Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

First, you could run a campaign my friend because that's all the Republicans having been hammering Obama with, and rightfully so. You're also right that the WH oversold the stimulus in that they tried to attach a specific metric to gauge the success or failure of a fiscal policy. Dumb, dumb, dumb!

That said, the election will come down to a choice between candidates not ONLY what the rate of unemployment is. Remember the jokers running for president have their own records to defend, among other things, on the economy. If Obama can come out of the debt negotiations with some sort of compromise/solution, I believe that will help him.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=12thMan;810344]First, you could run a campaign my friend because that's all the Republicans having been hammering Obama with, and rightfully so. You're also right that the WH oversold the stimulus in that they tried to attach a specific metric to gauge the success or failure of a fiscal policy. Dumb, dumb, dumb!

That said, the election will come down to a choice between candidates not ONLY what the rate of unemployment is. Remember the jokers running for president have their own records to defend, among other things, on the economy. If Obama can come out of the debt negotiations with some sort of compromise/[B]solution[/B], I believe that will help him.[/quote]

I could never run for office or a campaign. The back ground check would be an issue and I'm not politically correct ( I'd have a George Allen event) and I'd say someting that would get me in trouble.

Solution
That's the problem. There is no real solution on the table and they are only looking for a quick patch job that has been done over and over again by both sides. You also say the WH over sold the stimulas and your totaly wrong. They sold what they believed would happen by throwing around a bunch of money and it did not work as many said from the start. Its called flawd thinking that was the problem. A stimulas tax break would have actually put money into the people pocket and not into the pocket of unions and others Obama wanted to pay back for their support.

To add to his problem is the fact that in the next 6 months that stimulas money will run out for a bunch of states and cities that have avoided laying off employees. Just in Chesapeake Va the school system received around 50 million in stimulas money which runs out soon and they have no way to replace those funds. Thats just one city and no telling the thousands and thousands of cities that have the same problem.

See Obama told them the money had to be spent in two years thinking that the ecomony would be beter in two years an its not. It going to get worse before it gets better.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

I'd not pay my bills and rack up fines like Obama. It just gets better with each new day.

[url]http://politisite.com/2011/07/19/obama-gets-fined-by-london-mayor-he-us-not-exempt-from-the-law/[/url]

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

Anyone watch the speech by Big O tonight? Talk about "poll tested words," scare tactics, and bumper sticker rhetoric. Ugh. All he cares about is 2012. Does anyone really have faith in his leadership at this point? Where's the freaking accountability? Can he take responsibility for anything? Still dragging Bush through the mud? For real? Boehner didn't exactly hit a home run either. We're in real trouble.

As far as 2012 goes, Captain Change is losing independents in droves and every time he opens his mouth his poll numbers go down. Makes me chuckle.

Put a damn balanced budget amendment in the Constitution. Continuing to borrow more than we bring in is such a damn embarrassing fail.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=GMScud;812906]Anyone watch the speech by Big O tonight? Talk about "poll tested words," scare tactics, and bumper sticker rhetoric. Ugh. All he cares about is 2012. Does anyone really have faith in his leadership at this point? Where's the freaking accountability? Can he take responsibility for anything? Still dragging Bush through the mud? For real? Boehner didn't exactly hit a home run either. We're in real trouble.

As far as 2012 goes, Captain Change is losing independents in droves and every time he opens his mouth his poll numbers go down. Makes me chuckle.

Put a damn balanced budget amendment in the Constitution. Continuing to borrow more than we bring in is such a damn embarrassing fail.[/quote]

To be fair spending has been a fail on both sides. What Obama does not understand is that the national dept is the new topic that everyone is concerned about so he needs to address the issue. He does not want to deal with the issue becasue he feels it was a problem that was not of his making so he wants to push it aside. Well its not going away like imigration was the hot issue a few years back. He has no experience and it shows.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

It still seems to be me that not enough blame has been pinned on the endless, unwinnable wars and military spending in general. It's the sacred cow of Republicans, so I don't expect any help from them. But I'm not hearing Democrats offering much more than lip service to the idea.

