2016 POTUS Election Thread

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L.T. Fan

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Trump Campaigned Against Lobbyists, but Now They’re on His Transition Team
By ERIC LIPTONNOV. 11, 2016



WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump, who campaigned against the corrupt power of special interests, is filling his transition team with some of the very sort of people who he has complained have too much clout in Washington: corporate consultants and lobbyists.

Jeffrey Eisenach, a consultant who has worked for years on behalf of Verizon and other telecommunications clients, is the head of the team that is helping to pick staff members at the Federal Communications Commission.

Michael Catanzaro, a lobbyist whose clients include Devon Energy and Encana Oil and Gas, holds the “energy independence” portfolio.

Michael Torrey, a lobbyist who runs a firm that has earned millions of dollars helping food industry players such as the American Beverage Association and the dairy giant Dean Foods, is helping set up the new team at the Department of Agriculture.

Mr. Trump was swept to power in large part by white working-class voters who responded to his vow to restore the voices of forgotten people, ones drowned out by big business and Wall Street. But in his transition to power, some of the most prominent voices will be those of advisers who come from the same industries for which they are being asked to help set the regulatory groundwork.

The president-elect’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, declined a request for comment, as did nearly a dozen corporate executives, consultants and lobbyists serving on his transition team, which was outlined in a list distributed widely in Washington on Thursday.

A number of the people on that list are well-established experts with no clear interest in helping private-sector clients. But to critics of Mr. Trump — both Democrats and Republicans — the inclusion of advisers with industry ties is a first sign that he may not follow through on all of his promises.

“This whole idea that he was an outsider and going to destroy the political establishment and drain the swamp were the lines of a con man, and guess what — he is being exposed as just that,” said Peter Wehner, who served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush before becoming a speechwriter for George W. Bush. “He is failing the first test, and he should be held accountable for it.”

Transition teams help new presidents pick the new cabinet, as well as up to 4,000 political appointees who will take over top posts in agencies across the government. President Obama, after he was first elected, instituted rules that prohibited individuals who had served as registered lobbyists in the prior year from serving as transition advisers in the areas in which they represented private clients. They were also prohibited, after the administration took power, from lobbying in the parts of the government they helped set up.

“They wanted to make sure that people were not putting their thumb on the scale, or even the perception of that,” said Martha Joynt Kumar, the director of a nonprofit group called the White House Transition Project, which has studied two decades of presidential transitions.

Among the advisers assisting Mr. Trump who have no clear private-sector ties are Brian Johnson, a top lawyer for the House Financial Services Committee, who is helping to pick top staff members for the federal government’s many financial services agencies.

Edwin Meese III, who served as attorney general under Mr. Reagan and is now associated with the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank, is helping oversee management and budget issues, along with Kay Coles James, a Bush administration official who now runs an institute that trains future African-American leaders.

Former Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Michigan, who served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and was once a special agent in the F.B.I., is overseeing issues related to national security, including the intelligence agencies and the Department of Homeland Security.


But in other areas, most notably the energy sector, the transition team advisers are far from independent.

Mr. Catanzaro’s client list is a who’s who of major corporate players — such as the Hess Corporation and Devon Energy — that have tried to challenge the Obama administration’s environmental and energy policies on issues such as how much methane gas can be released at oil and gas drilling sites, lobbying disclosure reports show.

He also worked with oil industry players to help push through major legislation goals, such as allowing the export of crude oil. He will now help pick Mr. Trump’s energy team.

Michael McKenna, another lobbyist helping to pick key administration officials who will oversee energy policy, has a client list that this year has included the Southern Company, one of the most vocal critics of efforts to prevent climate change by putting limits on emissions from coal-burning power plants.

Advisers with ties to other industries include Martin Whitmer, who is overseeing “transportation and infrastructure” for the Trump transition. He is the chairman of a Washington law firm whose lobbying clients include the Association of American Railroads and the National Asphalt Pavement Association.

David Malpass, the former chief economist at Bear Stearns, the Wall Street investment bank that collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis, is overseeing the “economic issues” portfolio of the transition, as well as operations at the Treasury Department. Mr. Malpass now runs a firm called Encima Global, which sells economic research to institutional investors and corporate clients.:lol

Mr. Eisenach, as a telecom industry consultant, has worked to help major cellular companies fight back against regulations proposed by the F.C.C. that would mandate so-called net neutrality — requiring providers to give equal access to their networks to outside companies. He is now helping to oversee the rebuilding of the staff at the F.C.C.

