Stolen: It’s the CHicago way....Trying to keep it all together. Make yurself at home and connect a few dots...there are plenty here. If we’ve collect this much since Christmas think what the FBI has!
From Hugh’s site: Tuesday, August 18, 2009
David Axelrod’s Very Big Problem
Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 6:27 PM
The allegations in this Bloomberg story —if true— pose a huge problem for a senior advisor to the president, David Axelrod. This is the heart of the problem:
Axelrod was president and sole shareholder of AKPD from 1985 until he sold his interest after Obama’s victory, government records show. The firm owes Axelrod $2 million, which it’s due to pay in installments beginning Dec. 31. Axelrod’s son, Michael, still works there. He didn’t return a phone call. The firm’s Web site continues to feature David Axelrod’s work on the Obama campaign. (Emphasis added.)
The problem is that Axelrod’s former firm is currently receiving huge fees “from Healthy Economy Now, a coalition that includes the Washington-based Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, known as PhRMA,” as well as AARP, the SEIU and other big players in the health care debate.
If Axelrod has been negotiating any part of any deal involving any of these players which are funneling money to the firm that owes him money, or if he is advising the president on the deals with any of these groups, that’s a conflict of interest. Laundering the money through a “coalition” doesn’t remove the conflict much less the appearance of impropriety. The coalition is in effect partially funding David Axelrod’s severance package though its members might have done so unknowingly. These forthcoming payments to Axelrod are much more significant than the sort of “retained ties” that Democrats blasted Dick Cheney for vis-a-vis Halliburton even though there was no high level negotiations between the vice president and his former company.
David Axelrod has some tough questions to answer, and according to Politico’s Mike Allen, Politico’s Ken Vogel will be publishing more on matters Axelrodian tomorrow. (Thetranscript of my interview with Allen will be posted here later tonight.) Vogel’s story on Axelrod’s son from a few days back casts doubt on the Bloomberg story’s accuracy as Bloomberg has Axelrod’s son still at Axelrod’s old firm, but Vogel has him at The Huffington Post.
If it was Karl Rove in a similar set of circumstances, the blogs and some in MSM would already be demanding a special prosecutor. There are lots of questions for Mr. Axelrod, the first one being whether the Bloomberg story is accurate. if the answer is “yes,” the second will be: “Have you lawyered up?”
Didn’t even get to the second link before I knew it was from you....Gonna keep over here too. You do great work!
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=6665918
Obama Aide Axelrod Leaves Chicago Firm
David Axelrod, a top Obama aide, sells stake in Chicago consulting firm
WASHINGTON January 16, 2009 (AP)
The Associated Press
David Axelrod, President-elect Barack Obama’s top political adviser, is severing his ties with the Chicago media consulting firm he founded 23 years ago.
Axelrod, who will be a White House senior adviser with an office near the Oval Office, said Friday he has sold his stake in AKPD Message and Media. Among the remaining partners is David Plouffe, who was Obama’s presidential campaign manager.
(snip)
http://minstrelboy.blogspot.com/2009/05/chris-kenndy-is-in-for-senate-seat.html
Chris is in
Chicago Sun-Times (IL) - Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Author: Michael Sneed, The Chicago Sun-Times
SCOOPSVILLE . . .
Bet the ranch!
- Translation: Sneed has learned the Merchandise Mart’s Chris Kennedy, son of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, will announce he is running for the U.S. Senate early next week.
- Tip ‘em: Sneed tipped (April 28) that Kennedy, who will be the first member of his famous family to run for office from Illinois, had commissioned Obama pollster John Anzalone — and talked to media consultants Larry Grisolano and John Kupper, who now run the AKPD firm once headed by David Axelrod , President Obama’s senior adviser.
- To wit: Kennedy will be running for Barack Obama’s old Senate seat, now held by Roland Burris, the beleaguered appointee of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
- The upshot: The AKPD firm has reportedly prepared an Internet commercial, which will be aired next week introducing Kennedy’s candidacy.
(snip)
NYS: DiNapoli hires Del Cecato for 2010 campaign
Newsday: Blogs (Long Island, NY) - Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Author: Dan Janison
Ramping up his 2010 election campaign, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli today hired a veteran of Barack Obama’s presidential bid to advise him on media matters.
John Del Cecato, left, a partner in the firm AKPD founded by Obama media guru David Axelrod , will serve as a consultant to DiNapoli 2010.
Previously, Del Cecato worked on races for Philadelphia mayor, Congress and for state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, as well as former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.
(snip)
Patrick picks Obama aide for his 2010 campaign
Boston Globe, The (MA) - Friday, June 5, 2009
Author: Matt Viser Globe Staff Globe Staff
Governor Deval Patrick is tapping the architect of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign to help run his bid for reelection next year, an indication of the type of political star power the governor may be able to utilize as he seeks another four-year term.
