GE, Exxon, Altria Find Inaugural Means Lobbying Without Limits

[fearnobush]

GE, Exxon, Altria Find Inaugural Means Lobbying Without Limits
2005-01-10 00:05 (New York)

By Jonathan D. Salant
Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Corporations and campaign donors are
spending millions of dollars to help President George W. Bush
celebrate his second inauguration, one of the last opportunities
for unfettered contributions in U.S. politics.
The Jan. 20 pageant, for which the inaugural committee is
soliciting $40 million from corporate and individual sponsors,
features a slew of formal balls and fireworks. In addition,
sponsors are spending millions more on private events that aren't
part of the official celebration. Both will provide a potential
bonanza of contacts with policy makers.
General Electric Co., which spent more money to lobby
Congress and the Bush administration during the first half of
2004 than any other corporation, has invited lawmakers to watch
the inaugural parade from its office overlooking the route.
Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp., which is backing Bush's
proposal to open an Alaskan refuge to oil drilling, wrote a
$250,000 check to help pay for the festivities. The company gave
another $50,000 to the Texas State Society for its Black Tie and
Boots Ball, where Bush and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay are on
the guest list.
``They're not doing this out of a sense of civic
obligation,'' says Larry Noble, executive director of the Center
for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group that
studies campaign finance. ``They're doing this out of a sense of
lobbying obligation.''

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<http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=arkm46.lMmdE&refer=news_index>

[fearnobush]

1. Sorry folks but it looks like KO is owned by Bush Co.

"General Electric Co., which spent more money to lobby
Congress and the Bush administration during the first half of
2004 than any other corporation, has invited lawmakers to watch
the inaugural parade from its office overlooking the route."

I hope they don't fire him anytime soon.

[FlemingsGhost]

2. Yes, I'm sure we'll have a fair election real soon.

Frankly, I am dumbfounded that there are so many folks who still put their faith in an criminally unjust and failed system.

[cosmicdot]

3. maybe if we change our name to Altria ...

the public will forget that we're really Philip Morris

:eyes:

I thought, and had hoped, that the Ray-gun years were the good ol'boys' 'last hurrah' ... probably were, but a coup here and a coup there, and history and our destiny are hijacked for one more big all-time high-reach grab by the robber barons ...

``They're not doing this out of a sense of civic
obligation'' - Larry Noble, executive director of the Center
for Responsive Politics

It's morning in corporate america.

[Atrichea]

4. Both sides get lobbying $$

This is nothing new.

[Skittles]

5. $50 million to be coronated while we are "at war"????

THAT is new