid of Bush Tax Cuts! It's Obama's fault we're still stuck!
Many are not demanding a better capitalistic system that's more stable. That happens by tying the rich tax rate to the unemployment rate! If I zip the rich tax to 60% after the first $200,000 and give them a chance to lower it according to how many jobs they help to create in terms of investments in companies that hire Americans or how many they personally hire, we could bring unemployment way down! Make them earn lower taxes! Not give them lower taxes in blind hope, based on a defective theory of economics!
It's the kind of stuff Obama should be doing but he's too busy selling us out to get those campaign dollars from big business! He scares me more than the Tea Party! He's selling us out and his popularity poll is 48% when it should be 20% or below! That's how slick he is! He concedes everything the Republicans want! Might as well have a Tea Party President! That way we'll get a rise out of America because the Tea Party will cross the line and start riots! Then we can kick them out and get on the right track.
Otherwise, it's 4 more years of Obama slowly selling us out and people letting him slide! Obama's already done more damage than the Tea Party could have gotten away with! People wouldn't have stood still if a Tea Party President kept the Bush Tax Cuts! There would be riots already! Obama has people under a spell of optimism from selling them false hope he never planed to deliver! He's got the good ole Tea Party to blame it on! He's scaring American into giving him another 4 years to screw us again!
I'll bet he's getting paid big money to sell us out! PEOPLE NEED TO SNAP OUT OF IT! STOP BELIEVING WHAT OBAMA SAYS BUT WHAT HE DOES! OBAMA ALREADY HAD A CHANCE FROM JUMP WITH THE SUPER MAJORITY TO SHOW US THE CHANGE HE PROMISED! HE DIDN'T DELIVER IT! HE DOESN'T DESERVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO SCREW US AGAIN!
I ain't mad at ya. I'm just saying, hey, there are other Democrats that deserve a chance since Obama has failed. I have a mind to make Democrats earn it! I want them to increase black jobs significantly before they get my vote! We keep voting for Democrats and getting nothing in return! We deserve a share of those jobs with decent pay! That's the degree of my love for you and my people. My love for all people is to encourage them to rally for FULL EMPLOYMENT WITH A LIVING WAGE TIED TO THE RICH TAX RATE! A BETTER SYSTEM!
I believe your actions to give Obama another term is a way to express love for your black brothers and sisters. I just disagree. I love you all the same my sister. May the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, be with you, bless you and keep you.
Christine R. Rickett said:You are right Obama drama. But a key factor must not be pushed aside. The Tea Party rallied in each state getting people to vote for Tea Party candidates. The Tea Party candidates even strong armed other republicans to get their way. We - not just the poor and middle class blacks but poor and middle class whites must get out and vote as many republicans out of office - TAKE NO PRISONERS. When we get out in the masses and vote our candidates in to do what we want just as the Tea Party did. The Tea party is working on getting rid of more moderate republicans and democrats to control Washington completely. You see what just happenned. There will be no point in having a President at all, black or white, democrat or republican if we don't outvoted the Tea Party. iF WE DON'T VOTE MORE DEMOCRATS IN OFFICE, IN 2010.
The - TEA PARTY - WILL STRIP SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND EVERYTHING ELSE WE CARE ABOUT. THEY WON'T CARE ABOUT THE POOR WHITES. THEY WILL JUST BE CAUSALITIES OF WAR. THEY HATE OBAMA AND THEY HATE US. THE STATES RIGHTS THEY FIGHT FOR IS THE RIGHTS THEY LOST TO OWN SLAVES.
If people think our situation is awful now. There will be a great depression if we don't fight back with our votes. We, black folks will be in the fields as our ancesors. Now, that's a fact!!!
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Permalink Reply by Tessa Byrd on -
I would rather live in my fantasy than any creation fueled by the narrow, misguided vision of any reality you advocate. Much of what you say has merit. Unemployment is at outrageous numbers, globalization and outsourcing have much to do with that. "Supply side" economic policy allows for rampant outsourcing and promotes globalization. The narrow vision of the Republican Party accounts for the specious premise of "trickle down" not Pres. Obama. I understand a level of frustration and have posted of it; I question where it was as the political agenda of the last few administrations played out? I make no excuses for Pres. Obama; he does not need that from anyone. The President is making me proud (sometimes) doing the best with what he has in front of him.
Your tone is often off putting and does not welcome dialogue; words are meant to invite exchange that is there purpose....If I am to understand that you are thoroughly disillusioned with the leadership of the President and will not vote for him...You should understand I am not disillusioned with him and I will be voting (again) for him. You are passionate in what you believe and post, & so am I.
I am not mad at you either, even after you characterize my vision as fantasy. I would ask what you thought about the possibility of a Black (African-American) president 5-15 years ago. That was fantasy too and here we are today living that fantasy....
Obama drama said:"I refuse to view Pres. Obama's attempts at inclusion as deal breaking (detrimental) for I am sure inclusion is the only way forward."
THAT'S PURE FANTASY!
