How will Joe Biden GOVERN? General Biden Administration F**kery Thread

[MoneyTron]

There really isn't a major difference between lobbying and consulting in this instance. If you think Blinken and Flournoy - two of the most high-ranking, powerful, and connected people in Washington when it comes to the defense and diplomacy areas of government - were being paid millions of dollars by defense contracting and weapons manufacturing firms to NOT open up their Rolodex...I must say you're asking us to engage in incredible naivete. If they were just some low-level paper pushers who had no real power to influence government policy and just spent a couple of years working at the State/Defense Department until deciding to use that experience to consult, I could see an argument. But for the former Deputy Secretary of State and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy who was the primary advisor to SecDefs Panetta and Gates? Come on.

I didn't say they weren't and I'm not asking you to. I still don't see that as "corruption". If Blinken calls a retired general and asks him to give the company he's consulting for advisement on how to adjust their pricing structures or what type of company to best use as a subprime to win a contract, is that corruption?

An example of corruption to me would be companies paying government officials to win no bid, sole source contracts that are far above market level for the work being done. Or lobbyists priming the pump and informing elected officials that they should purchase stock in a company that would produce profit if certain contracts were awarded or legislation was passed. That's not being accused of anyone in this arrangement.

Warren draws an extremely vague line here:

Government must be able to benefit from tapping private sector expertise, and public servants who leave government should be able to find post-government employment. Similarly, volunteer and part-time government positions, which make sense in certain situations, necessarily assume some level of outside work.

Where is the line drawn? Outside of time, all of her demarcations are open to interpretation. What is market dominant? What separates the different types of government facing work? Who decides when, as you're saying, there's no difference in lobbying and consulting? What companies can I and can I not talk to? Who and what criteria decides that? If Warren lost her seat, went to work for Jones Day or Greenburg, decided to run again and won, is she disqualified under her rule? Is that fair? Do I judge her short stint at a law firm and moving back to Congress as being a prime target for corruption?

She seems to concentrate solely on "market-dominant" companies but if these high level people decide to go work for a mid-tier $100-500M rev government contractor(which account for 30% of government market), then everything is good? Come on man.

You make the example of Flournoy but her being on the board at BAH wouldn't have violated Warren's 4 year non-compete nor would violate her rule on officials sitting on boards if she steps down, which would be almost certain.

Do some loopholes need to be closed? Are there corrupt beings in government? Yes! I like many of the ideas outlined but applied to this example doesn't make sense to me.

 

[God Almighty]

"WE'VE GOT TO GET RID OF TRUMP! HE'S A FASCIST!"

Biden: "I'm hiring a fascist."

 

[Atlrocafella]

I need to see more black men as part of this administration

 

[King Kreole]

I didn't say they weren't and I'm not asking you to. I still don't see that as "corruption". If Blinken calls a retired general and asks him to give the company he's consulting for advisement on how to adjust their pricing structures or what type of company to best use as a subprime to win a contract, is that corruption?

An example of corruption to me would be companies paying government officials to win no bid, sole source contracts that are far above market level for the work being done. Or lobbyists priming the pump and informing elected officials that they should purchase stock in a company that would produce profit if certain contracts were awarded or legislation was passed. That's not being accused of anyone in this arrangement.

If it's just a bunch of out of power people giving advice based on their experience in government, then I would say it's murky but doesn't cross any lines in the sand. But if they're opening up their Rolodex to include their friends who are still active in government, then that's where the line is crossed into lobbyist territory. Which is basically what these "strategic consulting" firms are doing. I think the examples you provided are explicitly and overt acts of corruption, but what these firms are doing is tacit and covert acts of corruption. The companies aren't paying the government official directly, they're just paying the friend of a government official, who will then hooks up that government official with a nice consulting gig when that official's time in office is done. One hand washes the other.

This is a pretty in-depth look at what WestExec (literally named for the corridor between the Oval Office and the offices of the policy aides) does and the business model of these "strategic consulting" firms.

How Biden’s Foreign-Policy Team Got Rich

Warren draws an extremely vague line here:

Where is the line drawn? Outside of time, all of her demarcations are open to interpretation. What is market dominant? What separates the different types of government facing work? Who decides when as you saying, there's no difference in lobbying and consulting? What companies can I and can I not talk to? Who and what criteria decides that? If Warren lost her seat, went to work for Jones Day or Greenburg, decided to run again and won, is she disqualified under her rule? Is that fair? Do I judge her short stint at a law firm and moving back to Congress as being a prime target for corruption?

