The Tony Podesta Lobby Shop Is Turning Change Into BIG DOLLARS

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Tony and Heather Podesta basked in the praise when they donated the iconic, five-foot tall "Hope" portrait of Barack Obama to the National Portrait Gallery just before Inauguration Day. But to those who hoped Obama would reduce the influence of lobbyists in Washington, there was also something uniquely depressing about the gift -- because the Podestas are exactly the sort of K Street powerbrokers candidate Obama railed against.

And while Obama's presidency so far has in many ways failed to live up to his campaign poster, it's been a cash cow for the Podestas, who have been able to leverage their insider status into a slew of new high-paying clients. The husband-and-wife lobbyist couple have become icons themselves -- of the lobbying industry's imperviousness to Obama's change agenda.

In just the first nine months of the year, the couple's separate lobby shops have already made more money than in all of 2008, according to disclosure forms filed with Congress. Heather Podesta's firm, Heather Podesta + Partners, surpassed last year's total of $4.7 million with $5.1 million in lobbying income.

Tony Podesta's firm, the Podesta Group, has already reported nearly $19 million from more than 130 clients -- blowing last year's full-year-total, a record high of $16 million, out of the water. He's registered 50 new clients -- way up from the average clip of 20 new clients a year for previous decade.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/09/tony-podesta-turning-chan_n_336073.html

[shireen]

1. this is ridiculous

hearing stuff like this is so depressing. why is it that so many people with money and influence are such ethically-challenged scum ....
:(