Extra security guards at the Nashville anti-Muslim conference equipped with handguns.

We were hoping to speak again with Gaffney at the “Preserving Freedom Conference” in Nashville, Tennessee, a gathering of other opponents of Islam, last Friday. Initially, Gaffney agreed to speak to us and said he would grant an interview after his book signing.

As we waited, several security personnel hovered around. When he finished signing the last book, Gaffney promptly stood up, and walked out of the conference, refusing to make eye-contact with us. Five security guards, all wearing bullet-proof vests under their suits, quickly surrounded Gaffney and physically blocked us from approaching him. We followed him into the parking lot to ask if had forgotten about us, but Gaffney refused to acknowledge our presence. Instead, one of the conference’s burly security men moved to ensure we couldn’t come within several yards of the neoconservative activist. After a few minutes of confusion, we turned on our camera to try to record what was going on. And just before he got into his car, Gaffney responded, “I gotta go”:

FANG: Uh, Undersecretary Gaffney, you said you’d give us a few comments after the event?

CLIFTON: Undersecretary, you have two minutes?

GAFFNEY: I gotta go.

FANG: Any reason you have five security guards protecting you here? We’ve interviewed you in the past!

Watch it:

Gaffney’s retreat from ThinkProgress seemed bizarre, but similar hostility was evident throughout the conference. Lou Ann Zelnick, a failed congressional candidate and activist involved in protesting the construction of a mosque in nearby Murfreesboro, yelled at us without provocation.

Later in the evening, towards the end of the conference, we encountered three additional security guards. The new guards, who paced near us at times, had handguns displayed in their holsters.

Unannounced Romney adviser Gabriel Schoenfeld

Gabriel Schoenfeld’s exact role with the Romney campaign remains unclear. He does not appear in campaign literature, and a search of Romney’s campaign website for Schoenfeld’s last name turns up nothing. Reached by phone at home in New York and asked by ThinkProgress what he did with Romney’s campaign, Schoenfeld replied: “I don’t think I want to speak with you. Thank you very much for your call.” The line then went dead. The Romney campaign did not return requests for information before press time.

Schoenfeld, who contributes to the Weekly Standard and the Wall Street Journal opinion page, was a senior editor at the neoconservative flagship magazine Commentary before moving to the Hudson Institute, a think tank associated with the movement. (Schoenfeld also held a fellowship with the conservative Witherspoon Institute.) At Hudson’s website, Schoenfeld is listed as a “Senior Fellow on Leave.” In response to an inquiry, the communications department at Hudson confirmed that Schoenfeld took leave on July 15 and “left to work full time for the Romney for President Campaign.”

A website formerly associated with George Washington University that tracks campaign information lists Schoenfeld as a “senior adviser” with the Romney campaign since July. A Federal Election Commission (FEC) October 2011 quarterly report lists Schoenfeld as having been paid $29,745.99 by Romney for President.

The full-time gig is not Schoenfeld’s first for Romney: FEC filings also show that Schoenfeld was paid a total of $27,625 over six disbursements by Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC during January, February and March of 2011 (about the same rate he is being paid per quarter now, as a full-time staffer who has left the non-partisan Hudson Institute). The FEC forms list Schoenfeld’s work as being for “communications consulting for PAC.”

His Hudson Institute biography records his areas of specialty as intelligence, national security, homeland security, terrorism and news media. Schoenfeld’s latest book, “Necessary Secrets: National Security, the Media, and the Rule of Law,” exemplifies a running theme in his work: that government secrecy is sacrosanct and all whistle-blowers and journalists who reveal them should be prosecuted. His frequent calls rest on the principle of “uphold(ing) the rule of law,” as when he called for a New York Times journalist to be jailed for revealing C.I.A. programs. But that notion of “rule of law” can be sacrificed when it comes to, say, launching covert wars against Iran. Schoenfeld wrote in 2009:

Such covert action is indeed illegal. But legality is beside the point. Espionage is by definition illegal and yet all countries engage in it….

Yet how much better off both Iran and the world would be if the CIA, operating covertly through local friendly forces, could have helped…

In another column, Schoenfeld accused scholars Steve Walt and John Mearsheimer and former President Jimmy Carter of being “yes-men” for the late terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden, labeling their advocacy for ending the Afghanistan war as “alarming overlap of some voices here at home and those of the very forces we’re fighting.”