The Iraq war alone has figures that reach the 1 trillion dollar mark. If we don't fundamentally change our approach to foreign policy, stop attacking countries that never did anything to us, and give up this worldwide military empire, the debt and the deficit problems aren't going anywhere.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=Beemnseven;813737]It still seems to be me that not enough blame has been pinned on the endless, unwinnable wars and military spending in general. It's the sacred cow of Republicans, so I don't expect any help from them. But I'm not hearing Democrats offering much more than lip service to the idea.

The Iraq war alone has figures that reach the 1 trillion dollar mark. [B]If we don't fundamentally change our approach to foreign policy, stop attacking countries that never did anything to us, and give up this worldwide military empire, the debt and the deficit problems aren't going anywhere.[/B][/quote]

Exactly. You want to win a war now days? Use economic force to play hardball. That's what China has started doing and it has been quite effective. It's time to a) stop jumping into conflicts. Bombs, planes, guns, soldiers, contractors, etc are very expensive. We seem to act as the world police. That needs to stop. We need to invest less in weapons and manpower. The average military grunt may get a low paycheck -- but he costs the taxpayers a bundle and quite honestly, is starting to become less and less necessary.

The above paragraph aren't my own thoughts, that is nearly exactly what my professor, a retired Air Force General, said last semester. I just happen to share them.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=Beemnseven;813737]It still seems to be me that not enough blame has been pinned on the endless, unwinnable wars and military spending in general. It's the sacred cow of Republicans, so I don't expect any help from them. But I'm not hearing Democrats offering much more than lip service to the idea.

The Iraq war alone has figures that reach the 1 trillion dollar mark. If we don't fundamentally change our approach to foreign policy, stop attacking countries that never did anything to us, and give up this worldwide military empire, the debt and the deficit problems aren't going anywhere.[/quote]

I would back 100% us pulling our troops out of 90% of the places we have them all over the world. I'm for a strong military but what we have is way more then what we need.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=GMScud;812906]Anyone watch the speech by Big O tonight? Talk about "poll tested words," scare tactics, and bumper sticker rhetoric. Ugh. All he cares about is 2012. Does anyone really have faith in his leadership at this point? Where's the freaking accountability? Can he take responsibility for anything? Still dragging Bush through the mud? For real? Boehner didn't exactly hit a home run either. We're in real trouble.

As far as 2012 goes, Captain Change is losing independents in droves and every time he opens his mouth his poll numbers go down. Makes me chuckle.

Put a damn balanced budget amendment in the Constitution. Continuing to borrow more than we bring in is such a damn embarrassing fail.[/quote]

I'm not sure it's just Obama that's looking bad in the eyes of most.

As for the putting "a damn balanced budget amendment in the Constitution" one has to wonder two things...1) Why didn't the GOP make the proposal while in full command of the country? 2) What is the likelihood of such an amendment passing both houses with just a straight up and down vote (remember, it requires 2/3 vote to pass), the president's desk (veto anyone?), and then being ratified by the 2/3 of the states?

What a fantastic magic show the GOP has put on with their fanciful gimmicks and slight of hands. They must be doing something right if you lot have this much faith in them.

Bravo!

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

Obama's polls numbers are solid. The only voters he's losing in droves is the Tea Party.

I was coming out of pub a few days ago and walked right past Eric Cantor. I almost hurled my Jameson back up. Pathetic.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=12thMan;814083]Obama's polls numbers are solid. The only voters he's losing in droves is the Tea Party.

I was coming out of pub a few days ago and walked right past Eric Cantor. I almost hurled my Jameson back up. Pathetic.[/quote]Not so fast my friend. I can't think of any Tea Party folks who supported Obama in the first place. Obama is losing Independents and likely moderate-fiscally conservative Ds.

[url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll]Daily Presidential Tracking Poll - Rasmussen Reports™[/url]

[url=http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/20/obama-ties-romney-in-new-poll-loses-among-independents/]Obama Ties Romney | Loses Among Independents | PPP Poll | The Daily Caller[/url]

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=saden1;814011]I'm not sure it's just Obama that's looking bad in the eyes of most.

