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White House declines to disclose visits by health industry executives

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Citing an argument used by the Bush administration, the Secret Service rejects a request from a watchdog group to list those who have visited the White House to discuss the healthcare overhaul.
By Peter Nicholas

July 22, 2009

Reporting from Washington — Invoking an argument used by President George W. Bush, the Obama administration has turned down a request from a watchdog group for a list of health industry executives who have visited the White House to discuss the massive healthcare overhaul.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sent a letter to the Secret Service asking about visits from 18 executives representing health insurers, drug makers, doctors and other players in the debate. The group wants the material in order to gauge the influence of those executives in crafting a new healthcare policy.

The Secret Service sent a reply stating that documents revealing the frequency of such visits were considered presidential records exempt from public disclosure laws. The agency also said it was advised by the Justice Department that the Secret Service was within its rights to withhold the information because of the "presidential communications privilege."

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics said it would file suit against the Obama administration as early as today. The group already has sued the administration over its failure to release details about visits from coal industry executives.

A White House spokesman, Ben LaBolt, said, "We are reviewing our policy on access to visitor logs and related litigation."

As a candidate, President Obama vowed that in devising a healthcare bill he would invite in TV cameras -- specifically C-SPAN -- so that Americans could have a window into negotiations that normally play out behind closed doors.
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Looks like Obama isn't as open as he claimed he would be. Remember the hubbub over Cheney and the energy execs? I want to here from liberals on this policy.
 
Once upon a time, Bush was hated by the Democrats. Today, the Democrats are copying Bush.

Invoking an argument used by President George W. Bush, the Obama administration has turned down a request from a watchdog group for a list of health industry executives who have visited the White House to discuss the massive healthcare overhaul.
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Let me give you a little timeline here:

1) 2007 - Bush keeps White House logs secret. Democrats scream for open government.

2) 2008 - Obama is elected president.

3) 2009 - Obama keeps White House logs secret. You now hear crickets from the Democrats.

I have just one question - Just who the hell do they think they are? They are accountable to We the People. Bush's party lost an election because of arrogance. It is now time for Democrats to lose because of their own arrogance, not to mention their shameful hypocricy. What's good for the old hypocrite is damn well good for the new hypocrite.

As far as I am concerned, heads need to roll once more, and this time, not Republican heads.

Article is here.
 
danarhea said:
Once upon a time, Bush was hated by the Democrats. Today, the Democrats are copying Bush.

Let me give you a little timeline here:

1) 2007 - Bush keeps White House logs secret. Democrats scream for open government.

2) 2008 - Obama is elected president.

3) 2009 - Obama keeps White House logs secret. You now hear crickets from the Democrats.

I have just one question - Just who the hell do they think they are? They are accountable to We the People. Bush's party lost an election because of arrogance. It is now time for Democrats to lose because of their own arrogance, not to mention their shameful hypocricy. What's good for the old hypocrite is damn well good for the new hypocrite.

As far as I am concerned, heads need to roll once more, and this time, not Republican heads.

Article is here.
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This is exactly why his experience was questioned, and why he should not have run for president- because he had no idea what kind of politics are played at that level. Furthermore, since he did run, he should have approached his platform with a little more humility. He basically set himself up to prove himself a hypocrite. He said he would bring our troops home- now he realizes what that would entail, and hasn't. He explicitly stated that he would not engage in using his signature powers to legislate from his office- which he now realizes he has to do to get his way, and does it. He stated that he would bring a new level of transparency to government, which he now realizes he can't do- and hasn't. He was basically a newbie who thought he could come swooping in and change the politicing of old, which he can't and doesn't do. Newsflash everybody! "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
Make no mistake folks- while many government officials would have you foaming at the mouth over oil executives and insurance executives- these same officials are the most elitist pigs out there, and they think we are stupid sheep.
 
I fail to see why this is a big deal, other than the double standard involved.

If someone came up to my door and asked me for a list of people who had visited my house in the past week, I would laugh in his face and slam the door. Why should it be any different with elected officials? They should be treated like ordinary citizens, not more not less.
 