Republicans act in the interest of the rich alone! The Democrats are suppose to be acting in the interest of all. Democrats and Republicans are ruled by campaign dollars and job offers by the rich after office. Democrats are reduced to little more than lip service for the less fortunate because of the influences of the rich dollars on them! They are all a bunch of bought men and women! Some less or more than others. There is nothing else to explain this calamity!
However, they both have an electorate to please. That's why the twain shall never meet. The interest of the rich are not the interest of the poor! The rich will forever look for ways to screw the poor. Democrats are letting them do it more, and more! It's about bogus promises, intents, and bought men! Even Obama has a price and sold to the highest bidder! That's why he's giving it all away to the Republicans!
Tessa Byrd said:Christine... Ms. Rickett...You make a point....I hear ya! There are individuals who personify your characterizations...There are also Black (African-American) Conservatives (2% voted for GW Bush). They are wholly different and "kinda' sad individuals. Education in this instance is more akin to "miseducation". Pres. Obama postponed meeting the Caucus, he has nothing good to relay to them. Wars, economic crisis, Foreign & Domestic Policy all pressing. Universal Healthcare, closing Guantanamo, and ending "Don't Ask Don't Tell" leave little time for the needed intervention on issues of employment and education... high priorities of Black (African) Americans. The racist zeal with which the Republican Party has comported itself is shameful coupled with the complicity of the Democratic Party and that the Obama Adm. accomplishes anything confounds the mind.
The appeal of the President and the vision he shared encompassed all Americans. I would wish for exclusive attention (;-0) but it will not be forthcoming. I refuse to view Pres. Obama's attempts at inclusion as deal breaking (detrimental) for I am sure inclusion is the only way forward.
An individual is entitled to exercise their vote in the way they wish. I have seen advocacy for among others Huckabee-Kucinich-& Paul.
The President needs the unified vote of the disenfranchised of all colors, ages, and genders. There is power in that number!
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Permalink Reply by Christine R. Rickett on
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Tessa,
I understand Obama drama and and sympathized with him. There are many, and I speak in behalf of the poorer communities who are disillusion like Obama drama. I see and have heard people's frustrations for many years now.
I feel that I can speak because I too have to work 12-16 hours receiving minimum wages due to the field I CHOSE to work years ago assisting the elderly. My heart goes out to the elderly who are too frail to care for themselves. The insurance for Healthcare is not affordable and the wages barely provides for necessities. The avarage wages marketors put out on line is simply not true. But this too, a another issue that one day must be addressed.
What concerns me, is our youths. Reaching the ones in (the hood). Too many of them feel it's hopeless.
Hope lead people to march during the Civil Rights Movement although many like today felt like Obama drama. Hope and love for humanity made the movement strong. Just as you said, " 5-15 years ago, the belief or hope of ever seeing a black president many would have said it was based on "false hopes, false constitution". But the term "live Constitution" many don't understand. "Live" becomes reality when we march, vote and fight for it's reality to become not when we sit at our tables and just complain. The Tea Party made it "Live" when they got out the votes and put in office who they wanted to vote in congress on behalf of their agenda. We must do likewise. It becomes overwhelming at times because there's so much to do and read to keep up on issues, but we must continue the struggle.
I hope one day all of our paths ( yours, mine, Obama drama) will cross so that we may embrace in love and respect for one another. Ok, I will be late for school if I don't leave now. Signing off.
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Permalink Reply by jimmy pratt on -
Dr. King said: waiting almost always mean never.
Lincoln, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon all did things for Blacks when the fallout was imminent. They chose to do what was right and let history be the judge. When black people say “wait”, a precedent is being set that others will use.
Suge said:I'll give the President the benefit of the doubt... let him get to his second term before you start vilifying for what he's not doing for the black community ... He's done quite a bit (IMO) his first term... it's quite possible if he (The President) "overtly" does things for "US"... it will be used against him come 2012. So allow him to get to his second term first...
JMHO
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Permalink Reply by jimmy pratt on
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How can Black people lose with these two on our side.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/us/politics/14cbc.html?pagewanted...
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Permalink Reply by LibyaWest on -
I don't like this at all but evidently it's legal.
In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse
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By ERIC LIPTON and ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: February 13, 2010
WASHINGTON — When the Congressional Black Caucus wanted to pay off the mortgage on its foundation’s stately 1930s redbrick headquarters on Embassy Row, it turned to a familiar roster of friends: corporate backers like Wal-Mart, AT&T, General Motors, Coca-Cola and Altria, the nation’s largest tobacco company.
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Congressional Black Caucus members at a gospel event at the September 2007 conference.
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Caucus members accepting a donation to the foundation from Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant and a major contributor.
Soon enough, in 2008, a jazz band was playing at what amounted to a mortgage-burning party for the $4 million town house.
Most political groups in Washington would have been barred by law from accepting that kind of direct aid from corporations. But by taking advantage of political finance laws, the caucus has built a fund-raising juggernaut unlike anything else in town.
It has a traditional political fund-raising arm subject to federal rules. But it also has a network of nonprofit groups and charities that allow it to collect unlimited amounts of money from corporations and labor unions.