Occupy Nashville

Occupy Nashville became the center of controversy several weeks ago, when Gov. Bill Haslam (R-TN) sent his state troops to arrest the protesters during midnight raids. A recent investigation by the Tennessean, a statewide paper, found that troopers had infiltrated the movement in an attempt to discredit it. One occupier we spoke to said that for a short period, it appeared that police had encouraged troublemakers to find their way to the camp, a tactic police departments are accused of in cities across the country.

The diverse group we encountered on that night in Nashville included retirees, unemployed college graduates, students, and local activists. One regular Occupy Nashville member, named Michael Custer, said that despite the media frenzy around the belligerent police actions, his group has tried to lead the country in its moral interactions with law enforcement. Custer explained that he viewed any aggression, even shouting insults at police officers, as a form of violence that he condemns. Every protester should welcome the police with open arms, recognize that they too are part of the 99 Percent Movement, and be as respectful as possible while being arrested. Just as Martin Luther King pioneered his nonviolent tactics in places like Nashville, Custer said he hoped to inspire a new form of police interaction for other demonstrations taking place in major American cities:

FANG: What inspired you? You tell me.

CUSTER: Well, knowing that no matter which of the two parties one might vote for, they’re sponsored by the same corporations. [...] Nashville is also one of the incubation places for Dr. King’s civil rights tactics. Nashville is also one of the first places there was sit-ins at lunch counters and the non-violent struggle was introduced to the world, here in the United States.

FANG: And you see a parallel here with the struggle from back then?

CUSTER: Well I see the interaction of the police and our group compared to dozens of others from around the country. We knew the police were coming, and we prepared ourselves to be arrested. As Martin Luther King, and I’m paraphrasing, I believe said something to the effect of, if you’re not willing to be arrested for your principles then maybe you have no principles at all. We decided to present ourselves for arrest and avoid all the hassle of truncheons and tear gas and mace. They don’t have enough jail cells for all of us. [looking to the camera] CCA, you don’t have enough!

View a short video of ThinkProgress’ interviews with Occupy Nashville protesters here:

A recent public records request of email to Tennessee’s governor shows that of 400 e-mails sent by the public about his actions against the protesters, only 11 supported his policy of arresting demonstrators.

Newt Gingrich

GINGRICH: We do no lobbying. We look at what they do. We offer them advice. We help them think through their problems, and they’ve got lots of different problems depending on what kind of company there are.

Listen here:

To help clear the record, ThinkProgress has compiled a short history of Gingrich’s influence peddling:

– Helping To Secure Health IT Earmarks For GE, Microsoft, IBM: Gingrich headed a for-profit health care consulting firm that engages in activities identical in nature to lobbying. As Business Week reported, firms like GE have hired Gingrich to figure out “on how to grab some of the $19.6 billion in federal stimulus money” on healthcare IT grants. A follow-up ThinkProgress investigation found that Gingrich had been paid to bring health IT lobbyists together with lawmakers like Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

– The Ethanol Lobby’s “Consulting” Contract With Gingrich: Growth Industry, the trade association for the ethanol energy lobby, provided a $312,500 contract to Gingrich’s consulting firm in 2009, according to a report by iWatch News. An association publication conceded that Gingrich was paid for “strategy and communication issues.” The retainer allowed the lobby group, then pressing for further government subsidies, to use Gingrich to “speak positively on ethanol related topics to media.”

– Gingrich Lobbied To Deregulate Insurers, While Accepting Hundreds Of Thousands From Health Insurance Corporations: Through his for-profit healthcare consulting firm, Gingrich accepted up to $200,000 in annual fees from insurers like WellPoint and UnitedHealth. As ThinkProgress reported, Gingrich not only pushed anti-health reform conspiracies like the infamous “death panel” smear, but he also crafted model legislation that formed the basis of GOP deregulatory proposals for health insurers. In March 2009, Gingrich met with Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) and other members of the GOP Doctors Caucus to help write conservative health reform alternative legislation. “Gingrich provided us with great insight as we work to craft health care solutions for the 21st Century,” proclaimed Gingrey after the meeting. Gingrich also wrote healthcare legislation introduced by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA), and “consulted” with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) on health reform legislation that would deregulate the insurance industry. During this blitz of what many would consider lobbying-like activity, the BlueCross & BlueShield Association and AHIP, the umbrella lobbying group for the health insurance industry, paid Gingrich fees as well.