She seems to concentrate solely on "market-dominant" companies but if these high level people decide to go work for a mid-tier $100-500M rev government contractor(which account for 30% of government revenue), then everything is good? Come on man.

I agree that these are somewhat vague and subjective lines being drawn. A lot of times it's a smell test situation and would require judgments on an individual scale. I just think that after going through the most blatantly corrupt President in American history, we'd want a Caesar's Wife situation but it looks like Biden doesn't think people will care and he's probably right! Our systems is rotted with corruption down to its bones, and these "strategic consulting" firms are for the most part sucking off the teat of that corrupt system.

This is from the article I linked above:

But many of the people who work closely with Biden are enmeshed in the opaque world of strategic consultancies and by extension a network of the world’s biggest businesses. If they’ve been consulting for corporations with offshore interests, this spells potential conflicts. “One of the biggest gaps in ethics laws is that we don’t require strategic consultants to register as lobbyists,” said Mandy Smithberger of the Project on Government Oversight.
...
Such representational juggling is likely to influence how decisions are made. “Registered lobbyist is a bullshyt distinction,” a former Obama official said. “For me it’s: Are you making a living based on monetizing a set of relationships or a policy domain with personal interest?”

Anyway, I appreciate you at least engaging with the substance of this issue.

 

[Payday23]

I see John Kerry is back as the climate Czar.

 

[King Kreole]

I need to see more black men as part of this administration

You got Cedric Richmond, now shut up and be grateful

 

[FAH1223]

I see John Kerry is back as the climate Czar.

The band is back together. I see Avril Haynes and Alejandro Mayorkas.

So many familiar names

 

[King Kreole]

I see John Kerry is back as the climate Czar.

This guy Biden really just bringing the old gang back together for a good time

he's staffing his administration like a surprise farewell party

 

[King Kreole]

The band is back together. I see Avril Haynes and Alejandro Mayorkas.

So many familiar names

I mean...if we were looking at failed Democratic Presidential candidates for this role...

 

[MoneyTron]

That would be a great pick. Preet is way too good to have sitting on the sidelines. Been listening to his podcast for awhile and I've got a ton of respect for him.

Curious to see if Biden brings John Kerry back in any capacity.

Called it.

The gang is byke.

 

[FAH1223]

I mean...if we were looking at failed Democratic Presidential candidates for this role...

Al Gore eating too good outside of government

I just realized he's younger than Kerry and Biden by 6-7 years

 

[MoneyTron]

If it's just a bunch of out of power people giving advice based on their experience in government, then I would say it's murky but doesn't cross any lines in the sand. But if they're opening up their Rolodex to include their friends who are still active in government, then that's where the line is crossed into lobbyist territory. Which is basically what these "strategic consulting" firms are doing. I think the examples you provided are explicitly and overt acts of corruption, but what these firms are doing is tacit and covert acts of corruption. The companies aren't paying the government official directly, they're just paying the friend of a government official, who will then hooks up that government official with a nice consulting gig when that official's time in office is done. One hand washes the other.

This is a pretty in-depth look at what WestExec (literally named for the corridor between the Oval Office and the offices of the policy aides) does and the business model of these "strategic consulting" firms.

How Biden’s Foreign-Policy Team Got Rich


I agree that these are somewhat vague and subjective lines being drawn. A lot of times it's a smell test situation and would require judgments on an individual scale. I just think that after going through the most blatantly corrupt President in American history, we'd want a Caesar's Wife situation but it looks like Biden doesn't think people will care and he's probably right! Our systems is rotted with corruption down to its bones, and these "strategic consulting" firms are for the most part sucking off the teat of that corrupt system.

I understand how the system works breh. I just don't see how you're going to stop people from making a living working on the things they have built immense institutional knowledge in.

You're trying to regulate an extremely gray area and outside of banning the entire industry I don't see how you're going to eliminate what you're railing against.

 

[FAH1223]

 

[King Kreole]

 

[MoneyTron]

Well, I have no issues with the picks. My concerns are on strategy. Do they stop including the GOP in policy discussions after the first time McConnell slaps them in the face or do they continue to communicate with him?