"Some lobbyists worked their way up to the senior levels of Democratic state parties and were selected for a trip to Charlotte."
9/5/12, "Lobbyists to help nominate Obama for reelection in Charlotte'," The Hill, K. Bogardus
"Despite President Obama’s harsh rhetoric toward K Street, lobbyists will be on the convention floor as delegates in Charlotte Wednesday when he is nominated for a second term.
That lobbyists will help nominate the president for reelection is a delicious irony, considering Obama’s moves to keep his distance from the influence industry. Neither his campaign nor the Democratic convention accepts political contributions from lobbyists; lobbyists can’t raise funds for the president; and the Obama administration has banned them from serving on federal advisory committees.
But lobbyists remain a vital cog in the Democratic Party machine, and a number of them are serving as delegates at this week’s convention. Some lobbyists worked their way up to the senior levels of Democratic state parties and were selected for a trip to Charlotte.
One lobbyist-turned-delegate said the president’s restrictions on K Street have been “inconsistent.”
“I disagree with the president on this,” Harold Ickes said. “He doesn't bring in the lobbyists but he brings in the corporate titans and talks to them. ... It's totally inconsistent, but if the president wants to do this, he can. Fine with me.”
Ickes is serving as a delegate for District of Columbia in Charlotte, and was first a delegate at the 1988 Democratic convention.
A long-time Democratic strategist, Ickes was an adviser to then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and helped handle delegate counting. He is chairman of The Ickes & Enright Group, a lobby firm that has made $730,000 in lobbying fees so far this year, according to lobbying disclosure records."...via Instapundit
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