At a time when President Obama is doing several fundraisers each week, CBS decides to go to a weekend retreat the GOP put together with high-rolling donors and lobbyists for GOP freshmen. The exclusive getaway included golf, fishing, and numerous dinners at the Ocean Reef Club Resort in Key Largo, FL. Tickets to events cost upwards of $10,000 apiece and guaranteed you face-time with 12 freshmen Congressmen and two veteran Congressmen. One of the veteran Congressmen at the retreat was Alabama Representative Spencer Bachus. Breitbart.com has done extensive research on Congressman Bachus, and he is now under investigation for congressional insider trading.
The optics of a gathering like this is beyond pitiful, and Republicans are never, ever held to the same standard as the President when it comes to events such as these. The President can hold an event that costs $35,000 a ticket and speak at a college the next day, and the media will still consider him to be the blue-collar man of the people. What is even worse is that nine of the GOP Congressmen at this event also sit on a committee that regulates banks, CBS reports.
CBS spoke to Paul Lindsey of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and he argued that these types of events are necessary to compete with the fundraising machine of the Democratic party. The “fundraiser in chief,” as CBS called President Obama, is only just beginning his fundraising ventures. Yet, why is the GOP the target of undercover exposés and not the President? CBS was very interested in who handled this GOP retreat event and asked a very relevant question: “What are donors [or lobbyists] getting out of this?” That is an excellent question, and it’s one that the media has never asked about the donors attending a high-priced Obama fundraiser. Sure, the star power of a picture with the President is alluring, but is a picture with the President worth $35,000? Also, when was the media ever interested in who was attending Obama’s fundraisers? We’ve seen reports of “Hollywood” fundraisers with some A-list stars, but that just shows the President is popular. Who else is attending these fundraisers? And why doesn’t the media care?
While the optics of this type of GOP event is bad, CBS exposed an even greater problem — the media. They aren’t interested in going undercover to see what happens in an Obama fundraiser; they aren’t interested in making this election about the President. The media has one goal: deflect attention from the “fundraiser in chief” and put it on Republicans, even if they’re engaging in the exact same tactics as the President.
This wasn’t a bad story by CBS; it was a good piece, and they asked excellent questions. Unfortunately, because they and the rest of the media have been unwilling to ask the same questions or use the same tactics against the President and the Democrats, it shows the blatant double-standard that is applied to Republicans by the media.