– “Sharing Resources” With The Oil Industry’s Top Lobbyists: In February of last year, ThinkProgress spoke to a public relations executive close to the oil industry who said that Gingrich’s political attack group, called ASWF, had been “sharing resources, coordinating efforts” with the American Petroleum Institute (API), the main oil lobby association. In an interview later with ThinkProgress, Gingrich confirmed that he had been working closely with API.

– Gingrich Sells His “Strategic Advice” To Lobbying Giants Like The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce: James Oliphant reported on the latest controversy over Gingrich’s lobbying for Freddie Mac, noting that Gingrich’s firm has also been paid by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the mega-corporate lobbying coalition, for “strategic advice.”

Gingrich may defend his unregistered lobbying by claiming that he does not meet the legal threshold in terms of legislator contact. However, news reports have painted a picture of Gingrich as constantly in communication with lawmakers and other public officials. According to the New York Times, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has been known to discuss strategy on a “regular basis” with Gingrich. The Hill reported that Gingrich attended whip meetings with the GOP caucus to “educate” rank and file Republican lawmakers on the health reform debate. And as a separate piece from the Times noted, Gingrich fires off what have become known as “Newtgrams” — personal e-mails and messages with tactical advice — frequently to Republican legislators in both the House and Senate.

ThinkProgress once asked Gingrich why he never registered as a lobbyist, despite his clear history of pressing Congress on behalf of his clients. Gingrich defended his actions by stating that his lobbying is not technically lobbying because it “benefits the country at large.”

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) next to Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL)

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), a co-chair of the congressional supercommittee tasked with crafting a $1.5 trillion deficit reduction package, suggested that he would reject “any penny” of further tax increases in the deal currently being negotiated. Republicans on the committee so far have only offered $300 billion in revenue-increases in the form of eliminating tax deductions. Even with revenues at a 60 year low, Hensarling, who was speaking with CNBC’s Larry Kudlow, bristled at increasing static revenues (meaning he only wants revenue increases that come due to economic expansion):

HENSARLING: But listen, any penny of increased static revenue is a step in the wrong direction. We can only balance that with pro-growth reforms, and frankly the Democrats have never agreed to that. So I don’t know how many times I can tell you, that agreement’s not going to happen.

KUDLOW: I appreciate the honesty.

Watch it:

Despite new reports showing how the government subsidizes the rich, Hensarling makes clear that he would oppose efforts to close loopholes in the tax code or raise tax rates on billionaires as part of a deficit reduction package. Bloomberg News reported today that Democrats on the committee are already scaling back their revenue demands.

84 year old activist Dorli Rainey after being hit by police mace

Watch a local news segment about the incident below:

The 19-year-old woman, who said she is three months pregnant, was among several who were treated by paramedics on the scene.

Police have not apologized for their actions. “Pepper spray was deployed only against subjects who were either refusing a lawful order to disperse or engaging in assaultive behavior toward officers,” responded Seattle police spokesman the department’s blog.

YouTube user cmcneary100 posted a video showing the chaotic scene shortly after the pepper spray attack:

Screenshot from video of police beating peaceful OccupyCal students and activists

One of the students hit by the police in the now infamous YouTube video, Honest Chung, addressed a crowd of well over a thousand people around 2:30pm PST. Chung explained the movement’s grievances, and said that the UC Regents, the governing body for the university system, had ordered the crack down. He also noted that several of the UC Regents retain positions at major banks, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo. The arrangement, Chung said, not only symbolized the larger problems of economic inequality and bank power over society, but places the UC Regents in a position to profit from student debt.

Watch a video of Chung’s speech and his comments to ThinkProgress below:

Because corporate-friendly Republicans blocked Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D-CA) initial budget, cuts have are yet again looming over California’s higher education system. UC Regents have debated whether to institute higher fees, tuition hikes, or larger cuts — while protesters have noted that several of the UC Regents benefit from student debt. As the San Francisco Chronicle has reported, “four regents have such ties, they said: Monica Lozano serves on the board of Bank of America, Dick Blum is head of Blum Capital Partners, Leslie Tang Schilling is an adviser at the Union Square Investment Company and Paul Wachter is CEO of Main Street Advisors.”