As for the putting "a damn balanced budget amendment in the Constitution" one has to wonder two things...1) Why didn't the GOP make the proposal while in full command of the country? 2) What is the likelihood of such an amendment passing both houses with just a straight up and down vote (remember, it requires 2/3 vote to pass), the president's desk (veto anyone?), and then being ratified by the 2/3 of the states?

What a fantastic magic show the GOP has put on with their fanciful gimmicks and slight of hands. They must be doing something right if you lot have this much faith in them.

Bravo![/quote]

Not sure if I have faith in any of them. I do find it funny when one side or the other acts like its totally the other parties fault we are in dept. Plenty of blame for both sides and I believe I have said that all along. Its the same thing I said back when you guys called Bush a conservative. I said he was anything but a conservative.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=saden1;814011]I'm not sure it's just Obama that's looking bad in the eyes of most.

As for the putting "a damn balanced budget amendment in the Constitution" one has to wonder two things...1) Why didn't the GOP make the proposal while in full command of the country? 2) What is the likelihood of such an amendment passing both houses with just a straight up and down vote (remember, it requires 2/3 vote to pass), the president's desk (veto anyone?), and then being ratified by the 2/3 of the states?

What a fantastic magic show the GOP has put on with their fanciful gimmicks and slight of hands. They must be doing something right if you lot have this much faith in them.

Bravo![/quote]

Notice I said Boehner didn't exactly hit a home run.

I have pretty much zero faith in either party at this point, which is why I changed my voter registration to independent months ago. Sure I can't vote in primaries now, but whatever.

And as far as a proposed balanced budget amendment being ratified... You're probably right about the difficulty in it getting through. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good thing for America, which is all I was saying.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=Slingin Sammy 33;814111]Not so fast my friend. I can't think of any Tea Party folks who supported Obama in the first place. Obama is losing Independents and likely moderate-fiscally conservative Ds.

[URL="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll"]Daily Presidential Tracking Poll - Rasmussen Reports™[/URL]

[URL="http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/20/obama-ties-romney-in-new-poll-loses-among-independents/"]Obama Ties Romney | Loses Among Independents | PPP Poll | The Daily Caller[/URL][/quote]


The Tea Party thing was a little tongue and cheek.

I feel Rasmussen polling is an outlier for a few reasons. I rely more on the polling averages ([URL="http://www.realclearpolitics.com"]RealClearPolitics - Opinion, News, Analysis, Videos and Polls[/URL]) and not just one poll, because they're all tilted a bit. Quinnipiac is usually on the mark, however, whereas Rasmussen has a tendency to overstate Republican opinion and badly missed the mark in a number of states during the mid-term elections. Given that unemployment is where it is and the country in general is in a sour mood, I don't think the president could ask for any better than 45% approval right now.

Basically his base will be there come 2012: Jews, blacks, hispanics (don't believe the hype) gays, and female voters. So you're talking about Obama and whomever the GOP nominates will be vying for about 20-25% of the electorate. Probably your middle class independent white male. Without offending anyone on the board, I would say someone in Schneed's demographic. I don't know his politics, but he's about as objective as they come. Right now Obama is faring well vs Republicans--not great-- in a few key states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia. If he can pluck 2 or 3 of those states, he's going to be pretty hard to beat.

Finally, I would add any poll that has Sarah Palin within striking distance of the front runner Mitt Romney would make me a little suspicious. Not because of it's lack of accuracy, but it just shows you how much people are paying attention. Her candidacy is DOA, even among the most right leaning Republicans. I think once we get on the other side of Labor Day weekend, settle this debt ceiling thing, let Rick Perry flex a little bit, things will get a little more interesting.

Edit: In the spirit of keeping this thread on topic, let's move additional comments to the presidential thread.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=12thMan;814276]The Tea Party thing was a little tongue and cheek.

