UPDATE: Dave Johnson from Seeing the Forest emails that the Hill article is a mischaracterization of the call:
I joined two of these calls. The invite came to me through a progressive organization. They were not secret. They were not organized by the Treasury Dept. There were no “lobbyists” asking questions on the calls unless you consider progressive organizations that are C4s to be “lobbyists”.
The calls were following up with details on specific issue areas from last night’s speech. Nothing more.
I have been very critical of Obama in the past and continue to believe that having Geithner in the Cabinet undermines his Presidency and progressives. But this story is completely false and is clearly intended to undermine the Obama Administration’s credibility with progressives.
They just can’t stop themselves:
After Obama rips lobbyists, K St. insiders get private briefings
A day after bashing lobbyists, President Barack Obama’s administration has invited K Street insiders to join private briefings on a range of topics addressed in Wednesday’s State of the Union.
The Treasury Department on Thursday morning invited selected individuals to “a series of conference calls with senior Obama administration officials to discuss key aspects of the State of the Union address.”
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The invitation, which is addressed to “Friends,” emphasizes in bold and italics that “this call is for background information only and not intended for press purposes.” It advises callers to tell the operator “you’re joining the ‘White House Briefing Call.’ ”
Apparently everyone in the White House learned the wrong lesson from the Massachusetts election. It’s not that the country loves Republicans, it’s that they hate DC insider deal making. You can’t claim that you’ll “end the outsized influence of lobbyists” one night and then give them exclusive access you consciously try to hide from the press the next day, and expect that people will find it credible.
