Prez-Elect “Spreads The Wealth Around” His Circle Of Foot Soldiers
While the MSM and political pundits marvel and awe at the campaign Obama ran, and the historical amounts of money he raised, you have to, as I said in the past, seriously wonder about a man of such thoughtless excess that pushed a message of “spreading around the wealth” of actual working people in this country to those who want to do little or no work.
And now he’s showering his most closest and loyalists with pricey gifts post-campaign.
We all have heard the quote of Marie Antoinette, “Let them eat cake” in regards to her unhappy masses that were starving and demanding more …
For years I was under the impression she was mocking them to have the delicacy of a sweet dessert, as opposed to their meager bread … However, recently I learned it was not that at all.
“Cake” was the caked-on and burnt residue at the bottom of the ovens that when finally hacked and scraped away and tossed into the yard even the animals did not find it palatable enough to eat …
In essence and snobbery, she was suggesting removing even the pittance of bread from their diet and replacing it with something less than garbage.
And yet, the news pundits cannot help but still harp on the alleged $150, 000 clothing the RNC bought for Gov. Palin and her family …
Smoke, mirrors, curtains and bullshit waders, folks.
Barack Obama gives campaign staffers extra cash, BlackBerrys, laptops
BY KENNETH R. BAZINET and MICHAEL McAULIFF - (NY DAILY NEWS)
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama ended his campaign so flush with cash he’s telling staffers to keep the change - and then some.
Long-suffering political footsoldiers who toiled tirelessly, at least since September, to put Obama in the White House recently learned they will be getting extra paychecks worth a month’s salary, the Daily News has learned.
And boy, are they grateful.
“I think it’s a very nice gesture for people who slaved away and sacrificed for the past year,” said one pleased ex-staffer.
“It was totally unexpected, and you can’t believe how helpful this is with the holidays coming,” the lower-level worker said. “A lot of people thought they were going to be broke and would have to try to find a job in this rotten economy. It’s a huge help.”
In addition to the cold cash, staffers also have the option of keeping their campaign-issued computers and BlackBerrys - but must pay income tax on the hardware if they do.
It’s an almost unprecedented move at the end of a presidential campaign, even a winning one, because usually they are flat broke, having taken public financing and gone through every last penny.
But Obama skipped public financing and raised more than $600 million, including more than $150 million in September, and nearly $40 million in the first couple of weeks of October.
If this silver parachute approaches his September payroll, it’ll be worth upward of $3 million.
A bunch of John McCain staffers will get checks that cover much of this month, but it’s nothing like the widespread lucre flowing around Obamaland.
“They certainly didn’t pay bonuses in the McCain campaign,” one ex-staffer there said.
President Bush helped a lot of his campaign folks in 2004, moving many to the Republican National Committee payroll until December.
Billionaire Mayor Bloomberg rewarded his campaign staff with fat bonuses, but he could afford to. It’s seldom so generous on the Democratic side.
“Most campaigns you have to wait months for your last check,” an Obama staffer said. “I’m not sure this has ever been done before. Definitely not that I’ve seen.”
“I’ve heard of two weeks [pay] before, but nothing beyond that. This is very generous,” said a veteran Democratic political operative.
Word of the cash bonanza for Obama’s loyal troops comes as the President-elect has begun raising money to retire the Democratic National Committee’s debt, even tapping his precious e-mail list to help out.
And while Obama splashes his staff with cash, Hillary Clinton is still in hock for about $21 million, including about $13 million she lent herself and will never get back.
Although she’s banking on Obama to help her pay down the remaining $8 million, he can’t use any leftover campaign cash. He’d have to tap his donors anew for her.
Clinton took care of about 40 of her campaign staffers by shifting them to the payroll of her political action committee.
It’s unclear how much campaign cash Obama has left in his war chest, a tally he’ll have to report to the feds this month.
 |
|
