Author Topic: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying  (Read 1772 times)

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Kramer

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Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« on: August 25, 2008, 04:38:13 PM »
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a6QrVqdTZKv4&refer=home

Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying

By Timothy J. Burger

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama's speech announcing his running mate Joe Biden singled out the Delaware senator's son who is headed for Iraq. Obama didn't mention the profession of Biden's other son, who lobbied for two drug companies and five universities.

Hunter Biden, 38, described as a lawyer in the biography of his father distributed yesterday by the Obama campaign, lobbied for clients that paid his firm at least $380,000 in the first six months of this year, federal records show.

Both Obama and Republican presidential rival John McCain have said lobbyists may not work on their campaigns. McCain recently called lobbyists ``birds of prey,'' and Obama has refused to accept their contributions. In his speech yesterday in Springfield, Illinois, Obama said he's running in part to repair ``a government that has fallen prey to special interests.''

Hunter Biden's work for Oldaker, Biden & Belair on behalf of biotech clients Achaogen, Inc., of South San Francisco and Pulmatrix, Inc., of Lexington, Massachusetts, illustrates the quandary posed when legislators have lobbyists within the family.

``It's always something to watch out for when you have a high-ranking member of Congress or an important senator whose child goes into the influence business,'' said Bill Allison, a senior fellow at the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington nonprofit that advocates transparency.

Influential Connection

``It's not necessarily that the father's going to do favors for the child's clients, but that every other member knows who his father is and what the connection is and that can carry a lot of influence as well,'' Allison said in an interview.

Elizabeth Alexander, a spokeswoman for Biden's Senate office, said the senator follows ethics rules.

``Hunter Biden does not lobby and has not lobbied Senator Biden's office,'' Alexander said in an e-mail. ``Our rules are dictated by the Senate ethics bill, and we follow it by the letter.'' Alexander said she knew of no favors done for Hunter Biden's clients.

Hunter Biden couldn't be reached yesterday through Alexander and did not return a message left on his office voicemail. His home phone in Washington is unlisted.

The senator's Web site describes Hunter Biden as a lawyer.

The Obama-Biden campaign had no comment.

Hunter Biden also sits on the board of Amtrak, the passenger railroad whose federal subsidies McCain has often criticized. Joe Biden rides home to Wilmington on Amtrak trains every night after work in the Senate.

Anthrax Contract

Before Hunter Biden was listed in disclosures as working on the Achaogen account, the company announced in October 2006 that it had received a $24.7 million Pentagon contract to work on anthrax-threat mitigation, according to a press release on the company's Web site.

Achaogen paid Biden's firm $20,000 in the final quarter of 2006, according to filings.

By coincidence, the senator's office in Wilmington had an anthrax scare in October 2006 when an aide opened a letter that had a mysterious powder in it. Authorities later determined it wasn't anthrax.

Hunter Biden's lobbying clients also include the University of Scranton and St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, which paid Biden's firm $80,000 to lobby the House and Senate on matters including defense appropriations. Another of his clients was Regis University in Denver, which paid the firm $80,000 for the same kind of work in the same period.

To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy J. Burger in Washington at tburger2@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: August 24, 2008 01:11 EDT

Michael Tee

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2008, 04:44:36 PM »
Biden was taken on-board for some very specific purposes.  Keeping Obama's original base happy, I guess, sure wasn't one of them.

I just hope he does what he was chosen to do, and does it well.  And that enough of the real base will realize that it ain't pretty, but a guy like Biden has his uses at times, and this is one of those times.

Kramer

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2008, 04:54:24 PM »
Biden was taken on-board for some very specific purposes.  Keeping Obama's original base happy, I guess, sure wasn't one of them.

I just hope he does what he was chosen to do, and does it well.  And that enough of the real base will realize that it ain't pretty, but a guy like Biden has his uses at times, and this is one of those times.

So you are OK with this little issue?

Michael Tee

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2008, 04:57:32 PM »
<<So you are OK with this little issue?>>

Of course, I'm not OK with it, but I'd be even less OK with Obama losing to McCain in November.  Biden's a thug and a part of the problem, not a part of the solution, but he plays hardball and right now Obama's choices look like they are limited to hardball or political suicide.

