Obama’s Chicago Way Cooks Up a San Francisco Treat
As Solyndra Probe Widens, White House Funnels More Taxpayer Money to Pelosi-Affiliated and “Green” Allies
- As Obama’s Department of Energy rushes to approve more Solyndra-like loans, new reports suggest that it may have made another Solyndra-like venture into crony capitalism by offering a $737 million loan guarantee to SolarReserve, a company backed by Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi’s brother-in-law and major Democratic contributors that also invested in Solyndra. SolarReserve’s top lobbyist is also deeply tied to the Obama White House.
- This questionable decision is par for the course for an Obama administration that continued lending money to Solyndra even as concerns about the company grew. Time and again, Democrats’ response to the failure of their policies has been to double down with more of the same.
- Sadly, it seems this time is no different. DOE is apparently rushing to offer billions of dollars in other loans before the deadline to disburse those stimulus funds this Friday. Have Democrats learned nothing from their Solyndra fiasco?
BACKGROUND
As Obama’s Department of Energy rushes to approve more Solyndra-like loans, new reports suggest that it may have made another Solyndra-like venture into crony capitalism by offering a $737 million loan guarantee to SolarReserve, a company backed by Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi’s brother-in-law and major Democratic contributors that also invested in Solyndra:
OBAMA’S DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GIVES $737 MILLION IN TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO SOLAR COMPANY: “Despite the growing Solyndra scandal, yesterday the Department of Energy approved $1 billion in new loans to green energy companies — including a $737 million loan guarantee to a company known as SolarReserve…” (Mark Hemingway, “Crony Capitalism: $737 Million Green Jobs Loan Given to Nancy Pelosi’s Brother-in-Law,” The Weekly Standard, 9/29/2011)
THE PELOSI CONNECTION:
NANCY PELOSI’S BROTHER-IN-LAW IS A MAJOR INVESTOR: “On SolarReserve’s website is a list of ‘investment partners,’ including the ‘PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund (East) LLC.’ As blogger American Glob quickly discovered, PCG’s number two is none other than ‘Ronald Pelosi, a San Francisco political insider and financial industry polymath who happens to be the brother-in-law of Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives.” (Mark Hemingway, “Crony Capitalism: $737 Million Green Jobs Loan Given to Nancy Pelosi’s Brother-in-Law,” The Weekly Standard, 9/29/2011)
RONALD PELOSI AND NANCY PELOSI ARE PART OF “TIGHTKNIT POWER WEB” THAT IS SAN FRANCISCO’S “UPPER CRUST”: “A permanent overclass supports a well-attended opera, countless museums and other cultural amenities and also provides, for better or worse, civic and political continuity.
“The recent death of cultural doyenne Belinda Barbara Newsom provided a peek into that tightly knit world. She was the aunt of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, but also the former wife of Ronald Pelosi, a former city supervisor and brother-in-law of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.” (Dan Walters, “S.F.’s Upper Crust Is a Tightknit Power Web,”Fresno Bee, 11/28/2008)
THE ARGONAUT-KAISER CONNECTION:
OTHER INVESTORS INCLUDE ARGONAUT PRIVATE EQUITY, WHICH ALSO INVESTED IN… YOU GUESSED IT: SOLYNDRA: “Steve Mitchell and Argonaut Private Equity might have a chance to recoup some of their losses in the Solyndra debacle now that the Department of Energy has given as $737 million loan guarantee to a company backed by Argonaut that also lists Mitchell as a ‘board participant.'” (Joel Gehrke, “Solyndra Director Tied to $737 million Loan Guarantee,” The Washington Examiner, 9/28/2011)
ARGONAUT IS ALSO TIED TO OBAMA DONOR GEORGE KAISER: “According to Solar Reserve’s website, one of its investors is Argonaut Private Equity, which also backed the Solyndra deal. Argonaut is an investment arm of the family foundation of George Kaiser, a political supporter of President Barack Obama. In the past, administration officials have denied that Mr. Kaiser’s connection to the White House played any role in the Solyndra deal.” (Ryan Tracy, “Two Solar Plants Get Loan Guarantees,” The Wall Street Journal,9/29/2011)
STARTING TO SEE A TREND…
“MORE SOLAR COMPANIES LED BY DEMOCRATIC DONORS RECEIVED FEDERAL LOAN GUARANTEES”: “A Daily Caller investigation has found that in addition to the failed company Solyndra, at least four other solar panel manufacturing companies receiving in excess of $500 million in loan guarantees from the Obama administration employ executives or board members who have donated large sums of money to Democratic campaigns.