I feel Rasmussen polling is an outlier for a few reasons. I rely more on the polling averages ([URL="http://www.realclearpolitics.com"]RealClearPolitics - Opinion, News, Analysis, Videos and Polls[/URL]) and not just one poll, because they're all tilted a bit. Quinnipiac is usually on the mark, however, whereas Rasmussen has a tendency to overstate Republican opinion and badly missed the mark in a number of states during the mid-term elections. Given that unemployment is where it is and the country in general is in a sour mood, I don't think the president could ask for any better than 45% approval right now.

Basically his base will be there come 2012: Jews, blacks, hispanics (don't believe the hype) gays, and female voters. So you're talking about Obama and whomever the GOP nominates will be vying for about 20-25% of the electorate. Probably your middle class independent white male. Without offending anyone on the board, I would say someone in Schneed's demographic. I don't know his politics, but he's about as objective as they come. Right now Obama is faring well vs Republicans--not great-- in a few key states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia. If he can pluck 2 or 3 of those states, he's going to be pretty hard to beat.

Finally, I would add any poll that has Sarah Palin within striking distance of the front runner Mitt Romney would make me a little suspicious. Not because of it's lack of accuracy, but it just shows you how much people are paying attention. Her candidacy is DOA, even among the most right leaning Republicans. I think once we get on the other side of Labor Day weekend, settle this debt ceiling thing, let Rick Perry flex a little bit, things will get a little more interesting.

Edit: In the spirit of keeping this thread on topic, let's move additional comments to the presidential thread.[/quote]

The only female votes Obama can count on is black female's. You seem to forget that Obama has pretty much done nothing other then spend 1 trillion dollars to creat no jobs. Also the excitment has gone and they will have trouble getting the voter to turn out. Using your link 75% of Americans say we are headed on the wrong track.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=firstdown;815093]The only female votes Obama can count on is black female's. You seem to forget that Obama has pretty much done nothing other then spend 1 trillion dollars to creat no jobs. Also the excitment has gone and they will have trouble getting the voter to turn out. Using your link 75% of Americans say we are headed on the wrong track.[/quote]

That's just crazy talk, First. I promise you that the voter turnout will be strong. The very first bill Obama signed into law --- the very first one-- was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act benefiting women in the work place. He's appointed two female Supreme Court justices and he continues to fight for women's healthcare reproductive rights. Remember the battle over Planned Parenthood defunding last December? He's been pretty good on that front.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=12thMan;815105]That's just crazy talk, First. I promise you that the voter turnout will be strong. The very first bill Obama signed into law --- the very first one-- was the [B]Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act[/B] benefiting women in the work place. He's appointed two female Supreme Court justices and he continues to fight for women's healthcare reproductive rights. Remember the battle over Planned Parenthood defunding last December? He's been pretty good on that front.[/quote]

That law he passed affected very few momen and means nothing to 99% of them until they need the law. The other stuff sounds good but will not drive the women to run out and vote for him. They will see little to no change he promised and go back to voting how they did prior to Obama.

As far as voter turn out. Even with all the effort Obama put into voter turn out for the last election it did not work and will not work next time. If anything his poor record will drive the other side to turn out and vote. When Obama was elected people knew nothing about him and did not care about his past. Now he cannot hide and his record will hurt him.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=firstdown;815186]That law he passed affected very few momen and means nothing to 99% of them until they need the law. The other stuff sounds good but will not drive the women to run out and vote for him. They will see little to no change he promised and go back to voting how they did prior to Obama.

As far as voter turn out. Even with all the effort Obama put into voter turn out for the last election it did not work and will not work next time. If anything his poor record will drive the other side to turn out and vote. When Obama was elected people knew nothing about him and did not care about his past. Now he cannot hide and his record will hurt him.[/quote]

You're making assumptions about voter turnout without backing up any of the claims. It didn't work? There was record voter turnout, what land were you living in in 2008? It won't work again? I have no idea what you're talking about. And you're completely trivializing a piece of legislation that millions of women had hoped too see come to pass one day.