From 2004 to 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus’s political and charitable wings took in at least $55 million in corporate and union contributions, according to an analysis by The New York Times, an impressive amount even by the standards of a Washington awash in cash. Only $1 million of that went to the caucus’s political action committee; the rest poured into the largely unregulated nonprofit network. (Data for 2009 is not available.)
The caucus says its nonprofit groups are intended to help disadvantaged African-Americans by providing scholarships and internships to students, researching policy and holding seminars on topics like healthy living.
But the bulk of the money has been spent on elaborate conventions that have become a high point of the Washington social season, as well as the headquarters building, golf outings by members of Congress and an annual visit to a Mississippi casino resort.
In 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation spent more on the caterer for its signature legislative dinner and conference — nearly $700,000 for an event one organizer called “Hollywood on the Potomac” — than it gave out in scholarships, federal tax records show.
At the galas, lobbyists and executives who give to caucus charities get to mingle with lawmakers. They also get seats on committees the caucus has set up to help members of Congress decide what positions to take on the issues of the day. Indeed, the nonprofit groups and the political wing are so deeply connected it is sometimes hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Even as it has used its status as a civil rights organization to become a fund-raising power in Washington, the caucus has had to fend off criticism of ties to companies whose business is seen by some as detrimental to its black constituents.
These include cigarette companies, Internet poker operators, beer brewers and the rent-to-own industry, which has become a particular focus of consumer advocates for its practice of charging high monthly fees for appliances, televisions and computers.
Caucus leaders said the giving had not influenced them.
“We’re unbossed and unbought,” said Representative Barbara Lee, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the caucus. “Historically, we’ve been known as the conscience of the Congress, and we’re the ones bringing up issues that often go unnoticed or just aren’t on the table.”
But many campaign finance experts question the unusual structure.
“The claim that this is a truly philanthropic motive is bogus — it’s beyond credulity,” said Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, a nonpartisan group that monitors campaign finance and ethics issues. “Members of Congress should not be allowed to have these links. They provide another pocket, and a very deep pocket, for special-interest money that is intended to benefit and influence officeholders.”
Not all caucus members support the donors’ goals, and some issues, like a debate last year over whether to ban menthol cigarettes, have produced divisions.
But caucus members have attracted increasing scrutiny from ethics investigators. All eight open House investigations involve caucus members, and most center on accusations of improper ties to private businesses.
And an examination by The Times shows what can happen when companies offer financial support to caucus members.
For instance, Representative Danny K. Davis, Democrat of Illinois, once backed legislation that would have severely curtailed the rent-to-own industry, criticized in urban districts like his on the West Side of Chicago. But Mr. Davis last year co-sponsored legislation supported by the stores after they led a well-financed campaign to sway the caucus, including a promise to provide computers to a jobs program in Chicago named for him. He denies any connection between the industry’s generosity and his shift.
Growing Influence
The caucus started out 40 years ago as a political club of a handful of black members of Congress. Now it is at the apex of its power: President Obama is a former member, though he was never very active.
Its members, all Democrats, include the third-ranking House member, Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina; 4 House committee chairmen; and 18 subcommittee leaders. Among those are Representative Charles E. Rangel, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and Representative John Conyers Jr., chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
There are hundreds of caucuses in Congress, representing groups as disparate as Hispanic lawmakers and those with an interest in Scotland. And other members of Congress have nonprofit organizations.
But the Congressional Black Caucus stands alone for its money-raising prowess. As it has gained power, its nonprofit groups — one an outright charity, the other a sort of research group — have seen a surge in contributions, nearly doubling from 2001 to 2008.
Besides the caucus charities, many members — including Mr. Clyburn and Representative William Lacy Clay Jr. of Missouri — also have personal or family charities, which often solicit donations from companies that give to the caucus. And spouses have their own group that sponsors a golf and tennis fund-raiser.
The board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation includes executives and lobbyists from Boeing, Wal-Mart, Dell, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Heineken, Anheuser-Busch and the drug makers Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline. All are hefty donors to the caucus.
Some of the biggest donors also have seats on the second caucus nonprofit organization — one that can help their businesses. This group, the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute, drafts positions on issues before Congress, including health care and climate change.
This means, for example, that the lobbyists and executives from coal, nuclear and power giants like Peabody Energy and Entergy helped draft a report in the caucus’s name that includes their positions on controversial issues. One policy document issued by the Black Caucus Institute last year asserted that the financial impact of climate change legislation should be weighed before it is passed, a major industry stand.
Officials from the Association of American Railroads, another major donor, used their board positions to urge the inclusion of language recommending increased spending on the national freight rail system. A lobbyist for Verizon oversaw a debate on a section that advocated increased federal grants to expand broadband Internet service.
And Larry Duncan, a Lockheed Martin lobbyist, served on a caucus institute panel that recommended that the United States form closer ties with Liberia, even as his company was negotiating a huge airport contract there.
The companies say their service to the caucus is philanthropic.
“Our charitable donations are charitable donations,” said David Sylvia, a spokesman for Altria, which has given caucus charities as much as $1.3 million since 2004, the Times analysis shows, including a donation to a capital fund used to pay off the mortgage of the caucus headquarters.