Dan DiMicco, a former chief executive of the steelmaking company Nucor, who now serves on the board of directors of Duke Energy, is heading the transition team for the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Mr. DiMicco has long argued that China is unfairly subsidizing its manufacturing sector at the expense of American jobs.

In his campaign, Mr. Trump promised to take steps to close the so-called revolving door, through which government officials leave their posts and then personally profit by helping private companies reap rewards from policies or programs they had recently managed.

In October, declaring that “it’s time to drain the swamp in Washington,” he promised to institute a five-year ban in which all executive branch officials would be prevented from lobbying the government after they left. He has also promised to expand the definition of a lobbyist, so it includes corporate consultants who do not register as lobbyists but still often act like one.

Bruce F. Freed, the president of a nonprofit group called the Center for Political Accountability, which is pressing major corporations to be more transparent about their political spending, said Mr. Trump’s transition team had sent an unfortunate signal to his followers.

“This is one of the reasons you had such anger among voters — people rigging the system, gaming the system,” Mr. Freed said. “This represents more of the same.”
You are so ignorant to post and highlight this article as something that is probematic about Lobbyist. It merely points out who they have represented in the past. If you are going to point out Obamas rules them point out how these individuals are part of the rules violations. Also find who lobby's for your teachers group and request the school administration to cease this practice.
 
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Cowboysrock55

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You are so ignorant to post and highlight this article as something that is probematic about Lobbyist. It merely points out who they have represented in the past. If you are going to point out Obamas rules them point out how these individuals are part of the rules violations. Also find who lobby's for your teachers group and request the school administration to cease this practice.
Google, copy, paste. Relevance and reading the articles is not always top priority.
 

townsend

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What did anything I said have to do with the author?
The implication seemed to be that's Jig was googling and copying whatever agreed with his biases. This isn't some blerb on Mother Jones. A reporter for the New York Times clearly dilineated the difference between the Trump administration's dependence on corporate lobbyists, compared to Obama.

Also if Jig was just "Google, Copy, and Paste" he wouldn't be highlighting specific portions that were relevant to the argument, that Trump's threat of being above corporate influence is compromised by him sucking corporate dick before he's even sworn into office.
 

L.T. Fan

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The implication seemed to be that's Jig was googling and copying whatever agreed with his biases. This isn't some blerb on Mother Jones. A reporter for the New York Times clearly dilineated the difference between the Trump administration's dependence on corporate lobbyists, compared to Obama.

Also if Jig was just "Google, Copy, and Paste" he wouldn't be highlighting specific portions that were relevant to the argument, that Trump's threat of being above corporate influence is compromised by him sucking corporate dick before he's even sworn into office.
But the highlighted areas were not pointed out as to violations of law or ethics matters . The indivuals were simply identified. Perhaps you could enlighten us about what is problematic. Your assertion about corporate influence is supposition. If violations occur then the appropriate engagement will occur.
 

townsend

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But the highlighted areas were not pointed out as to violations of law or ethics matters . The indivuals were simply identified. Perhaps you could enlighten us about what is problematic. Your assertion about corporate influence is supposition. If violations occur then the appropriate engagement will occur.
LT, I love you. But I don't know how to discuss something with you when you pretend to be so obtuse.

You're a smart guy, I bet if you think real hard you'll figure out why having corporate representatives in charge of their industry's regulators might be a conflict of interest, and how it's completely out of step with the Trump administration's so called "outsider" sales pitch.

The entire reason so many idiots voted for that two-bit con artist is because he promised to not be beholden to the people he just handed his administration to.
 

Jiggyfly

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But the highlighted areas were not pointed out as to violations of law or ethics matters . The indivuals were simply identified. Perhaps you could enlighten us about what is problematic. Your assertion about corporate influence is supposition. If violations occur then the appropriate engagement will occur.
Really?

So now he has to violate law for it to be an issue when you had so many problems with Hillary and the appearance of impropriety?

Such a hypocrite.
 

Jiggyfly

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Google, copy, paste. Relevance and reading the articles is not always top priority.
What the hell are you talking about?

