It was suspected the Prince of Darkness was doling out sweet deals to Big Oil that were bound to hammer hapless consumers at the gas pumps. Hope was lost about progress on the global warming front. Alternative energy? Fuhgeddaboudit, as Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has written on highway signs leaving the sainted ground of Kings County.
But the shoe is certainly on the other foot these days. President Obama has snubbed the invaluable watchdog, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a group that wants the names of coal and energy industry visitors who have paid their respects at the White House. CREW is eager to “learn the extent to which these individuals may have influenced the Administration’s energy policy.” Sounds like a smashing idea.
The non-profit organization knocks the Obama White House for taking the exact position of Bush/Cheney on this matter. It contends the “records are Presidential, not agency records, and otherwise exempt in their entirety because of the possibility in some instance they could reveal information protected by the Presidential communications privilege.”
C'mon, drop the legalese. What are you hiding?
Oil/gas execs certainly have the right to lobby the White House. Undeterred CREW is suing to get the records. Best of luck to CREW. A little embarrassing disclosure about "paling around with energy lobbyists" will do the White House some good.
Obama’s stonewalling disappoints many who have put heart and soul into the “change you can believe in" mantra. Good government groups expected a lot more from “Mr. Transparency.” They stand beside gays and lesbian backers of the President who feel they have been stabbed in the back by Obama.
Gay rights people are livid with Obama's now apparent support of the Defense of Marriage Act, which he vowed to overturn as Senator and Presidential candidate. Democrats like Howard Dean promise the White House will act on gay issues near the end of Obama's term. That's just in time to raise campaign cash from gays, which is pretty sleazy.
Seeking to defuse criticism from gay supporters, Barry threw the gay community a small bone today with a directive that offers new benefits to same sex couples who work for the federal government.
(Image via VotingFemales)