“And as questions swirl around possible connections between political donations and these preferential financing arrangements, the Obama White House suddenly began deflecting The Daily Caller’s questions on Wednesday to the Democratic National Committee.” (John Rossomondo, “More Solar Companies Led by Democratic Donors Received Federal Loan Guarantees,” The Daily Caller, 9/29/2011)
OBAMA ABOUT TO HOLD A FUNDRAISER WITH MISSOURI POLITICO TOM CARNAHAN, ALSO A WIND FARM OBAMA TAX CREDIT BENEFICIARY: “Carnahan, a member of the prominent Missouri Democratic family, has been tapped by the Obama campaign as its chief Missouri fundraiser. He is chairman of the board of Wind Capital Group, a wind energy company that makes it[s] corporate headquarters in St. Louis. He formerly was president and CEO of the company.
“Last year, Wind Capital’s Lost Creek Farm facility in northwest Missouri received a $107 million tax credit from the Treasury Department, among many such wind operations receiving support from stimulus funds.” (Bill Lambrecht, “Obama to Raise Money at Tom Carnahan’s St. Louis Home,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/23/2011)
THE REVOLVING GREEN DOOR: “OBAMA FUNDRAISERS TIED TO GREEN FIRMS THAT GOT FEDERAL CASH”: “Several of Barack Obama’s top campaign supporters went from soliciting political contributions to working from within the Energy Department as it showered billions in taxpayer-backed stimulus money on alternative energy firms, ABC News and iWatch News have learned.
“One of them was Steven J. Spinner, a high-tech consultant and energy investor who raised at least $500,000 for the candidate. He became one of Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s key loan program advisors while his wife’s law firm represented a number of companies that had applied for loans.” (Matthew Mosk and Ronnie Greene, “Obama Fundraisers Tied to Green Firms that Got Federal Cash,” ABC News, 9/29/2011)
SolarReserve may have enjoyed special access in positioning itself for a loan guarantee, given its extensive connections to the White House. The company’s top lobbyist is Tony Podesta, confidante of Nancy Pelosi and brother of John Podesta—himself head of the Center for American progress and the leader of Obama’s transition team:
TONY PODESTA IS A LOBBYIST FOR SOLARRESERVE: (Lobbying Report, Registrant Name: Podesta Group, Inc., Client Name: SolarReserve, Q2 2011, filed 7/20/2011)
PELOSI IS A CLOSE FRIEND OF THE PODESTAS, ATTENDED TONY’S 65TH BIRTHDAY BASH: “Spotted Friday night at lobbyist Tony Podesta’s 65th birthday party inside the National Museum of Women in the Arts museum … Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with husband Paul Pelosi …” (Kiki Ryan, “Tony Podesta Celebrates 65thBirthday,” Politico, 10/24/2009)
TONY PODESTA IS JOHN PODESTA’S BROTHER: “In addition, in 1988, [John] Podesta founded with his brother Tony, Podesta Associates, Inc., a Washington, D.C. government relations and public affairs firm.” (“Arena Profile: John Podesta,” Politico.com, accessed 9/29/2011)
JOHN PODESTA IS THE CEO OF THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS:(“John Podesta,” Center for American Progress Web site, americanprogress.org, accessed 9/29/2011)
JOHN PODESTA LED OBAMA’S TRANSITION TEAM: “Obama asked Podesta last summer to lead the transition after Sen. Hillary Clinton withdrew from the race, but long before Obama was elected president.” (Lois Romano, “John Podesta Leads Obama’s Transition Team with His Usual Energy,” The Washington Post, 11/25/2008)
PODESTA “A KEY POLITICAL ALLY” FOR OBAMA: “President Barack Obama is nominating John Podesta, a key political ally, to serve on the board that helps set policies and direction for the government’s national service agency, the White House announced Thursday.” (Ann Sanner, “Podesta Among Obama’s Picks for Service Board,” Associated Press, 6/24/2010)