The relevance is very plain and I must have read it because I highlighted the most relevant parts.

Either this is a big time deflection on your part or you were the one who did not read the article.
 

L.T. Fan

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Really?

So now he has to violate law for it to be an issue when you had so many problems with Hillary and the appearance of impropriety?

Such a hypocrite.
You seem to think that just dropping the word Lobbyist is an automatic scandal.
 

L.T. Fan

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Really?

So now he has to violate law for it to be an issue when you had so many problems with Hillary and the appearance of impropriety?

Such a hypocrite.
If there is no violation what the problem?
 

L.T. Fan

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LT, I love you. But I don't know how to discuss something with you when you pretend to be so obtuse.

You're a smart guy, I bet if you think real hard you'll figure out why having corporate representatives in charge of their industry's regulators might be a conflict of interest, and how it's completely out of step with the Trump administration's so called "outsider" sales pitch.

The entire reason so many idiots voted for that two-bit con artist is because he promised to not be beholden to the people he just handed his administration to.
When there is a violation then you will have something to talk about. You are coming across like a jilted sour grapes school boy.
 

L.T. Fan

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LT, I love you. But I don't know how to discuss something with you when you pretend to be so obtuse.

You're a smart guy, I bet if you think real hard you'll figure out why having corporate representatives in charge of their industry's regulators might be a conflict of interest, and how it's completely out of step with the Trump administration's so called "outsider" sales pitch.

The entire reason so many idiots voted for that two-bit con artist is because he promised to not be beholden to the people he just handed his administration to.
Why do you think that these advisers are in charge of the regulators? There is absolutely nothing like what you are describing happening. The whole kabob is that Trump hired some experts as transition advisors. Where's the Frankenstein.
 

2233boys

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Yep, half the reason I voted at all was to vote for Toomey. I only voted for 2 republicans, Toomey and the attorney general candidate whose name escapes me, and the rest independent. But I liked that Toomey distanced himself from Trump. And yeah I can't stand mcginnty so I'm pretty happily surprised she lost.
Toomey said he voted for Trump an hour before polls closed. That dude is shady as hell.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Trump to supporters harassing minorities: 'Stop it'
By Eric Bradner, CNN

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump on Sunday told his supporters to stop harassing minorities, in his first televised sit-down interview since becoming President-elect.

"I am so saddened to hear that," Trump told CBS' Lesley Stahl on "60 Minutes" when she said Latinos and Muslims are facing harassment. "And I say, 'Stop it.' If it -- if it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: 'Stop it.'"
Trump directed his comments to his own supporters whom Stahl said have written racist slogans or chanted degrading messages -- particularly in schools. It was a powerful appeal to a nation ripped apart by the divisive 2016 campaign. Trump's election has left Democrats angry and many minorities fearful about the future.

Yet Trump also criticized the protests that have broken out in cities across the United States since his defeat of Hillary Clinton on Tuesday.

Trump said he's seen "a very small amount" -- including "one or two instances" -- of racial slurs being directed at minorities, particularly in largely white schools, since his election.

"I would say don't do it, that's terrible, because I'm going to bring this country together," Trump said.
As for anti-Trump protests, Trump said, "I think it's horrible if that's happening. I think it's built up by the press because, frankly, they'll take every single little incident that they can find in this country, which could've been there before. If I weren't even around doing this, and they'll make into an event because that's the way the press is."

Here are six topics Trump addressed the interview:
FBI review
In the wide-ranging interview Trump also said he's still deciding whether to ask FBI Director James Comey for his resignation.
Trump demurred when asked about his plans for Comey -- whose decision to end the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server was widely panned by Republicans.

"I think that I would rather not comment on that yet," Trump said. "I haven't made up my mind. I respect him a lot. I respect the FBI a lot. ... There's been a lot of leaking, there's no question about that. But I would certainly like to talk to him."
He admitted he isn't sure about Comey's future. "I'd want to see, you know, he may have had very good reasons for doing what he did," Trump said. Comey has more than six years to go in his ten-year term.

Trump also balked when asked whether he'd carry out his campaign pledge to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton.
He said Clinton "did some bad things" and that he's "going to think about it" -- but that he is more eager to focus on health care, immigration and other policy matters.