Kramer

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2008, 05:00:26 PM »
<<So you are OK with this little issue?>>

Of course, I'm not OK with it, but I'd be even less OK with Obama losing to McCain in November.  Biden's a thug and a part of the problem, not a part of the solution, but he plays hardball and right now Obama's choices look like they are limited to hardball or political suicide.

This choice reflects poor judgement on Obama's part. Wouldn't Hillary been a much better choice?

BT

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2008, 05:01:58 PM »
the good news is that when Biden goes on the attack that he usually screws it up.


Michael Tee

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2008, 05:12:52 PM »
<<This choice reflects poor judgement on Obama's part. Wouldn't Hillary been a much better choice?>>

Well, it would have had the advantage of keeping all those dumb-ass Hillary supporters on-board, who are now screaming about jumping ship, but there are a lot of negatives with the Clintons - - the bad blood, plus I think he realized after they muscled their way into a big role at the Convention that they had suckered him and made him look like a schmuck.  Any more pandering to them and it would look like they had his balls in a little jar on their mantelpiece.

He's not in a position where he can win big with any VP - - whoever he picks is going to be from the Democratic Old Guard to stop a further haemorrhage of votes, so there goes the message of "hope" and "change" - - how could anyone take it seriously after Mr. Hope and Change picks either Hillary or Biden?  Personally I think he's afraid of the Clintons, doesn't trust 'em, and probably rightly so.  Plus, there must be a lot of hatred there.  Helluva dilemma.  A good chunk of those Hillary votes may really be gone now.

Kramer

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2008, 05:36:37 PM »
<<This choice reflects poor judgement on Obama's part. Wouldn't Hillary been a much better choice?>>

Well, it would have had the advantage of keeping all those dumb-ass Hillary supporters on-board, who are now screaming about jumping ship, but there are a lot of negatives with the Clintons - - the bad blood, plus I think he realized after they muscled their way into a big role at the Convention that they had suckered him and made him look like a schmuck.  Any more pandering to them and it would look like they had his balls in a little jar on their mantelpiece.

He's not in a position where he can win big with any VP - - whoever he picks is going to be from the Democratic Old Guard to stop a further haemorrhage of votes, so there goes the message of "hope" and "change" - - how could anyone take it seriously after Mr. Hope and Change picks either Hillary or Biden?  Personally I think he's afraid of the Clintons, doesn't trust 'em, and probably rightly so.  Plus, there must be a lot of hatred there.  Helluva dilemma.  A good chunk of those Hillary votes may really be gone now.

Hang on because this is just the beginning to your disappointment with Biden.

Does it bother you that Michelle Obama's employer is involved in Patient Dumping?

Plane

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2008, 05:43:18 PM »
<<This choice reflects poor judgement on Obama's part. Wouldn't Hillary been a much better choice?>>

Well, it would have had the advantage of keeping all those dumb-ass Hillary supporters on-board, who are now screaming about jumping ship, but there are a lot of negatives with the Clintons - - the bad blood, plus I think he realized after they muscled their way into a big role at the Convention that they had suckered him and made him look like a schmuck.  Any more pandering to them and it would look like they had his balls in a little jar on their mantelpiece.

He's not in a position where he can win big with any VP - - whoever he picks is going to be from the Democratic Old Guard to stop a further haemorrhage of votes, so there goes the message of "hope" and "change" - - how could anyone take it seriously after Mr. Hope and Change picks either Hillary or Biden?  Personally I think he's afraid of the Clintons, doesn't trust 'em, and probably rightly so.  Plus, there must be a lot of hatred there.  Helluva dilemma.  A good chunk of those Hillary votes may really be gone now.


   I wonder if your appraisal of BHO is actually more severe than mine.


    I don't like him for being a very far left liberal , but I don't fault him for courage or intelligence.

      I think you would like him better if he would go all the way and be Lenin , who would stnd no chance of being elected in the USA .