ThinkProgress’ Eli Clifton asked Womick why no one at the conference had acknowledged Anders Breivik, the shooter in Norway who killed dozens of innocent people because of his fears of Muslim immigration and of policies he believed were too tolerant of Islam. Womick shot back that Muslims had executed innocent Americans, and then explained that we could never compare Islam with acts by people like Breivik, an outspoken Christian, because Allah is “a false God”:

WOMICK: Now you explain to me the more radical point. We have a whole culture who outright comes out and says, ‘we are authorized, we are commanded by a God, a false God, to kill everyone who won’t convert.’ Versus one nutjob over in Norway –

CLIFTON: Sorry, you said Allah is a false God?

WOMICH: Yep, absolutely. Absolutely he’s a false God. There’s only one God: Jehovah. And the son, Christ Jesus who died on the Cross. Now because I believe that, I have a Fatwa on my head. I will never convert to Islam. Allah is not a real God.

Watch it:

Womick also expressed various conspiracy theories during his interview with ThinkProgress. At one point, he told us about a multi-decade plan by Iranians to take over the world using Muslim immigration to the West. Womick said the “population jihad” has allowed Muslims to overtake much of Europe already, and implement Sharia law in parts of England. Watch it:

Since we published our first excerpts from the video, a host of civil rights groups have called on Womick to apologize for his remarks about purging Muslims from the military. Instead, he has doubled down. Gov. Bill Haslam (R-TN) has also refused to rebuke Womick.

Livestream image of New York Police destroying the Occupy Wall Street tents and belongings

A livestream of the events has cut in and out, showing a confused scene of protesters huddling and debating what to do. ThinkProgress captured part of the video, which reveals a frantic scene of Occupy Wall Street protesters calling for people to stay calm. View it here:

Other news reports claim that mayors in several large cities have discussed clearing Occupy Wall Street solidarity encampments in a coordinated fashion.

According to the BBC, Mayor Bloomberg’s office “said on Twitter that the protesters should ‘temporarily leave and remove tents and tarps’ but could return once the park was clear.” Several protesters have claimed that police are systematically destroying any personal property found in Zuccotti Park. Bloomberg has expressed disdain for the movement, and has sought ways to remove the protesters from the park in past weeks.

There are conflicting reports about what exactly is going on at the park. There are some reports that police are using excessive force. Writer Melissa Gira Grant tweeted: “Reporter on WBAI asking officer why he can’t observe, cites NY state law permitting journalists w/ 3 feet distance. Was pushed by cop.”

State Rep. Rick Womick (R-TN) speaks to ThinkProgress at an anti-Muslim conference in Tennessee

In the interview, which took place on Veterans Day, Womick told ThinkProgress that “I don’t trust one Muslim in our military” and “if they truly are a devout Muslims, and follow the Quran and the Sunnah, then I feel threatened because they’re commanded to kill me.” When asked if Muslims should be forced out of the military, Womick responded “Absolutely, yeah.” Read the exchange:

FANG: What about the thousands of Muslims that are still in the military that are veterans, that are translators, that are active personnel. Is there some sort of policy solution that you’re advocating? […]

WOMICK: Personally, I don’t trust one Muslim in our military because they’re commanded to lie to us through the term called Taqiyya. And if they truly are a devout Muslim, and follow the Quran and the Sunnah, then I feel threatened because they’re commanded to kill me.

CLIFTON: You believe they should be forced out?

WOMICK: Absolutely, yeah.

Watch it:

To see an extended version of our interview with Womick about Muslims in the military, click here.

Veterans protest with the 99 Percent near Wall Street

The signs of a veterans movement are everywhere, from new groups dedicated to supporting veterans in the occupy movement, to thousands of veterans showing up at street actions. And despite condescending rhetoric from the right-wing media, veterans have every reason to be there:

1.) Veterans Deserve Economic Justice: Thousands of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are finding a grim job market. Veterans who served since 9/11 experience a 12.1% unemployment rate, which is higher than the national average, while one in three male veterans are jobless. Recent reports have showed that the number of homeless veterans is surging, while there are insufficient job placement programs.