Elsie L. Scott, chief executive of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, acknowledged that the companies want to influence members. In fact, the fund-raising brochures make clear that the bigger the donation, the greater the access, like a private reception that includes members of Congress for those who give more than $100,000.
“They are trying to get the attention of the C.B.C. members,” Ms. Scott said. “And I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. They’re in business, and they want to deal with people who have influence and power.”
She also acknowledged that if her charity did not have “Congressional Black Caucus” in its name, it would gather far less money. “If it were just the Institute for the Advancement of Black People — you already have the N.A.A.C.P.,” she said.
Ms. Scott said she, too, had heard criticism that the caucus foundation takes too much from companies seen as hurting blacks . But she said she was still willing to take their money.
“Black people gamble. Black people smoke. Black people drink,” she said in an interview. “And so if these companies want to take some of the money they’ve earned off of our people and give it to us to support good causes, then we take it.”
Big Parties, Big Money
The biggest caucus event of the year is held each September in Washington.
The 2009 event began with a rooftop party at the new W Hotel, with the names of the biggest sponsors, the pharmaceutical companies Amgen and Eli Lilly, beamed in giant letters onto the walls, next to the logo of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. A separate dinner party and ceremony, sponsored by Disney at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, featured the jazz pianist Marcus Johnson.
The next night, AT&T sponsored a dinner reception at the Willard InterContinental Washington, honoring Representative Bobby L. Rush, Democrat of Illinois and chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees consumer protection issues.
The Southern Company, the dominant electric utility in four Southeastern states, spent more than $300,000 to host an awards ceremony the next night honoring Ms. Lee, the black caucus chairwoman, with Shaun Robinson, a TV personality from “Access Hollywood,” as a co-host. The bill for limousine services — paid by Southern — exceeded $11,000.
A separate party, sponsored by Macy’s, featured a fashion show and wax models of historic African-American leaders.
All of this was just a buildup for the final night and the biggest event — a black-tie dinner for 4,000, which included President Obama, the actor Danny Glover and the musician Wyclef Jean.
Annual spending on the events, including an annual prayer breakfast that Coca-Cola sponsors and several dozen policy workshops typically sponsored by other corporations, has more than doubled since 2001, costing $3.9 million in 2008. More than $350,000 went to the official decorator and nearly $400,000 to contractors for lighting and show production, according to tax records. (By comparison, the caucus spent $372,000 on internships in 2008, tax records show.)
The sponsorship of these parties by big business is usually counted as a donation in the caucus books. But sometimes the corporations pay vendors directly and simply name the caucus or an individual caucus member as an “honoree” in disclosure records filed with the Senate.
(The New York Times Company is listed as having paid the foundation $5,000 to $15,000 in 2008. It was the cost of renting a booth to sell newspapers at the annual conference.)
Foundation officials say profit from the event is enough to finance programs like seminars on investments, home ownership and healthy living; housing for Washington interns; and about $600,000 in scholarships.
Interns and students interviewed praised the caucus.
“The internship for me came at a very critical moment in my life,” said Ervin Johnson, 24, an intern in 2007, placed by the Justice Department. “Most people don’t have that opportunity.”
Still, Ms. Scott, the foundation’s chief executive, said that members of the caucus’s board had complained about the ballooning bills for the annual conference. And some donors have asked that their money go only toward programs like scholarships. She blamed the high prices charged by vendors mandated by the Washington Convention Center.
Legislative Interests
The companies that host events at the annual conference are engaged in some of the hottest battles in Washington, and they frequently turn to caucus members for help.
Internet poker companies have been big donors, fighting moves to restrict their growth. Caucus members have been among their biggest backers.
Amgen and DaVita, which dominate the kidney treatment and dialysis business nationwide, have donated as much as $1.5 million over the last five years to caucus charities, and the caucus has been one of their strongest allies in a bid to win broader federal reimbursements.
AT&T and Verizon, sponsors of the caucus charities for years, have turned to the caucus in their effort to prevent new federal rules governing how cellphone carriers operate Internet services on their wireless networks.
But few of these alliances have paid off like the caucus’s connection to rent-to-own stores.
Some Democrats in Congress have tried to limit fees charged to consumers who rent televisions or appliances, with critics saying the industry’s advertisements prey on low-income consumers, offering the short-term promise of walking away with a big-screen TV while hiding big long-term fees. Faced with rules that could destroy their business, the industry called on the caucus.
In 2007, it retained Zehra Buck, a former aide to Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and a caucus member, to help expand a lobbying campaign. Its trade association in 2008 became the exclusive sponsor of an annual caucus foundation charity event where its donated televisions, computers and other equipment were auctioned, with the proceeds going to scholarships. It donated to the campaigns of at least 10 caucus members, and to political action committees run by the caucus and its individual members.
It also encouraged member stores to donate to personal charities run by caucus members or to public schools in their districts. Mr. Clay, the Missourian, received $14,000 in industry contributions in 2008 for the annual golf tournament his family runs in St. Louis. The trade association also held a fund-raising event for him in Reno, Nev.
“I’ll always do my best to protect what really matters to you,” Mr. Clay told rent-to-own executives, who agreed to hold their 2008 annual convention in St. Louis, his home district. Mr. Clay declined a request for an interview.
