Obama’s cronyism is costing US taxpayers trillions. Obama is tied to so many ‘pay-to-play’ schemes, yet his supporters want everyone to believe this is all just coincidental.
National Review reports:
Conservatives generally object to “stimulus” spending on two grounds: It’s not an effective job creator, because it redirects money from companies that don’t need government backing to ones that do, and it breeds political favoritism. But amid the ruckus over federal financing for Fisker Automotive’s Finnish-produced line of sports cars — American taxpayers supporting Finland’s labor market — little attention has been paid to the political muscle backing Fisker and a host of other federally financed “green” firms.
Hoover Institution fellow Peter Schweizer reports in his new book that as of mid-September, 80 percent of Energy Department renewable-energy loans went to firms that have supported the president or his party financially. The administration, for its part, seems more concerned with the “optics” of such allegations than the problematic nature of a federal bureaucracy that rewards political insiders. Hence, a former Obama campaign staffer suggested in February that Energy Secretary Steven Chu be fired, not for any alleged wrongdoing, but rather to preempt “the wave of GOP attacks that are surely coming over Solyndra and other inside DOE deals that have gone to Obama donors and have underperformed.”
In the case of Fisker specifically, conservatives should recognize the importance of California venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers — which is one of Fisker’s larger investors, having contributed mightily to its initial $1.1 billion capital infusion. The company is teeming with political connections.
Al Gore joined Kleiner Perkins as a senior partner in 2007 — to save the planet, CNN reported. Top Kleiner Perkins executives have given more than a million dollars to federal candidates and parties since 1991, most of it going to Democrats. Obama himself has received $19,000 from the company’s employees.