Michael Tee

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2008, 05:53:49 PM »
<<I think you would like him better if he would go all the way and be Lenin , who would stnd no chance of being elected in the USA .>>

LOL.  Lenin was a very persuasive guy.  He could talk a lot of soldiers and sailors onto his side.  You don't know what a real Lenin could accomplish in the U.S.A. if he managed to stay one step ahead of the "lone nut" with a gun or the "unfortunate plane crash."

Michael Tee

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2008, 06:08:35 PM »
<<Does it bother you that Michelle Obama's employer is involved in Patient Dumping?>>

No, because I already gave up on either candidate bringing in meaningful health-care reform.  As long as neither one of them backs a Canadian-style single-payer system, health care in the U.S.A. will always be in the hands of the insurance companies, and so you will always have deadly anti-social behaviour such as patient-dumping to contend with.  Private profit and public health care just don't mix.  And both candidates favour keeping the profit motive and the insurance industry in the health-care delivery system. 

Kramer

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2008, 06:16:40 PM »
<<Does it bother you that Michelle Obama's employer is involved in Patient Dumping?>>

No, because I already gave up on either candidate bringing in meaningful health-care reform.  As long as neither one of them backs a Canadian-style single-payer system, health care in the U.S.A. will always be in the hands of the insurance companies, and so you will always have deadly anti-social behaviour such as patient-dumping to contend with.  Private profit and public health care just don't mix.  And both candidates favour keeping the profit motive and the insurance industry in the health-care delivery system. 


no no no you missed my point - it doesn't bother her to work for an evil company that engages in such horrible acts of treatment to po people. People of her race too.

Michael Tee

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #12 on: August 25, 2008, 06:26:35 PM »
<<no no no you missed my point - it doesn't bother her to work for an evil company that engages in such horrible acts of treatment to po people. People of her race too.>>

I did miss your point.  Sure it would bother me if that's the whole story.  But what are the real facts?  Was this top-down policy or did it result from a few bad-apple claims adjusters and claims managers?  Was there a house-cleaning afterwards with heads rolling, key players getting fired, etc., or just some phony apologies and promises not to do it any more, or worse yet, is it still going on?

I don't know enough about it to judge Michelle, but if it was tolerated or encouraged by top management and there hasn't been a real house-cleaning there, then sure, I'd be bothered by Michelle continuing to work for evil bastards.  I'd be even more bothered if Michelle had a hand in it.

Kramer

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #13 on: August 25, 2008, 06:33:23 PM »
<<no no no you missed my point - it doesn't bother her to work for an evil company that engages in such horrible acts of treatment to po people. People of her race too.>>

I did miss your point.  Sure it would bother me if that's the whole story.  But what are the real facts?  Was this top-down policy or did it result from a few bad-apple claims adjusters and claims managers?  Was there a house-cleaning afterwards with heads rolling, key players getting fired, etc., or just some phony apologies and promises not to do it any more, or worse yet, is it still going on?

I don't know enough about it to judge Michelle, but if it was tolerated or encouraged by top management and there hasn't been a real house-cleaning there, then sure, I'd be bothered by Michelle continuing to work for evil bastards.  I'd be even more bothered if Michelle had a hand in it.



http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/1122691,CST-NWS-hosp23.article#

U. of C. shunning poor patients?
HOSPITAL DISPUTE | Obama's wife, 3 aides tied to plan to free up space

August 23, 2008
Recommend (106)

BY TIM NOVAK AND CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporters

Sen. Barack Obama's wife and three close advisers have been involved with a program at the University of Chicago Medical Center that steers patients who don't have private insurance -- primarily poor, black people -- to other health care facilities.

Michelle Obama -- currently on unpaid leave from her $317,000-a-year job as a vice president of the prestigious hospital -- helped create the program, which aims to find neighborhood doctors for low-income people who were flooding the emergency room for basic treatment. Hospital officials say such patients hinder their ability to focus on more critically ill patients in need of specialized care, such as cancer treatment and organ transplants.
ยป Click to enlarge image
Obama's top political strategist David Alexrod.
(AP file)


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Obama's top political strategist, David Axelrod, co-owns the firm, ASK Public Strategies, that was hired by the hospital last year to sell the program -- called the Urban Health Initiative -- to the community as a better alternative for poor patients. Obama's wife and Valerie Jarrett, an Obama friend and adviser who chairs the medical center's board, backed the Axelrod firm's hiring, hospital officials said.