Dav said:
I fail to see why this is a big deal, other than the double standard involved.

If someone came up to my door and asked me for a list of people who had visited my house in the past week, I would laugh in his face and slam the door. Why should it be any different with elected officials? They should be treated like ordinary citizens, not more not less.
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You are incorrect, IMO.

Politicians should not be treated like ordinary citizens, because they have power over ordinary citizens.

With that power, comes abuse of said power, and thus we require checks to prevent abuse of power.

They don't always work, so they need to be strengthened.

Example:

An ordinary citizen causes few issues except to themselves if he/she mis-manages their budget.

A politician can cause mass issue on a national scale if they, with others, mis-manage the national budget. This applies to any lvl of government.
 
The Mark said:
You are incorrect, IMO.

Politicians should not be treated like ordinary citizens, because they have power over ordinary citizens.

With that power, comes abuse of said power, and thus we require checks to prevent abuse of power.

They don't always work, so they need to be strengthened.

Example:

An ordinary citizen causes few issues except to themselves if he/she mis-manages their budget.

A politician can cause mass issue on a national scale if they, with others, mis-manage the national budget. This applies to any lvl of government.
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^
Give this man a cigar. He nailed this issue, right on the head.
 
He is a hypocrite who has promised the world and can't even deliver the dirt.
 
Hmmm are we starting to see a pattern here folks won't release Long Form Birth Cert., won't release Abuse Photo's, and now once again won't release names on White House Guest List.

So my question for all of you who voted for him what happen to the slogan This will be the Most Transparent White House in History.

Seems to me this White House is far from the slogan now.
 
Scorpion89 said:
Hmmm are we starting to see a pattern here folks won't release Long Form Birth Cert., won't release Abuse Photo's, and now once again won't release names on White House Guest List.

So my question for all of you who voted for him what happen to the slogan This will be the Most Transparent White House in History.

Seems to me this White House is far from the slogan now.
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You are wrong on that. Obama is VERY transparent. I could see right through him, which is one of the reasons I didn't vote for him. LOL.
 
Scorpion89 said:
Hmmm are we starting to see a pattern here folks won't release Long Form Birth Cert., won't release Abuse Photo's, and now once again won't release names on White House Guest List.

So my question for all of you who voted for him what happen to the slogan This will be the Most Transparent White House in History.

Seems to me this White House is far from the slogan now.
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As Obama pointed out at his press conference, there were photo ops at each of these meetings, they were not held in secret. But that won't stop you from fabricating conspiracy theories, will it?
 
The Mark said:
You are incorrect, IMO.

Politicians should not be treated like ordinary citizens, because they have power over ordinary citizens.

With that power, comes abuse of said power, and thus we require checks to prevent abuse of power.

They don't always work, so they need to be strengthened.

Example:

An ordinary citizen causes few issues except to themselves if he/she mis-manages their budget.

A politician can cause mass issue on a national scale if they, with others, mis-manage the national budget. This applies to any lvl of government.
Click to expand...

Allowing politicians to be a completely different class of people than the general population, as I see it, is dangerous. We should be a government by the people, for the people- not by the ruling class.
 
Just curious...

Why is seeing such a list so important other than the principle of releasing it, i.e., "transparancy in DC"? Are some suggesting that backdoor politics...business as usual...taking place within the Obama Administration? I'm just curious what the angle about not releasing such a list is all about.
 
Dav said:
Allowing politicians to be a completely different class of people than the general population, as I see it, is dangerous. We should be a government by the people, for the people- not by the ruling class.
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Perhaps, but don't you think we should know who our employees are talking to in crafting national policy?

After all, the President works for us. Not the other way around. Who he talks to in making policy should be out in the open.
 
WillRockwell said:
As Obama pointed out at his press conference, there were photo ops at each of these meetings, they were not held in secret. But that won't stop you from fabricating conspiracy theories, will it?
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Really there is Press Photos of him releasing the Abuse Photos,and his Long Form Birth Cert. please show me a link to this.