David Plouffe, who was Obama’s campaign manager and is widely credited with Obama’s successful run, will work as a campaign consultant focusing on Patrick’s message and strategy.
“What I’m excited about is bringing about change,” Plouffe said by phone yesterday. “And doing longer- term things is hard in politics. But I think he’s trying to bring about a lot of reforms and has been successful about them already.”
The announcement of Plouffe’s role in Patrick’s campaign is a sign the governor is beginning to build his campaign network and trying to put to rest doubts political insiders have raised about whether he is committed to running again.
“David Plouffe’s credentials speak for themselves,” said Steve Crawford, spokesman for the Patrick campaign. “It’s great to have him back as part of the campaign team.”
Plouffe is credited with keeping Obama’s campaign a tightly run ship, building a national grass-roots network and a fund-raising powerhouse, and running the mechanics of the race. He was the quieter, behind-the-scenes operator, while campaign strategist David Axelrod , who is now in the White House as an Obama senior adviser, was more of a public face for the campaign.
Plouffe did not take a position in the Obama administration and has maintained a low profile since the conclusion of the presidential campaign. He has been doing corporate consulting work, writing a book about the campaign called “The Audacity to Win,” and spending time with his family, who now live in Washington.
Plouffe is scheduled to be in Boston tonight for a fund-raiser, and is also delivering a keynote address at the Massachusetts Democratic State Convention tomorrow in Springfield.
“I feel a lot of loyalty to him,” he said of Patrick. “This will be the one race I spend a lot of time on.”
(snip)
...............................................
Numerous people with knowledge of PhRMA’s plans said they had been told it would likely reach $150 million and perhaps $200 million. They spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to divulge details.
Additionally, the industry is the major contributor to Healthy Economy Now, which recently completed a $12 million round of advertising nationally and in several states. The ads were made by companies with close ties to Democrats and the White House and generally reflected the administration’s changing rhetoric on health care.
In an interview, Ken Johnson, senior vice president of PhRMA, said, “We will have a significant presence over the August recess, both on television and newspapers and on radio, but we have not finalized details for our fall campaign.”
Independent calculations show Healthy Economy Now has spent about $12 million on three ads that ran nationally and in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
The messages meshed with the White House’s changing rhetoric. An ad that began in mid-June said patients would be able to choose their own doctors. Another, launched in mid-July, focused on consumer protections, including a ban on insurance companies denying coverage due to pre-existing medical conditions.
To make the ads, the group hired GMMB, a political consulting and advocacy advertising firm with close ties to the White House and Senate Democrats, as well as AKPD, top White House strategist David Axelrod’s former firm.
22 posted on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 6:22:43 PM by kcvl
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/18/AR2009011802286_pf.html
As the Consultants Turn
The world of political consulting has been compared to a soap opera — drama galore and a lot of sudden breakups and overdue reconciliations. The early days of 2009 are proving to be no exception, as a number of high-profile consultants are opening new shops, joining forces and otherwise re-orienting the professional political class.
Among the most noteworthy changes:
· David Axelrod, the lead strategist for Obama, has sold his ownership stake in the firm AKPD Message and Media. The new firm will comprise three of its current partners — John Kupper, David Plouffe and John Del Cecato — as well as Larry Grisolano, who coordinated the ad strategy and polling operations for Obama. Grisolano will be the managing partner of AKPD and will retain an “of counsel” role to the Strategy Group, a direct-mail firm in which he served as a partner. Axelrod’s decision to go into the White House necessitated a clean break with his consultant past. “It’s really difficult for me to leave a company that’s been such a huge part of my life, but I enter my new post with enormous pride and confidence in the team that’s taking over,” Axelrod said of the move.
· Jason Ralston, one of Obama’s lead admakers, is leaving the media consulting powerhouse GMMB to start a new company with John Lapp, the man who directed House Democrats’ 30-seat pickup as executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2006 cycle. Lapp and Ralston got to know each other during that election as Ralston was the lead media consultant for the multimillion-dollar independent expenditure effort. Lapp, who spent the 2008 election cycle at the media firm McMahon Squier Lapp and Associates, said that he and Ralston “look forward to working together — to grow a progressive majority all across the country.” The new firm will be known as Ralston Lapp Media.
· Steve McMahon and Alex Castellanos — two of the most frequent TV guests among the world of political consultants — are teaming up to form Purple Strategies, a “strategic public affairs communications firm,” according to a news release trumpeting the new company. McMahon is best known as a senior adviser to the 2004 Democratic presidential campaign of former Vermont governor Howard Dean, and Castellanos was the lead media consultant for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s unsuccessful 2008 Republican presidential bid. Bruce Haynes, who served as chief of staff to Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.), will be the new firm’s managing partner, while John Donovan, a longtime Democratic media adviser, will lead the company’s creative team. The goal of the company is to offer “the complete perspective” on issues to corporations and nonprofit organizations, according to McMahon. Neither McMahon nor Castellanos will leave their political firms.