Another Obama adviser and close friend, Dr. Eric Whitaker, took over the Urban Health Initiative when he was hired at U. of C. in October 2007. Whitaker previously had been director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Obama has said he recommended Whitaker for the state job, giving his name to Tony Rezko, who helped Gov. Blagojevich assemble his Cabinet. Rezko, a former fund-raiser for Obama and Blagojevich, was convicted in June on federal corruption charges tied to state deals.

Medical center officials and Obama's presidential campaign staff say the Urban Health Initiative -- along with a three-year-old companion program called the South Side Health Collaborative -- will dramatically improve health care for thousands of South Side residents. They say that, rather than having to wait hours at U. of C.'s emergency room, those patients get seen sooner and at less expense at neighborhood clinics and other hospitals. U. of C. even offers them a ride on a shuttle bus to other centers and sometimes provides the doctors at those facilities.

"Senator Obama sees community health centers as a vital part of efforts to invest in prevention and reduce costs," said Ben LaBolt, an Obama spokesman.

But the Urban Health Initiative has critics, including South Side residents and medical professionals.

"I've heard complaints from a handful of constituents, but I've also had calls from people in the health care profession complaining," said Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, whose 4th Ward is just north of the hospital. "The medical professionals who have come to me are accusing the university of dumping patients on its neighboring institutions. ... Whether it's being implemented in the way that's in the best interest of the patient, I can't tell you."

Sen. John McCain, Obama's Republican opponent, criticized the Democratic presidential hopeful Friday for having pledged on the campaign trail to expand health care for Americans at the same time his top political strategist "was running a campaign to cut coverage for the poor."

Axelrod, whose firm stopped working on the project in October, responded that he was concerned that presidential politics was distorting the university's efforts to improve health care for poor people and to lower costs.

Whitaker, who has traveled with Obama on the presidential campaign trail, chalked up the criticism to people opposed to change.

"In the past, we opened our doors and saw whoever came," Whitaker said Friday. "We would see a patient who had general pneumonia, and if we needed to see a patient who needed a liver transplant, that liver transplant patient couldn't get in the door."

And rather than dump patients on other health care facilities, Whitaker said the initiative actually is improving their bottom lines.

"We were taking general patients away from Mercy Hospital, Michael Reese, and they were financially at risk," Whitaker said. "We harmed other hospitals without knowing we harmed other hospitals."

At the same time, the Urban Health Initiative is improving the university's finances. Fewer poor patients are showing up at the U. of C. emergency room for basic medical treatment and are no longer admitted to the hospital. That frees beds for transplants, cancer care and other more-profitable medical procedures that the university prides itself on.

"The collapse of the health care system was driving more and more people to the emergency room," Axelrod said. "The trend line was and is a disastrous one from the standpoint of maintaining the hospital. Their goal was to find an answer."

Axelrod's firm did polling and found that some of the university's primary-care doctors feared the hospital was turning its back on surrounding poor neighborhoods, according to a May 2007 report the firm gave the university.

Axelrod's firm also suggested the program's name be changed. "Some participants view the word 'urban' as code for 'black,' " according to a poll the firm commissioned.

Michael Tee

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Re: Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
« Reply #14 on: August 25, 2008, 06:40:21 PM »
Well, that's not "Patient Dumping" as I've come to understand the term.  To me, Dumping meant that seriously sick or injured patients were turned away and dumped on bullshit institutions that were incapable of providing the care they needed.

This initiative really looks like a win-win situation.  It's open and above-board, it benefits the patients with minor problems by sending them where they can be looked after faster without any significant loss in quality of care and it frees up the main hospital facilities for those in more urgent need of complex or intensive treatment.

I don't think Michelle or her husband have anything to apologize about regarding this initiative.