We wanted to take this opportunity to announce the next step in the President’s efforts to reduce the influence of special interests in Washington. The White House has informed executive agencies and departments that it is our aspiration that federally-registered lobbyists not be appointed to agency advisory boards and commissions. These appointees to boards and commissions, which are made by agencies and not the President, advise the federal government on a variety of policy areas. Keeping these advisory boards free of individuals who currently are registered federal lobbyists represents a dramatic change in the way business is done in Washington.
The President recognizes that some lobbyists advocate for public interest goals shared by this Administration. Nevertheless, the President made a commitment to the American people to reduce the influence of lobbyists in Washington out of a belief that lobbyists have too often in the past achieved disproportionate impact on government decision makers at the expense of broader voices from the public at large. If we are going to change the way business is done in Washington, we need to make sure we are not simply continuing the practices of the past.
This is HUGE!
Removing these lobbyists, including those that parrot the administrations position, is an incredibly important first step toward pulling the hands of big business off of the steering wheel of our government.
I know that Obama has not delivered on every single promise as of yet, but this is a clear indication that he fully intends to do as much as possible to accomplish that very thing.
So how do you like our president now?
Huffington Post has more here.
I like him just fine, thankyouverymuch.
ReplyDeleteI like your President and he's not even my President!
ReplyDeleteIve always been happy with our president and this is just one more reason why.
ReplyDeleteToo bad no one in the media covered it for TWO MONTHS!
He's back in the driver's seat!
ReplyDeleteIf this is accomplished, I will be very pleased. It's definitely a great place to start in the realm of getting rid of special interests.
ReplyDeleteAK. Sisu
.....now let's hope it has a trickle down to the states effect...
This is a great move! Considering the mess the Bush-Cheney administration left the oountry in and rampant corporate interests have been since Reagan, I am amazed how much President Obama has accomplished. I am particularly grateful that he has done so much without undermining the Constitution or breaking federal law as Bush-Cheney did.
ReplyDeleteI hope this trend continues, and I have faith that it will.
Is it possible that this nation is being run from the Oval Office, again, instead of a dark, moldy office in the White House basement? I find it a relief knowing that neither Dick Cheney nor Oliver North has a desk in the shadows or keys to the basement men's room.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I think it only fair to allow our President more than ten months to clean up the stinking mess that darth and dubya left on the front steps--that is why I have chosen to leave the Obama sticker on my car bumper until (and through) the next election.
Your president is powerless in a political system that has gone so far corrupt. The right will be out in force now and their troops will rally against him. Something imaginative like, he's a dictator or he's destroying the American way.
ReplyDeleteWhen the left starts to learn that the correct response is, it's time to destroy the American way then that's when things can start to change. Really folks, there's not much left that is good about it that other countries are doing better.
He is doing great! He hasn't even been in office a year as yet and he is being ridden horribly. (Many past presidents have bowed to other heads of countries, as an example!) His plate is full and the changes needed will take time to accomplish. I'm not saying he is doing everything perfectly, but he certainly is trying and working hard for all of us.
ReplyDeleteI'll like him a bit more when he gets rid of his chief-of-staff (whose disdain for progressives and the 50-state strategy are well-known), the chief of the Federal Reserve, the Secretary of the Treasury, and Larry Summers. For starters.
ReplyDeleteAnd his Afghanistan war chief is running a highly secret, totally illegal war in Uzbekistan.
Gryphen While waiting for Palin to implode, read this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.insider-magazine.com/ChristianMafia.htm
This is going to take awhile for me to digest, but it worries Bill Moyer. (scroll to end)
so how do the Limbaughs and Hannitys and Becks and Palins make THIS sound like a bad thing?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as someone who never took down her Obama campaign sign from in front of Casa Biscuitbarrel...YEEEEEEEEEEEE!
ReplyDeleteBut of course the MSM didn't cover it. Doesn't Nicole Richie have pneumonia?