On a visit to Washington, Larry Carrico, then president of the rent-to-own trade association, offered to donate computers and other equipment to a nonprofit job-training group in Chicago named in honor of Mr. Davis, the Illinois congressman who in 2002 voted in favor of tough restrictions on the industry.
Mr. Davis switched sides. Mr. Carrico traveled to Chicago to hand over the donations, including a van with “Congressman Danny K. Davis Job Training Program” painted on its side, all of which helped jump-start a charity run by Lowry Taylor, who also works as a campaign aide to Mr. Davis.
In an interview, Mr. Carrico said support from caucus members came because they understood that his industry had been unfairly criticized and that it provided an important service to consumers in their districts.
While some caucus members still oppose the industry, 13 are co-sponsors of the industry-backed legislation that would ward off tough regulatory restrictions — an alliance that has infuriated consumer advocates.
“It is unfortunate that the members of the black caucus who are supporting this bill did not check with us first,” said Margot Saunders, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center. “Because the legislation they are supporting would simply pre-empt state laws that are designed to protect consumers against an industry that rips them off.”
The industry’s own bill, introduced by a caucus member, has not been taken up, but it does not really matter because the move to pass stricter legislation has ground to a halt.
“Without the support of the C.B.C.,” John Cleek, the president of the rent-to-own association, acknowledged in an industry newsletter in 2008, “our mission in Washington would fail.”
Ron Nixon and Griffin Palmer contributed reporting.
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Permalink Reply by jimmy pratt on
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Slavery was legal too
LibyaWest said:I don't like this at all but evidently it's legal.
In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse
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By ERIC LIPTON and ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: February 13, 2010
WASHINGTON — When the Congressional Black Caucus wanted to pay off the mortgage on its foundation’s stately 1930s redbrick headquarters on Embassy Row, it turned to a familiar roster of friends: corporate backers like Wal-Mart, AT&T, General Motors, Coca-Cola and Altria, the nation’s largest tobacco company.
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Congressional Black Caucus members at a gospel event at the September 2007 conference.
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Caucus members accepting a donation to the foundation from Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant and a major contributor.
Soon enough, in 2008, a jazz band was playing at what amounted to a mortgage-burning party for the $4 million town house.
Most political groups in Washington would have been barred by law from accepting that kind of direct aid from corporations. But by taking advantage of political finance laws, the caucus has built a fund-raising juggernaut unlike anything else in town.
It has a traditional political fund-raising arm subject to federal rules. But it also has a network of nonprofit groups and charities that allow it to collect unlimited amounts of money from corporations and labor unions.
From 2004 to 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus’s political and charitable wings took in at least $55 million in corporate and union contributions, according to an analysis by The New York Times, an impressive amount even by the standards of a Washington awash in cash. Only $1 million of that went to the caucus’s political action committee; the rest poured into the largely unregulated nonprofit network. (Data for 2009 is not available.)
The caucus says its nonprofit groups are intended to help disadvantaged African-Americans by providing scholarships and internships to students, researching policy and holding seminars on topics like healthy living.
But the bulk of the money has been spent on elaborate conventions that have become a high point of the Washington social season, as well as the headquarters building, golf outings by members of Congress and an annual visit to a Mississippi casino resort.
In 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation spent more on the caterer for its signature legislative dinner and conference — nearly $700,000 for an event one organizer called “Hollywood on the Potomac” — than it gave out in scholarships, federal tax records show.
At the galas, lobbyists and executives who give to caucus charities get to mingle with lawmakers. They also get seats on committees the caucus has set up to help members of Congress decide what positions to take on the issues of the day. Indeed, the nonprofit groups and the political wing are so deeply connected it is sometimes hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Even as it has used its status as a civil rights organization to become a fund-raising power in Washington, the caucus has had to fend off criticism of ties to companies whose business is seen by some as detrimental to its black constituents.
These include cigarette companies, Internet poker operators, beer brewers and the rent-to-own industry, which has become a particular focus of consumer advocates for its practice of charging high monthly fees for appliances, televisions and computers.
Caucus leaders said the giving had not influenced them.
“We’re unbossed and unbought,” said Representative Barbara Lee, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the caucus. “Historically, we’ve been known as the conscience of the Congress, and we’re the ones bringing up issues that often go unnoticed or just aren’t on the table.”
But many campaign finance experts question the unusual structure.
“The claim that this is a truly philanthropic motive is bogus — it’s beyond credulity,” said Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, a nonpartisan group that monitors campaign finance and ethics issues. “Members of Congress should not be allowed to have these links. They provide another pocket, and a very deep pocket, for special-interest money that is intended to benefit and influence officeholders.”
Not all caucus members support the donors’ goals, and some issues, like a debate last year over whether to ban menthol cigarettes, have produced divisions.
But caucus members have attracted increasing scrutiny from ethics investigators. All eight open House investigations involve caucus members, and most center on accusations of improper ties to private businesses.
And an examination by The Times shows what can happen when companies offer financial support to caucus members.