Anyway, I'd much rather be talking football than this craziness.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

The live in a world of fantasy...the can't distinguish what they hope for from what will happen. Obama has real soldiers! They will come when called upon because the alternative is to be ruled by the disingenuous and incompetent GOP.


I am a ready and willing soldier...it will be a glorious victory...let's get it!

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=12thMan;815231]You're making assumptions about voter turnout without backing up any of the claims. It didn't work? There was record voter turnout, what land were you living in in 2008? It won't work again? I have no idea what you're talking about. And you're completely trivializing a piece of legislation that millions of women had hoped too see come to pass one day.

Anyway, I'd much rather be talking football than this craziness.[/quote]

I said last election not last presidental election. He tried his hardest to get out the vote and it did not work. I actually think the next election will come down to which party the American people are pissed at the least. Right now if I could I'd vote them all out of office. I think we could gettogether and do a better job then these a$$ wipes.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=saden1;815289]The live in a world of fantasy...the can't distinguish what they hope for from what will happen. Obama has real soldiers! They will come when called upon because the alternative is to be ruled by the [B]disingenuous and incompetent GOP[/B].


I am a ready and willing soldier...it will be a glorious victory...let's get it![/quote]

The GOP does not hold a monopoly on that.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=firstdown;815434]I said last election not last presidental election. He tried his hardest to get out the vote and it did not work. I actually think the next election will come down to which party the American people are pissed at the least. Right now if I could I'd vote them all out of office. I think we could gettogether and do a better job then these a$$ wipes.[/quote]

I agree with the sentiments that both parties are to blame, really they both suck imo.

but i believe that while there are more registered democrats than republicans, republicans tend to turn out and vote any chance they get while a significant portion of democrat voters only turn out for the big presendential elections (hard to get college kids, 20 somethings to bother to vote). i know i do. so i personally dont put much stock in what off year elections results show as a prediction for the voter turnout for presendential elections.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

Consumer confidence at a 2yr low...

[url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/43942957]News Headlines[/url]

And Apple now has just about as much operating money as the USA. That's scary.

[url=http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-has-more-cash-on-hand-than-the-us-government-2011-7]Apple Now Has More Cash Than The U.S. Government[/url]

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

Obama takes it to Twitter.... and loses of 40,000 followers in one day. LOL!

[URL="http://www.nydailynews.com/tech_guide/2011/07/29/2011-07-29_bams_spam_president_barack_obama_takes_debt_battle_to_twitter_loses_more_than_20.html"]President Barack Obama takes debt battle to Twitter, loses more than 40,000 followers in one day[/URL]

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=GMScud;816602]Obama takes it to Twitter.... and loses of 40,000 followers in one day. LOL!

[URL="http://www.nydailynews.com/tech_guide/2011/07/29/2011-07-29_bams_spam_president_barack_obama_takes_debt_battle_to_twitter_loses_more_than_20.html"]President Barack Obama takes debt battle to Twitter, loses more than 40,000 followers in one day[/URL][/quote]

LOL...I must say losing 0.004% of his followers in one day is pretty alarming. I hope he stops spamming people real soon or it could get really ugly for him.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

Oh Lord. Someone wake me up when this circus is over.

[url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2011/jul/30/democrats-enforce-filibuster-against-own-debt-bill/]Democrats enforce filibuster against their own debt bill - Washington Times[/url]

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fsG4jLBmrs]‪Marco Rubio Says "Save The Country" & John Kerry Questions him‬‏ - YouTube[/url]

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

Debt ceiling raised... Masterful political theater. Bravo!