Also I did a quick check on the White House Press section for Press Photos of this said event not a single photo pops up.

And you still haven't answer my question about his statement about this being the most Transparent White House in History.
 
Scorpion89 said:
So my question for all of you who voted for him what happen to the slogan This will be the Most Transparent White House in History.
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What gives you the impression we all voted for Obama just because he claimed to be guru of transparency? I was confident that he wouldn't have the cloak of secrecy demonstrated by the last administration, such as:

Increasing the number of federal agencies authorized to designate information as secret and exempt them from public disclosure.

Having the Department of Homeland Security remove the agency’s entire classification of information process from public scrutiny. The secretaries’ of Health and Human Services and Agriculture and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, have been granted the right to classify information for purposes of national security and national defense.

Allowing the Defense Department to adopt a new policy that imposed strict limits on discussion of all its “critical research” from the “idea phase” onward.

Placing his papers, and those of his father, outside the public eye.

Increasing the authority of the Central Intelligence Agency to empower its director to block declassification of CIA information unless disclosure is authorized by the president.

Extending time that information can be kept classified from 10 to 25 years.

Blanket closures of INS proceedings and absolute gags on disclosure of related information.

If we are going to compare Obama to Bush, the issue of disclosing a guest list seems a bit petty to me.
 
Then why did they refuse the first time?
 
Scorpion89 said:
Really there is Press Photos of him releasing the Abuse Photos,and his Long Form Birth Cert. please show me a link to this.
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You have seen the birth certificate, you have seen the birth announcement in the Honolulu paper. Do you think someone used a time machine to plant that"?
Also I did a quick check on the White House Press section for Press Photos of this said event not a single photo pops up.
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photo ops are for the press, and may or may not be covered by the White House photographers. Besides, what do you care which health industry executives met at the White House? This is not like Enron executives dictating energy policy to Dick Cheney. Obama's team is speaking to as many health care executives as possible, so what difference does it make which ones attended a meeting? Nobody would recognize the names anyway.
And you still haven't answer my question about his statement about this being the most Transparent White House in History.
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Who was more transparent?
 
Last edited:
Do a search, your thread is a duplicate.
 
danarhea said:
Once upon a time, Bush was hated by the Democrats. Today, the Democrats are copying Bush.

Let me give you a little timeline here:

1) 2007 - Bush keeps White House logs secret. Democrats scream for open government.

2) 2008 - Obama is elected president. under the guise of "open and transparent governent"
3) 2009 - Obama keeps White House logs secret. You now hear crickets from the Democrats.

I have just one question - Just who the hell do they think they are? They are accountable to We the People. Bush's party lost an election because of arrogance. It is now time for Democrats to lose because of their own arrogance, not to mention their shameful hypocricy. What's good for the old hypocrite is damn well good for the new hypocrite.

As far as I am concerned, heads need to roll once more, and this time, not Republican heads.

Article is here.
Click to expand...






Fixed it for you! :thumbs:
 
Dav said:
I fail to see why this is a big deal, other than the double standard involved.

If someone came up to my door and asked me for a list of people who had visited my house in the past week, I would laugh in his face and slam the door. Why should it be any different with elected officials? They should be treated like ordinary citizens, not more not less.
Click to expand...

The double standard also existed during the Bush years when the same cast of characters who are now caterwauling about what Obama has done were either strangely silent or even loudly defending the Bush administration doing the same thing.
 
Birdzeye said:
The double standard also existed during the Bush years when the same cast of characters who are now caterwauling about what Obama has done were either strangely silent or even loudly defending the Bush administration doing the same thing.
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Sorry, Bush didn't take over healthcare, and it was you who complained for years about Cheney's meeting with oil tycoons. Bush didn't jack up the deficit either, except to the extent he didn't veto the bills coming from Congress. He pushed tax cuts the entire 8 years. Sorry, you people FAIL again.
 
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