For instance, Representative Danny K. Davis, Democrat of Illinois, once backed legislation that would have severely curtailed the rent-to-own industry, criticized in urban districts like his on the West Side of Chicago. But Mr. Davis last year co-sponsored legislation supported by the stores after they led a well-financed campaign to sway the caucus, including a promise to provide computers to a jobs program in Chicago named for him. He denies any connection between the industry’s generosity and his shift.
Growing Influence
The caucus started out 40 years ago as a political club of a handful of black members of Congress. Now it is at the apex of its power: President Obama is a former member, though he was never very active.
Its members, all Democrats, include the third-ranking House member, Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina; 4 House committee chairmen; and 18 subcommittee leaders. Among those are Representative Charles E. Rangel, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and Representative John Conyers Jr., chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
There are hundreds of caucuses in Congress, representing groups as disparate as Hispanic lawmakers and those with an interest in Scotland. And other members of Congress have nonprofit organizations.
But the Congressional Black Caucus stands alone for its money-raising prowess. As it has gained power, its nonprofit groups — one an outright charity, the other a sort of research group — have seen a surge in contributions, nearly doubling from 2001 to 2008.
Besides the caucus charities, many members — including Mr. Clyburn and Representative William Lacy Clay Jr. of Missouri — also have personal or family charities, which often solicit donations from companies that give to the caucus. And spouses have their own group that sponsors a golf and tennis fund-raiser.
The board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation includes executives and lobbyists from Boeing, Wal-Mart, Dell, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, Verizon, Heineken, Anheuser-Busch and the drug makers Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline. All are hefty donors to the caucus.
Some of the biggest donors also have seats on the second caucus nonprofit organization — one that can help their businesses. This group, the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute, drafts positions on issues before Congress, including health care and climate change.
This means, for example, that the lobbyists and executives from coal, nuclear and power giants like Peabody Energy and Entergy helped draft a report in the caucus’s name that includes their positions on controversial issues. One policy document issued by the Black Caucus Institute last year asserted that the financial impact of climate change legislation should be weighed before it is passed, a major industry stand.
Officials from the Association of American Railroads, another major donor, used their board positions to urge the inclusion of language recommending increased spending on the national freight rail system. A lobbyist for Verizon oversaw a debate on a section that advocated increased federal grants to expand broadband Internet service.
And Larry Duncan, a Lockheed Martin lobbyist, served on a caucus institute panel that recommended that the United States form closer ties with Liberia, even as his company was negotiating a huge airport contract there.
The companies say their service to the caucus is philanthropic.
“Our charitable donations are charitable donations,” said David Sylvia, a spokesman for Altria, which has given caucus charities as much as $1.3 million since 2004, the Times analysis shows, including a donation to a capital fund used to pay off the mortgage of the caucus headquarters.
Elsie L. Scott, chief executive of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, acknowledged that the companies want to influence members. In fact, the fund-raising brochures make clear that the bigger the donation, the greater the access, like a private reception that includes members of Congress for those who give more than $100,000.
“They are trying to get the attention of the C.B.C. members,” Ms. Scott said. “And I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. They’re in business, and they want to deal with people who have influence and power.”
She also acknowledged that if her charity did not have “Congressional Black Caucus” in its name, it would gather far less money. “If it were just the Institute for the Advancement of Black People — you already have the N.A.A.C.P.,” she said.
Ms. Scott said she, too, had heard criticism that the caucus foundation takes too much from companies seen as hurting blacks . But she said she was still willing to take their money.
“Black people gamble. Black people smoke. Black people drink,” she said in an interview. “And so if these companies want to take some of the money they’ve earned off of our people and give it to us to support good causes, then we take it.”
Big Parties, Big Money
The biggest caucus event of the year is held each September in Washington.
The 2009 event began with a rooftop party at the new W Hotel, with the names of the biggest sponsors, the pharmaceutical companies Amgen and Eli Lilly, beamed in giant letters onto the walls, next to the logo of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. A separate dinner party and ceremony, sponsored by Disney at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, featured the jazz pianist Marcus Johnson.
The next night, AT&T sponsored a dinner reception at the Willard InterContinental Washington, honoring Representative Bobby L. Rush, Democrat of Illinois and chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees consumer protection issues.
The Southern Company, the dominant electric utility in four Southeastern states, spent more than $300,000 to host an awards ceremony the next night honoring Ms. Lee, the black caucus chairwoman, with Shaun Robinson, a TV personality from “Access Hollywood,” as a co-host. The bill for limousine services — paid by Southern — exceeded $11,000.
A separate party, sponsored by Macy’s, featured a fashion show and wax models of historic African-American leaders.
All of this was just a buildup for the final night and the biggest event — a black-tie dinner for 4,000, which included President Obama, the actor Danny Glover and the musician Wyclef Jean.
Annual spending on the events, including an annual prayer breakfast that Coca-Cola sponsors and several dozen policy workshops typically sponsored by other corporations, has more than doubled since 2001, costing $3.9 million in 2008. More than $350,000 went to the official decorator and nearly $400,000 to contractors for lighting and show production, according to tax records. (By comparison, the caucus spent $372,000 on internships in 2008, tax records show.)