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-debt-ceiling-deal-winners-and-losers/2011/07/31/gIQAHl7FmI_story.html]The debt-ceiling deal: Winners and losers - The Washington Post[/url]

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

Sounds like a pretty crappy deal to me. They are looking at cutting a trillion over the next ten years. Wow that will not help very much. So they are saying they will cut 1 trillion fro the next 10 yrs 38 trillion budget. Thats using 3.8 trillion per year X 10. That also asumes they don't increase the budget and it stays flat for 10 yrs. We know that cannot happen because of Obama care. The winners are no one.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=firstdown;817756]Sounds like a pretty crappy deal to me. They are looking at cutting a trillion over the next ten years. Wow that will not help very much. So they are saying they will cut 1 trillion fro the next 10 yrs 38 trillion budget. Thats using 3.8 trillion per year X 10. That also asumes they don't increase the budget and it stays flat for 10 yrs. We know that cannot happen because of Obama care. [B]The winners are no one[/B].[/quote]

Some say that's the sign of a good deal -- but in response to the thread question: Is it just me who thinks it's shameful that things like medicare, medicaid, pell grants for students, environmental protection money are going to get slashed but there is no mention of the massive kickbacks oil companies get (ExxonMobil: $20 billion over 5 years), corporations offshoring profits to avoid paying taxes on them, and tax loopholes which help companies like GE pay $0 in federal taxes this past year ([url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/general-electric-paid-federal-taxes-2010/story?id=13224558]General Electric Paid No Federal Taxes in 2010 - ABC News[/url]).

Simplify the tax code so there are no loopholes, stop giving kickbacks to companies making massive profits, and just collect taxes that corporations should be paying (not the average guy on the street) -- New Jersey got something like $700 million on delinquent taxes alone when they said people could pay rather than be audited. It seems so simple!!

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

Umm, they dont work for you...they work for people with money and lobbyists.

Re: How would you fix the economy and budget issues?
 

[quote=rbanerjee23;818871]Some say that's the sign of a good deal -- but in response to the thread question: Is it just me who thinks it's shameful that things like medicare, medicaid, pell grants for students, environmental protection money are going to get slashed but there is no mention of the massive kickbacks oil companies get (ExxonMobil: $20 billion over 5 years), corporations offshoring profits to avoid paying taxes on them, and tax loopholes which help companies like GE pay $0 in federal taxes this past year ([URL="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/general-electric-paid-federal-taxes-2010/story?id=13224558"]General Electric Paid No Federal Taxes in 2010 - ABC News[/URL]).

Simplify the tax code so there are no loopholes, stop giving kickbacks to companies making massive profits, and just collect taxes that corporations should be paying (not the average guy on the street) -- New Jersey got something like $700 million on delinquent taxes alone when they said people could pay rather than be audited. It seems so simple!![/quote]


[IMG]http://a.abcnews.com/images/WN/gty_jeffrey_immelt_jp_110325_wg.jpg[/IMG]

When GE is such a buddy of Obama you really need to ask that question. That's GE's CEO beside Obama.

Ok so I went to see who has made the biggest donations to Obama and I have to ask why so many Universities are at the top of his list and why are they donating so many funds in the first place?


University of California $1,642,735[URL="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000085"][COLOR=#0066cc]Goldman Sachs [/COLOR][/URL]$1,012,841Harvard University $862,604[URL="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000115"][COLOR=#0066cc]Microsoft Corp [/COLOR][/URL]$852,167Google Inc $814,540[URL="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000103"][COLOR=#0066cc]JPMorgan Chase & Co [/COLOR][/URL]$807,799[URL="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000071"][COLOR=#0066cc]Citigroup Inc [/COLOR][/URL]$736,771[URL="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000094"][COLOR=#0066cc]Time Warner [/COLOR][/URL]$623,118Sidley Austin LLP $600,298Stanford University $595,716National Amusements Inc $563,548WilmerHale Llp $549,918[URL="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000243"][COLOR=#0066cc]Skadden, Arps et al [/COLOR][/URL]$543,539Columbia University $536,202[URL="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000020995"][COLOR=#0066cc]UBS AG [/COLOR][/URL]$532,674IBM Corp $532,372[URL="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000125"][COLOR=#0066cc]General Electric [/COLOR][/URL]$528,180US Government $517,908[URL="http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000106"][COLOR=#0066cc]Morgan Stanley [/COLOR][/URL]$512,232Latham & Watkins $502,045