Paul Blumenthal

Mitt Romney's Lobbyist Donations Boom In First Half Of 2012

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney opened up numerous lines of attacks in July on President Barack Obama for playing the inside Washington game by cutting deals on health care reform, giving government funds to campaign donors and meeting with lobbyists on various policies. While Romney has not yet laid out how he would play inside the Beltway politics, or whether he would play at all, campaign contribution records show that he is already deeply connected to Washington's permanent class of lobbyists, donors and influence seekers.

Seven-hundred forty-eight Washington lobbyists and dozens of corporate and lobbying firm PACs have already given $1.87 million to benefit Romney through his campaign or through the victory committee sending funds to the Republican National Committee and a host of state parties, according to records filed with the Secretary of the Senate. The majority of that -- $1.32 million -- was raised in the past six months and disclosed in the last few days of July. These lobbyists have also been central to his campaign's finance operation, raising $5.25 million from their friends, family and clients.

The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee do not accept contributions from federally registered lobbyists.

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The list includes financial services companies lobbying for a loosening of new rules in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, including Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and the industry trade group the American Bankers Association. It includes fossil fuel energy companies working to roll back Environmental Protection Agency regulations and open up more land for drilling, mining and fracking, like Koch Industries...Some of Romney's informal policy advisors are themselves registered lobbyists. The campaign's top bundler, Barclays lobbyist Patrick Durkin, hosted a roundtable discussion on financial services policy at a Washington fundraiser heavily attended by the denizens of K Street...American Petroleum Institute CEO Jack Gerard, a $2,500 donor, is a close friend of Romney's and was called one of Romney's "most trusted advisers" in a Roll Call article. Gerard's API, the official trade association of the oil industry, has lobbied heavily against EPA regulations and pushed for more offshore oil drilling in recent years....

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/mitt-romney-lobbyists_n_1731540.html