Mrs. Tarquin Biscuitbarrel
How do I like him now? Well, a year ago I loved him. Now, I think the Obama candidacy
ReplyDeletewill go down in history as the biggest bait & switch candidacy in modern history.
I'd give this guy an "F" on everything. Having personal charm, and strutting around smiling for the camera is not governing.
Where's the "Change We Can Believe in?" And who the hell elected Rahm Emanual co-president?
Obama is in for a big surprise when voters stay home in 2012.
This is hardly the first huge accomplishment he has made. Why is it people expect the man to take office and solve the problems of the world in a week. He hasn’t been in office a year yet and had a LOT of undoing of the Shrubs mess to contend with.
ReplyDeleteHe is closing Guantanamo.
He outlawed torture, reaffirmed our commitment to the Geneva Convention.
He is drawing down our forces in Iraq. And working towards finding a new strategy in
Afghanistan. These things don’t simply happen overnight.
He rescinded George Bush's "missile shield" in Eastern Europe which has always been a major impediment to our relations with the Russians.
He has not only spoken for the need for nuclear non-proliferation but also for strategic reductions of the atomic arsenals that already exist.
He has spoken out against the atrocities in Darfur.
He has created an atmosphere where North Korea will be returning to the 6 Party talks.
He has opened up a dialogue with Iran, and is putting pressure on both Israel and the Palestinians to restart the peace process.
Let’s not forget that he has called for global cooperation to combat climate change.
For the first time in nearly a decade the United States is not viewed as one of the greatest dangers to peace on this planet.
Have we forgotten how lousy the American image became under the Shrub? Obama is trying to engage others through diplomacy not just the threat of our already stretched military.
And now he is kicking ass on lobbyists just as he said he would.
I agree that this Chief of Staff may be doing him more harm than good. It is amazing how powerful COSs can be.
ReplyDeleteI don't like President Obama.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE him! The world (and I) recognize that he may well be the most intelligent and compassionate President this Nation has EVER had.
Since the lobbying firms are upset about this new rule, it must be good. Yet, I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around this. Does anyone have an example of how lobbyists on advisory boards affected specific executive branch policy of actions? Is this more about 'avoiding the appearance of evil' than having any actual impact?
ReplyDeleteWe need to stop special interest, corporate dollars from buying our politicians; but I think that may require a constitutional amendment.
it's about time these puppet strings were cut! how was it ever allowed to get this way in the first place?
ReplyDeletewe never elected these lobbyists. they were just allowed to register behind our backs and start controlling and manipulating and paying off our Congress!
Anonymous @ 11:58, then you never truly loved him in the first place. (And I think you may be a troll anyway.) This man is doing incredibly well considering the present circumstances and the dire straits he inherited from his despicable predecessors. Where do people like you get the idea that within 10 months a newly-elected President can, and must, deliver on every single campaign promise he ever made?!?!? Just how simplistic is your understanding of government and the legislative process, particularly as our current Congress is configured at this time? Writing him off and withdrawing your support is just childishness, nothing more. Grow up and find some adult patience. He's got the hardest job in the world, bar none. And thank God he doesn't feel the need to come out in front of the cameras every time his poll numbers suffer even the slightest dip. The Bush presidency was one giant PR/propaganda manipulation operation: been there, done that, and it got us nowhere, fast. Our new President is BUSY doing the job he was elected to do. How's that for the change we need?
ReplyDeleteObama is doing a fine job! After eight years of war/fear mongering, two wars (one totally unjustifiable,to get the guy who "tried to kill my daddy"), No yellow cake, no wmd, no shock and awe. No proper respect for the military, living and dead.
ReplyDeleteBush/Cheyney took a HUGE surplus and drove this county down the toilet then left the aftermath for Obama to deal with.
Considering the Alternative, (McCain/Palin ""The fundamentals of the economy are fine" and "Ohhhh, I don't know...Any of 'em, all of 'em..."
Obama is doing just fine.