The sponsorship of these parties by big business is usually counted as a donation in the caucus books. But sometimes the corporations pay vendors directly and simply name the caucus or an individual caucus member as an “honoree” in disclosure records filed with the Senate.
(The New York Times Company is listed as having paid the foundation $5,000 to $15,000 in 2008. It was the cost of renting a booth to sell newspapers at the annual conference.)
Foundation officials say profit from the event is enough to finance programs like seminars on investments, home ownership and healthy living; housing for Washington interns; and about $600,000 in scholarships.
Interns and students interviewed praised the caucus.
“The internship for me came at a very critical moment in my life,” said Ervin Johnson, 24, an intern in 2007, placed by the Justice Department. “Most people don’t have that opportunity.”
Still, Ms. Scott, the foundation’s chief executive, said that members of the caucus’s board had complained about the ballooning bills for the annual conference. And some donors have asked that their money go only toward programs like scholarships. She blamed the high prices charged by vendors mandated by the Washington Convention Center.
Legislative Interests
The companies that host events at the annual conference are engaged in some of the hottest battles in Washington, and they frequently turn to caucus members for help.
Internet poker companies have been big donors, fighting moves to restrict their growth. Caucus members have been among their biggest backers.
Amgen and DaVita, which dominate the kidney treatment and dialysis business nationwide, have donated as much as $1.5 million over the last five years to caucus charities, and the caucus has been one of their strongest allies in a bid to win broader federal reimbursements.
AT&T and Verizon, sponsors of the caucus charities for years, have turned to the caucus in their effort to prevent new federal rules governing how cellphone carriers operate Internet services on their wireless networks.
But few of these alliances have paid off like the caucus’s connection to rent-to-own stores.
Some Democrats in Congress have tried to limit fees charged to consumers who rent televisions or appliances, with critics saying the industry’s advertisements prey on low-income consumers, offering the short-term promise of walking away with a big-screen TV while hiding big long-term fees. Faced with rules that could destroy their business, the industry called on the caucus.
In 2007, it retained Zehra Buck, a former aide to Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and a caucus member, to help expand a lobbying campaign. Its trade association in 2008 became the exclusive sponsor of an annual caucus foundation charity event where its donated televisions, computers and other equipment were auctioned, with the proceeds going to scholarships. It donated to the campaigns of at least 10 caucus members, and to political action committees run by the caucus and its individual members.
It also encouraged member stores to donate to personal charities run by caucus members or to public schools in their districts. Mr. Clay, the Missourian, received $14,000 in industry contributions in 2008 for the annual golf tournament his family runs in St. Louis. The trade association also held a fund-raising event for him in Reno, Nev.
“I’ll always do my best to protect what really matters to you,” Mr. Clay told rent-to-own executives, who agreed to hold their 2008 annual convention in St. Louis, his home district. Mr. Clay declined a request for an interview.
On a visit to Washington, Larry Carrico, then president of the rent-to-own trade association, offered to donate computers and other equipment to a nonprofit job-training group in Chicago named in honor of Mr. Davis, the Illinois congressman who in 2002 voted in favor of tough restrictions on the industry.
Mr. Davis switched sides. Mr. Carrico traveled to Chicago to hand over the donations, including a van with “Congressman Danny K. Davis Job Training Program” painted on its side, all of which helped jump-start a charity run by Lowry Taylor, who also works as a campaign aide to Mr. Davis.
In an interview, Mr. Carrico said support from caucus members came because they understood that his industry had been unfairly criticized and that it provided an important service to consumers in their districts.
While some caucus members still oppose the industry, 13 are co-sponsors of the industry-backed legislation that would ward off tough regulatory restrictions — an alliance that has infuriated consumer advocates.
“It is unfortunate that the members of the black caucus who are supporting this bill did not check with us first,” said Margot Saunders, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center. “Because the legislation they are supporting would simply pre-empt state laws that are designed to protect consumers against an industry that rips them off.”
The industry’s own bill, introduced by a caucus member, has not been taken up, but it does not really matter because the move to pass stricter legislation has ground to a halt.
“Without the support of the C.B.C.,” John Cleek, the president of the rent-to-own association, acknowledged in an industry newsletter in 2008, “our mission in Washington would fail.”
Ron Nixon and Griffin Palmer contributed reporting.
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Permalink Reply by Obama drama on
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You're right. My tone is often off putting but only to those who don't acknowledge the truth! Those who live in a virtual Disneyland. Those that call truth narrow, misguided vision of any reality! All I'm trying to do is snap people like you out of that hypnotic spell Obama has you under. I'm not looking to do you irreversible harm or hate on you. I'm trying to awake you from Obama's hypnotic spell! He's obviously using brain control for people to miss what he's doing! The media is awake finally on the misgivings of Obama. They are still not accusing him hard enough on the Bush Tax Cuts stalling the economy! They are owned by big business! They will lose their jobs if they tell it like it is. I'm just trying to get people to open their eyes. Stop blindly making excuses for Obama on false premises!
The reality is that Obama is running trickle down economics! The coffers of the banks and big business are fat! Obama helped them get that way! Not by accident but plan! Obama's the engineer running the trickle down economics train!