2.) Veterans Embrace Occupy Wall Street Out Of Love For Country: A growing number of veterans groups are enthusiastically embracing the movement. Although some are demonstrating against a terrible economic conditions, many are doing so out of simple patriotism. Thousands have marched near Zuccotti Park and at other occupy encampments with a message about taking their country back from the grip of lobbyists and predatory financial institutions. One iconic sign, held by a veteran at Occupy Wall Street, summed up the sentiment: “Second time I’ve fought for my country. First time I’ve known my enemy.”

3.) The Banks Are Preying On Veterans: Big banks have found ways to rip off and ruin the men and women who placed their lives on the line for this country. According to a recent whistleblower lawsuit, some of the nation’s biggest banks, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan Chase, “defrauded veterans and taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars by disguising illegal fees in veterans’ home refinancing loans.” Fly-by-night scam for-profit universities, many of which are owned by Wall Street investment banks, heavily target veterans with fraudulent educational programs. While military families struggle to get by all over the country, defense contractor CEO’s earn as much as $19 million a year.

4.) K Street Domination Of Government Means Defense Money Goes To War Profiteering Corporations Over Veterans: America spends more on the military than most of our rival nations combined. Yet much of that money, because of the influence of defense contractors and other private military interests, is spent on expensive weapons we never use instead of on rank and file soldiers. Revolving door lobbyists, who go from the Pentagon to K Street firms, have secured over a trillion in wasteful spending to companies like Lockheed Martin.

5.) During The Economic Downturn, Veterans Programs Are Being Cut And Privatized As Well: As Republicans and their allies have succeeded so far in pushing an austerity agenda of massive government cuts, veterans have also been targeted. According to a recent analysis by Military.com of a CBO study outlining suggested cuts, Congress is debating proposals to cap military basic pay and limiting veterans health benefits. Notably, the Defense Business Board is also considering a move to privatize the military pension program, swapping it out with a 401k system. If there is another crisis on Wall Street, veterans could lose see their retirement benefits wiped out if such a system is put in place.

In many cases, veterans have been the most visible victims of police brutality: like in Boston, where police violently raided a group of peaceful veterans occupying a city plaza, and in Oakland, where police fractured the skull of Scott Olson, an Iraq veteran, with a shot from a projectile aimed at protesters.

Occupy Wall Street solidarity protests will hold Veterans Day events to stand with veterans in cities across America, from Colorado Springs to San Diego, to Syracuse, to Chicago, to Denver, to Missoula, to Sacramento, to Gainesville, and beyond.

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) yells at a constituent

On Tuesday, ThinkProgress broke the story of Rep. Joe Walsh’s (R-IL) unhinged pro-Wall Street rant, in which he shook his finger and yelled “don’t blame the banks” at a couple of constituents earlier this week. The constituents asked simply why banks have so much political power, and have been able to place lobbyists at the highest level of government. Yesterday, Walsh said his rant was caused by an “empty stomach.”

WLS-TV, ABC News’ Chicago affiliate, spoke with Melissa Rakestraw, one of the constituents berated by the freshman congressman. Rakestraw, who asked several thoughtful questions about bank regulation, said she was insulted when Walsh wouldn’t stop yelling into her face, even as she responded at one point, “please don’t yell at me because I’m not yelling at you.” The most offensive part of Walsh’s rant, however, wasn’t even his hysterical defense of Wall Street and corporate lobbyists. Rakestraw, a post office worker, said she was taken aback when she asked Walsh about how to save jobs like her own. Walsh replied bluntly, “I don’t care about the loss of public sector jobs.” Watch the WLS-TV report below:

As brazen as Walsh appears on tape, yelling at the top of his lungs that banks and hedge funds had no active role in creating the financial crisis, he acted shamelessly in the past. Walsh has earned the moniker as “the deadbeat congressman” for his refusal to pay $117,000 in child support.

According to WLS-TV, Walsh reportedly apologized to Rakestraw, but did not back away from any of his political views. “When we talk about creating jobs in this country,” said Walsh, “we are not talking about government jobs, we are talking about private sector jobs. That was the point I was trying to get across.”

