Crony Capitalism: Welcome to Obamaland

Obama received almost $1,000,000 in campaign contributions from Goldman Sachs (The 2nd biggest contributor to his campaign). His chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel worked for them, Mark Patterson, the chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, was a Goldman Sachs lobbyist, and various other officials of the Obama administration have ties to Goldman. As one popular political personality has put it, "Goldman's nickname is Government Sachs because they've got so many people at various bureaucratic levels."
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638

"All the President's Goldman men"
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/all_the_president_goldman_men_e2n0aCBBZgC4cEBbEhqFdI

"REID DODGES QUESTIONS ON GOLDMAN $$$"

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/04/20/2275442.aspx
Harry Reid received money from a recent Goldman Sachs fundraiser, and he refuses to give the money back. Funny how Goldman Sachs holds a fundraiser for him while he is pursuing a massive financial regulatory bill... Unless Goldman Sachs likes the bill and stands to profit from it... Which in turn will be good for Harry Reid and other Democrats like Chuck Schumer, who will receive more campaign contributions. In fact, let's look at a list of Goldman Sachs' contributions to high-ranking Democrats in the Senate:

Chuck Schumer (NY), Member of both the Finance and Banking Committees:
Goldman Sachs: $481,040 (Top career contributor)
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=Career&type=C&cid=N00001093&newMem=N

Chris Dodd (CN), Chairman of Banking Committee:
Goldman Sachs: $273,466 (6th largest career; #1 Citigroup, #3 Bear Stearns, #5 AIG)
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00000581&type=I

Robert Menendez (NJ), Member of both the Finance and Banking Committees:
Goldman Sachs: $149,950 (2nd largest career contributor)
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=Career&type=I&cid=N00000699&newMem=N

Max Baucus (MT), Chairman of the Finance Committee:
Goldman Sachs: $88,900 (2nd largest career contributor)
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=Career&type=I&cid=N00004643&newMem=N

Just for kicks:
Hillary Clinton (NY), Former Senator and now Secretary of State:
Goldman Sachs: $682,690 (2nd largest career contributor)
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=Career&type=I&cid=N00000019&newMem=N

"Goldman charge looks more like politics than fraud"
http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/financials/story.html?id=2926436
Isn't it interesting that the SEC panel, after nine months of investigation, votes to charge Goldman the same exact week that Obama and the Democrats are pushing regulatory reform legislation? And that the vote was along party lines, with the 2 Republicans voting against it, while the 2 Democrats and the Obama-appointed "Independent" vote for it?


"Dem Web war on Sachs"
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/dem_web_war_on_sachs_KFbf4AqtQR2tMo2rYKyZTO
I'm sorry, either the White House and the Democrat Party believes we are all a bunch of idiots, or this is just one of the biggest coincidences in the history of politics. In short, Obama's political propaganda outfit, run out of the White House, pays Google to have the link to their regulatory reform page appear as the top search whenever a person types in the words "Goldman Sachs SEC." And this was done before the SEC released the formal charges against Goldman Sachs, and before the New York Times released the story, which the White House claims is when they were first notified about the decision.
Yes, and this morning pigs flew out of my ass.


"A Difficult Path in Goldman Case"
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/a-difficult-path-in-goldman-case/?src=busln
And what do you know? Turns out that it looks like the SEC really doesn't have any kind of case against Goldman. Well, if the case was meant to be flimsy from the beginning that means the only court it was ever meant to win in was the one of public opinion, so Democrats can pursue their political ends and pass the Dodd reform bill.


"Obama’s Former White House Counsel Craig Advising Goldman Sachs"
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-20/obama-s-former-white-house-counsel-craig-advising-goldman-sachs.html
Oh, and isn't it a coincidence that Greg Craig, former White House counsel to President Obama (he also defended Obama in the Rod Blagojevich corruption case), was assigned as counsel to Goldman Sachs? Incestuous? Yes. Is this a huge scam? Hmmm.....

"GOP seeks SEC records on Goldman"
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36097.html

"Is the Goldman-Sachs scandal manufactured?"
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/04/is_the_goldmansachs_scandal_ma.html

Considering that Goldman only seems to be facing some slight "discomfort" as far as penalties go (if the case even sees a jury), it seems "convenient" that Obama and the Democrats have the Goldman charges right as they are pushing to pass their financial reform bill. Furthermore, the bill will actually reward Goldman, and other major firms, with taxpayer funded "bailouts" should it ever encounter financial difficulties. In other words, while Goldman will temporarily play the "bad guy," it will potentially help the Democrats and Obama to pass their legislation, which would ultimately benefit Goldman Sachs and other investment firms tremendously, which in turn benefits the politicians in Washington with fat campaign coffers.

And just to nail home the point about how good this bill is for huge investment firms like Goldman Sachs, I give you Brad Sherman, Democrat Representative from California: "The Dodd bill has unlimited executive bailout authority. That's something Wall Street desperately wants but doesn't dare ask for. The bill contains permanent, unlimited bailout authority."

One really needs to seriously think about a "financial regulatory reform bill" that is championed by Obama and the Democrats, when it will benefit companies that are so tied in with Washington, while giving the government more control over the economy. Oh yes, the Dodd bill will give the Obama regime complete and unrestrained oversight of all American businesses. With this bill, Washington will be able to dictate which companies receive favors and get away with violations, while raising costs overall that will impact average Americans the most. Say hello to unrestrained Crony Capitalism: your new princes in Washington demand fealty.