Obama’s Campaign Finance Rhetoric is Misleading

Actions will always speak louder than words. For instance, President Barack Obama preaching a minimal role for corporations in funding campaigns isn’t ethical when in fact he himself was a major recipient of corporate funds leading up to his presidential election in 2008. In fact, according to The Washington Examiner,

Obama’s $995,000 from employees and executives at investment bank giant Goldman Sachs is the most a politician has raised from a single company since the 2001 campaign finance reform law.

Interestingly enough, President Obama raised $14.8 million from Wall Street, which The Washington Examiner reports as, “more than any politician in history.” Clearly, President Obama has not practiced what he’s preached with regard to campaign finance.

These financial details were revealed on account of Obama’s recent comments regarding the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission from last week. The Washington Examiner reports that Obama stated the following:

I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests.

In addition to the exorbitant contributions which Obama received from the financial sector, Obama’s campaign also received $1.4 million from the health insurance industry and $2.1 million from the pharmaceutical industry. If investment banks, health insurers, and pharmaceutical companies don’t in fact represent “America’s most powerful interests,” then I’m not quite sure who does.

Once again, it’s important to remember that actions speak louder than words. In this case, Obama’s actions clearly outweigh his recent commentary on our country’s new campaign finance law.