Until recently, Wall Street was on the verge of breaking records while Main Street hobbled along! That's because Obama took cared of big business and the banks and assured us Main Street lags Wall Street! It never happened because big business is holding out for lower tax rates. They know they have an all day sucker like Obama and trying to get more out of him! He decided to let Wall Street be the engine to pull the train back on the tracks! He did way too little stimulus considering the damage of the Bush Administration! That would have called for higher taxes on the rich! He refused to do it twice! When he first entered office with the super majority and 12/2010! Granted, Bush caused it but Obama fail to use his opportunities to fix it! This is reality and the truth you seem to be ignoring!
A blind man can see this! You have to be under Obama's hypnotic spell to miss it! You're listening to his words and watching his lips move instead of what he's doing and not doing! His talk don't match his walk! Flim-flam man! Smoke and mirrors! Barrack Smokey Obama should be his name! He's got a real magic act going when he's damaging blacks the way he is and they are still sticking up for him and not kicking his butt on these blogs to get some traction for some action out of him! You black people are holding us back! Scream the truth at that fool and let him hear we ain't dumb and he'd better get with it or hit it 2012!
Yes, globalization promotes outsourcing which is Supply Side Economics at work causing the rampant outsourcing of jobs for bigger profits by taking advantage of cheaper labor costs in China, India, and elsewhere overseas! Stock portfolio's are loaded with investments in companies benefiting from cheap labor overseas, outsourcing our jobs! That's why we elect a President and congressmen to work the tax rates and job incentives to supply enough jobs for America! They have the tools to supply America with enough jobs but Obama fail to do it twice when he had virtually unimpeded opportunities! That's reality and the truth you seem to be avoiding! Are you asleep on it or are you just as bogus as Obama?! I hope it's a case of not being as informed as you think you are.
I'm not hating on you. I love you all. I just want you all to wake up! Snap out of it! God's love.
Tessa Byrd said:I would rather live in my fantasy than any creation fueled by the narrow, misguided vision of any reality you advocate. Much of what you say has merit. Unemployment is at outrageous numbers, globalization and outsourcing have much to do with that. "Supply side" economic policy allows for rampant outsourcing and promotes globalization. The narrow vision of the Republican Party accounts for the specious premise of "trickle down" not Pres. Obama. I understand a level of frustration and have posted of it; I question where it was as the political agenda of the last few administrations played out? I make no excuses for Pres. Obama; he does not need that from anyone. The President is making me proud (sometimes) doing the best with what he has in front of him.
Your tone is often off putting and does not welcome dialogue; words are meant to invite exchange that is there purpose....If I am to understand that you are thoroughly disillusioned with the leadership of the President and will not vote for him...You should understand I am not disillusioned with him and I will be voting (again) for him. You are passionate in what you believe and post, & so am I.
I am not mad at you either, even after you characterize my vision as fantasy. I would ask what you thought about the possibility of a Black (African-American) president 5-15 years ago. That was fantasy too and here we are today living that fantasy....
Obama drama said:"I refuse to view Pres. Obama's attempts at inclusion as deal breaking (detrimental) for I am sure inclusion is the only way forward."
THAT'S PURE FANTASY!
Republicans act in the interest of the rich alone! The Democrats are suppose to be acting in the interest of all. Democrats and Republicans are ruled by campaign dollars and job offers by the rich after office. Democrats are reduced to little more than lip service for the less fortunate because of the influences of the rich dollars on them! They are all a bunch of bought men and women! Some less or more than others. There is nothing else to explain this calamity!
However, they both have an electorate to please. That's why the twain shall never meet. The interest of the rich are not the interest of the poor! The rich will forever look for ways to screw the poor. Democrats are letting them do it more, and more! It's about bogus promises, intents, and bought men! Even Obama has a price and sold to the highest bidder! That's why he's giving it all away to the Republicans!
Tessa Byrd said:Christine... Ms. Rickett...You make a point....I hear ya! There are individuals who personify your characterizations...There are also Black (African-American) Conservatives (2% voted for GW Bush). They are wholly different and "kinda' sad individuals. Education in this instance is more akin to "miseducation". Pres. Obama postponed meeting the Caucus, he has nothing good to relay to them. Wars, economic crisis, Foreign & Domestic Policy all pressing. Universal Healthcare, closing Guantanamo, and ending "Don't Ask Don't Tell" leave little time for the needed intervention on issues of employment and education... high priorities of Black (African) Americans. The racist zeal with which the Republican Party has comported itself is shameful coupled with the complicity of the Democratic Party and that the Obama Adm. accomplishes anything confounds the mind.
The appeal of the President and the vision he shared encompassed all Americans. I would wish for exclusive attention (;-0) but it will not be forthcoming. I refuse to view Pres. Obama's attempts at inclusion as deal breaking (detrimental) for I am sure inclusion is the only way forward.
An individual is entitled to exercise their vote in the way they wish. I have seen advocacy for among others Huckabee-Kucinich-& Paul.
The President needs the unified vote of the disenfranchised of all colors, ages, and genders. There is power in that number!
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