Obama's FREDDIE Connection

" One of Emanuel's fellow directors at Freddie Mac was Neil Hartigan, the former Illinois attorney general. Hartigan said Emanuel's primary contribution was explaining to others on the board how to play the levers of power"

This quote is from Bob Secter and Andrew Zajac's piece in the Tribune, March 26th, 2009.

Isn't it nice to know that we have such experts in our new administration, dealing with all these important issues, like the mortgage melt down, creating new powers to give the Treasury the athority to take over companies that "may" pose a harm to the economy if they fail. They'll just call it a "Preimtive Strike" for the people and the motherland......oops, sorry, the Homeland.

The article goes on about Rahm's well earned compensation of $320,000 for 14 months of sitting on the board of directors. "The board met no more than six times a year. Unlike most fellow directors, Emanuel was not assigned to any of the board's working committees, according to company proxy statements. Immediately upon joining the board, Emanuel and other new directors qualified for $380,000 in stock and options plus a $20,000 annual fee, records indicate."

The article goes on to say, "During his brief time on the board, the company hatched a plan to enhance its political muscle. That scheme, also reviewed by the board, led to a record $3.8 million fine from the Federal Election Commission for illegally using corporate resources to host fundraisers for politicians. Emanuel was the beneficiary of one of those parties after he left the board and ran in 2002 for a seat in Congress from the North Side of Chicago"

Even though Mr. Emanuel says he can't recall most of the meetings he attended, nice "selective memory" on ya there Rahm, "One of Emanuel's fellow directors at Freddie Mac was Neil Hartigan, the former Illinois attorney general. Hartigan said Emanuel's primary contribution was explaining to others on the board how to play the levers of power.

He was respected on the board for his understanding of "the dynamics of the legislative process and the executive branch at senior levels," Hartigan recalled. "I wouldn't say he was outspoken. What he was, was solid."

" how to play the levers of power" But the question to ask is, to play to what end? This term I'm sure is one used often in the IL state and city governments. Again, you can't swim in that cesspool of Chicago politics and not come out stinking to high heaven.

"During a September 2000 board meeting—midway through Emanuel's 14-month term—Freddie Mac lobbyist R. Mitchell Delk laid out a strategy titled "Political Risk Management" aimed at influencing lawmakers and blunting pressure in Congress for more regulation. Through Delk's initiative, Freddie Mac sponsored more than 80 fundraisers that raised at least $1.7 million for congressional candidates despite a federal law that bans corporations from direct political activity.

Federal campaign records show that Emanuel received $25,000 from donors with ties to Freddie Mac in the 2002 campaign cycle, more than twice the amount collected that election by any other candidate for the U.S. House or Senate."

Ahhhh, change we can believe in! Nothing like having the Fox in charge of the hen house, making sure all those chickens are in line with the great leaders vision of where he wants our country to go. What was it the President of the EU, Mirek Topolanek, said, “The US Treasury secretary talks about permanent action and we, at our spring council, were quite alarmed at that . . . The US is repeating mistakes from the 1930s, such as wide-ranging stimuluses, protectionist tendencies and appeals, the Buy American campaign, and so on,” he told a European parliament session in Strasbourg. “All these steps, their combination and their permanency, are the road to hell.”