This questionable decision is par for the course for an Obama administration that continued lending money to Solyndra even as concerns about the company grew. Time and again, Democrats’ response to the failure of their policies has been to double down with more of the same:
SOLYNDRA “VIOLATED LOAN TERMS IN 2010 BUT GOT MORE FEDERAL MONEY” ANYWAY: “The U.S. Department of Energy learned in December that Solyndra was violating its federal loan deal, but the agency changed the loan terms to allow the solar company to continue receiving taxpayer funds, federal officials confirmed Wednesday.” (Carol Leonig, “Solyndra Violated Loan Terms in 2010 But Got More Federal Money, DOE Confirms,” The Washington Post, 9/28/2011)
DOE AGREED TO CHANGE LOAN TERMS FOR SOLYNDRA TO HELP THEM KEEP RECEIVING FUNDS: “Energy Department spokesman Damien LaVera confirmed Wednesday that the agency knew Solyndra had violated the loan terms but agreed to change the requirement to help Solyndra. The agency originally required that Solyndra make six installments of $5 million each, starting in December, to create a $30 million cash cushion for problems.” (Carol Leonig, “Solyndra Violated Loan Terms in 2010 But Got More Federal Money, DOE Confirms,” The Washington Post, 9/28/2011)
OBAMA WAS LONG AWARE OF SOLNDRYA’S FINANCIAL TROUBLES, BUT THAT DIDN’T STOP HIM FROM CHEERLEADING WITH TAXPAYER MONEY. “Long before the politically connected California solar firm Solyndra went bankrupt, President Obama was warned by his top economic advisors about the financial and political risks of the Energy Department loan guarantee program that boosted the company’s rapid ascent.” (Tom Hamburger, Kim Geiger and Matea Gold, “Obama Advisors Raised Warning Flags Before Solyndra Bankruptcy,” Los Angeles Times, 9/26/2011)
Sadly, it seems this time is no different. DOE is apparently rushing to offer billions of dollars in other loans before the deadline to disburse those stimulus funds this Friday. Have Democrats learned nothing from their Solyndra fiasco?:
DÉJÀ VU? OBAMA’S DEPT. OF ENERGY IS RUSHING TO APPROVE MORE SOLYNDRA-LIKE LOANS: “If you thought the $535 million Solyndra scandal had chastened the fearless venture capitalists of the Obama Administration, think again.The Department of Energy shovelled out $1.1 billion in new loan guarantees to solar projects in Nevada and Arizona Wednesday, and more deals are pending before the $18 billion program funded by the 2009 stimulus expires Friday. (Editorial, “What Solyndra Fiasco?”, The Wall Street Journal, 9/29/2011)
ENERGY SECRETARY STEPHEN CHU DOUBLES DOWN: “Yet the Department of Energy seems oddly removed from the uproar. In a statement yesterday, Secretary Steven Chu said: ‘If we want to be a player in the global clean energy race, we must continue to invest in innovative technologies that enable commercial-scale deployment of clean, renewable power like solar.’ Translation: China is throwing taxpayer money into solar, so Americans should, too.” (Editorial, “What Solyndra Fiasco?”,The Wall Street Journal, 9/29/2011)
WSJ: THE “RUSH RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW CAREFULLY THESE OUTLAYS ARE BEING VETTED”: “We’ll go out on a limb and say the rush raises questions about how carefully these outlays are being vetted, especially in light of solar-panel-maker Solyndra’s August bankruptcy. The FBI, Treasury Department and Congress are all investigating who approved the politically connected California company’s loan guarantee and why. The case is an embarrassment for the White House, which touted Solyndra as a model for its green jobs agenda.” (Editorial, “What Solyndra Fiasco?”,The Wall Street Journal, 9/29/2011)