BREAKING NEWS: UnitedHealth Lobbyist Announces Pelosi Fundraiser As She Begins Backing Off Public Option
By David Sirota OpenLeft, 9/11/09 <http://www.openleft.com/diary/15066/unitedhealth-lobbyist-announces-big-fundraiser-for-pelosi-as-she-backs-off-public-option>http://www.openleft.com/diary/15066/unitedhealth-lobbyist-announces-big-fundraiser-for-pelosi-as-she-backs-off-public-option House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the first time yesterday suggested she may be backing off her support of the public option - the government-run health plan that the private insurance industry is desperately trying to kill. According to CNN, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "said they would support any provision that increases competition and accessibility for health insurance - whether or not it is the public option favored by most Democrats." This announcement came just hours before Steve Elmendorf, a registered UnitedHealth lobbyist and the head of UnitedHealth's lobbying firm Elmendorf Strategies, blasted this email invitation throughout Washington, D.C. I just happened to get my hands on a copy of the invitation from a source - check it out: From: Steve Elmendorf [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 8:31 AM Subject: event with Speaker Pelosi at my home You are cordially invited to a reception with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi Thursday, September 24, 2009 6:30pm ~ 8:00pm At the home of Steve Elmendorf 2301 Connecticut Avenue, NW Apt. 7B Washington, D.C. $5,000 PAC $2,400 Individual To RSVP or for additional information please contact Carmela Clendening at (202) 485-3508 or [email protected] Steve Elmendorf ELMENDORF STRATEGIES GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SOLUTIONS 900 7th Street NW Suite 750 Washington DC 20001 (202) 737-1655 Again, Elmendorf is a registered lobbyist for UnitedHealth, and his firm's website brags about its work for UnitedHealth on its website. The sequencing here is important: Pelosi makes her announcement and then just hours later, the fundraising invitation goes out. Coincidental? I'm guessing no - these things rarely ever are. I wrote a book a few years ago called Hostile Takeover whose premise was that corruption and legalized bribery has become so widespread that nobody in Washington even tries to hide it. This is about as good an example of that truism as I've ever seen. ---------------------------- DAVID SIROTA Columnist, Creators Syndicate Author, The Uprising (2008) and Hostile Takeover (2006) Political Blog: <http://www.openleft.com>http://www.openleft.com Pop Culture Blog: <http://www.nerdivore.com>http://www.nerdivore.com Personal Website: <http://www.davidsirota.com>http://www.davidsirota.com Facebook: <http://www.facebook.com/davidsirota>http://www.facebook.com/davidsirota Twitter: <http://www.twitter.com/davidsirota>http://www.twitter.com/davidsirota To forward this message to a friend visit <http://davidsirota.com/list/?p=forward&uid=3f871b3722eb65ad9ff8b10d7861c731&mid=1959>this link <http://www.phplist.com> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [email protected] OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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