Q Do you meet with lobbyists? Bush: 'I try not to.'

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Q Do you meet with lobbyists?

THE PRESIDENT: I try not to. Have I ever met with one? Never having met with one is a -- if I ever say that, sure enough, you'll go find somebody. But, no, I don't have them come in.

Now, when, for example, people are helping on issues -- like on promoting trade -- you bet, we bring them in and I say, thank you for promoting CAFTA; or, thanks for working on the vote; or, thanks for helping on tax relief. That may be -- if you consider that a meeting, the answer is, yes, I'm sure I have, in a roomful of people as we either thank people for success in policy or thank people for going out of their way to get a piece of legislation passed on the Hill.


from The Center for Public Integrity:


Lobbyists Connect With White House

WASHINGTON, January 26, 2006 — During today's news conference, President Bush was asked whether or not he meets with lobbyists. His answer, "I try not to," did not paint a complete picture.

While it remains to be seen whether the President personally associates with lobbyists, it is abundantly clear that his White House has deep connections to the lobbying industry. The Center for Public Integrity, an award winning, investigative journalism non-profit organization, has uncovered a myriad of personal, business and political ties between the Bush administration and K-Street. For example:

* Since 1998, more than 4,600 companies, trade associations and interest groups have directly lobbied the 14 offices of the White House.

* The Center found 52 registered lobbyists who were major fundraisers for the Bush campaigns. The donations gathered by each fundraiser were tabulated with "Solicitor Tracking Numbers" assigned by the campaigns—as a way to insure that each fundraiser received due credit for the donations he or she collected.

* Such tracking numbers appear on disclosure forms signed by lobbyists Wayne Berman of Federalist Group, Thomas Loeffler of The Loeffler Group and David Metzner of American Continental Group Inc., all of whom pledged to raise $250,000 for Bush.

* Embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff raised $100,000 for Bush's 2004 campaign as a Pioneer and represented 15 clients that were lobbying the White House, including such business enterprises as Tyco International Ltd. and Unisys Corp. Abramoff is also listed among those lobbying the Executive Office of the President and the White House on behalf of three American Indian tribes, including the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

* Time magazine has reported it has seen five photos of Bush with Abramoff, the lobbyist's sons and Raul Garza Sr., then-chairman of the Texas Kickapoo Indian tribe.

* More than 1,300 registered lobbyists have personally given more than $1.8 million to President George W. Bush during the last six years.

* The Center identified 12 former registered lobbyists who have been hired to work in the various offices of the White House—sometimes formulating public policy about the various issues on which they once lobbied.

* Similarly, the Center found that the Bush administration appointed 92 lobbyists to its transition advisory teams between 2000 and 2001.

* 273 former White House staffers registered as lobbyists since 1998. Collectively, these lobbyists have represented more than 3,000 special interests and have been personally involved in billings worth approximately $1 billion – or as much as 10 percent of all lobbying since 1998.

* More than one in five companies that lobby the federal government has lobbied the offices of the White House; more than the Departments of Education, Federal Communication Commission and Veteran's Affairs put together.

The Clinton White House in comparison to the Bush White House

Year Admin Companies lobbying the White House
1998 Clinton 1366
1999 Clinton 1327
2000 Clinton 1477
2001 Bush 1493
2002 Bush 2052
2003 Bush 1629
2004 Bush 1545



link: http://www.publicintegrity.org/report.aspx?aid=777

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1. kick

[Lefty48197]

2. Bush is such a lying sack of sh*t

"I try not to". Yeah, you try to make it Dick Cheney's full time job to entertain every mother f*cking lobbyist that promises to give money to you campaign.

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3. Those pesky folks keep bring these people to the White House

to shake his hand. How's he supposed to keep track of who gets what for which bribe.