"I don't want to hurt them," Trump said of the Clintons, noting he'd spoken to both Hillary and Bill Clinton since his victory. "They're good people. I don't want to hurt them. And I will give you a very, very good and definitive answer the next time we do '60 Minutes' together,'" he said.

Hillary Clinton has cited Comey's late-campaign season disclosures as a reason for her loss. The former secretary of state told donors in a conference call Saturday that Comey delivered a double whammy to her candidacy in the final days of the campaign by taking another look at emails related to Clinton's private server before abruptly saying he found no wrongdoing.

In the interview, Trump also discussed lobbyists' role in his transition, his distaste for the Electoral College and the future of the Trump business brand. And he waded into how abortion and gun rights would be affected by his Supreme Court nominations.

Trump said he's "fine" with same-sex marriage remaining legal across the country, and wouldn't appoint Supreme Court judges with the goal of reversing that ruling.

"It's irrelevant because it was already settled. It's law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean it's done," Trump said.
He added: "These cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They've been settled. And- I'm -- I'm fine with that."

Trump also pledged to appoint judges who oppose abortion rights and oppose restrictions on Second Amendment gun rights.
If Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, were overturned, Trump said, decisions on whether to legalize or ban abortion would return to states.

Women seeking abortions whose state has banned them will "perhaps have to go -- they'll have to go to another state," Trump said.
"We'll see what happens. It's got a long way to go, just so you understand. That has a long, long way to go," he said.

Draining the swamp

Trump's rallying cry on the campaign trail was that he'd "drain the swamp" in Washington. But so far, Trump's transition team is filled with the usual suspects -- lobbyists and longtime Washington hands.

Trump didn't chafe at that characterization of his transition team. "Everybody's a lobbyist down there," he said, referring to Washington.
"That's the problem with the system -- the system. Right now, we're going to clean it up. We're having restrictions on foreign money coming in, we're going to put on term limits, which a lot of people aren't happy about, but we're putting on term limits. We're doing a lot of things to clean up the system. But everybody that works for government, they then leave government and they become a lobbyist, essentially. I mean, the whole place is one big lobbyist," Trump said.

He said relying on those lobbyists now while planning to eliminate them later is no contradiction.
"I'm saying that they know the system right now, but we're going to phase that out. You have to phase it out," Trump said.

Fighting ISIS

Trump stuck by his often-mocked claim that he knows more than American generals about fighting ISIS -- despite having no experience in government, the military or elected office before winning Tuesday's presidential contest.
Asked if he still feels he knows more, Trump said: "I'll be honest with you, I probably do because look at the job they've done. OK, look at the job they've done. They haven't done the job.

"Now, maybe it's leadership, maybe it's something else. Who knows? All I can tell you is we're going to get rid of ISIS."

Ditching the Electoral College

Trump won more electoral votes than Clinton -- but he didn't win the popular vote.

Still, he says, he favors ditching the Electoral College and handing the presidency to the winner of the popular vote.
"I'm not going to change my mind just because I won. But I would rather see it where you went with simple votes. you know, you get 100 million votes and somebody else gets 90 million votes and you win. There's a reason for doing this because it brings all the states into play," Trump said.

On the Trump brand

Trump and his children both said they're not sweating any negative impact on their family's businesses resulting from a long and contentious campaign -- or from backlash to the President-elect.

"I don't think it matters. This is so much more important, and more serious," Ivanka Trump said.

Her father added, "I think what Ivanka's trying to say, 'Who cares? Who cares?' This is big league stuff. ... We're going to save our country. I don't care about hotel occupancy. It's peanuts compared to what we're doing."

Trump isn't putting his family's business in a blind trust -- leaving it to his children instead -- but does plan to turn down the salary typically paid to presidents.

"I've never commented on this, but the answer is no. I think I have to by law take $1, so I'll take $1 a year. But it's a -- I don't even know what it is," Trump said, before turning to Stahl and asking, "Do you know what the salary is?"

When Stahl told Trump it is $400,000 per year, he said, "No, I'm not going to take the salary. I'm not taking it."

Trump also signaled he has no real plans to change his tone -- even though it's seen by many as evidence of a man too combustible for the presidency.

"Well, sometimes you need a certain rhetoric to get people motivated," Trump said. "I don't want to be just a little nice monotone character, and in many cases I will be."
 
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