Levi Russell, Americans for Prosperity Director of Public Affairs, contributed to a blog post calling Lee a "liar." Russell, however, erroneously quoted the conversation and has refused to issue a correction.

Yesterday, Americans for Prosperity, the corporate front group founded and financed by the Koch Brothers, posted a blog post titled: “Lee Fang Lies.” The post, which was Tweeted and promoted by other conservative groups, accuses me of misrepresenting myself at the Americans for Prosperity Defending the Dream Summit last Friday. The allegations are all demonstrably false. I called AFP on the phone today to explain that their post was false and gave them an opportunity to retract it. The Americans for Prosperity’s Levi Russell, the press person involved in the smear, responded: “No, I’m not going to correct it.”

The Americans for Prosperity blog post claims that, in order to receive a press credential, I said that I was a student from California (view a copy of the post here):

Lee Fang, a blogger with “Think Progress,” lied to event organizers about his residency and status in an attempt to gain media access to the Defending the American Dream Summit, held this past weekend at the Washington Convention Center. Fang told Americans for Prosperity Foundation that he is a student “visiting from California,” who “had to fly home tomorrow” and had really hoped to cover the event.

However, Fang is listed as a “resident of Prince George’s County, Maryland” on his ThinkProgress author page. His wikipedia page says that he “attended college at the University of Maryland, College Park.” [...] Fang regularly impugns conservative authors as dishonest, yet characteristic of his reporting, his preferred tactic is dishonesty and lies.

I did say that I live in California, and that I was hoping to attend the conference before going home the next day. That is because I live in California and was traveling home that Saturday. Despite Americans for Prosperity’s best research efforts, I moved away from my native Prince George’s County several years ago, and relocated finally to northern California about seven months ago. The biography page cited by Americans for Prosperity is obviously out of date. Moreover, Americans for Prosperity never reached out for a clarification and, if they had looked past Wikipedia, I broadcast the fact that I now live in California on a regular basis when I appear on television and radio.

Unfortunately for Americans for Prosperity, I had been interviewing folks going into to the event on my way into the conference, and had a voice recorder still on in my pocket during the exchange with the group’s media staffers. The transcript of the entire conversation between myself, my ThinkProgress colleague Travis Waldron, and the Americans for Prosperity media staff is on tape, and clearly shows that I introduced myself as a ThinkProgress reporter, not a “student.” Click more at the bottom of the screen to read a transcript of the tape, or listen below here:

Contacted today, Americans for Prosperity public affairs director Levi Russell said he was responsible for the post because he “wanted to call you out.” Russell would not tell me the last name of the other Americans for Prosperity staffer I spoke to, who identified himself as Adam. Asked to issue a correction and apology for the smear, Russell said: “No, I’m not going to correct it.”

For a full transcript of our conversation with Americans for Prosperity, click more.

FANG: Over here. Media’s here. Hi!

AFP PRESS STAFFER (ADAM): Hi.

FANG: How you doing?

AFP PRESS STAFFER (ADAM): Good, you? [inaudible]

FANG: We e-mailed a couple of times, didn’t get a response back. But uh, we’re trying to cover this conference.

AFP PRESS STAFFER (ADAM): Where you from?

FANG: ThinkProgress.

AFP PRESS STAFFER (ADAM): ThinkProgress? Okay. Um, who’d you send it into?

FANG: The–

WALDRON: The media@…

FANG: AFPHQ–

WALDRON: And then I called [inaudible]

AFP PRESS STAFFER (Adam speaking to AFP’s public affairs director Levi Russell): Hey we got Lee and Travis from ThinkProgress. Did we get their…

RUSSELL: Um… did you guys send an e-mail registering?

WALDRON: Yeah, I sent an e-mail Tuesday and another one yesterday. And then I called [inaudible]

RUSSELL: Did you get a confirmation?

WALDRON: No, I didn’t. That’s why we’re here.

[sound of people next to us registering]

RUSSELL: Let me just look through what I’ve got.

FANG: Thanks, Levi.

RUSSELL: [inaudible] You submitted the e-mail?

WALDRON: I did. W-A-L-D-R-O-N. That’s my last name.

[sound of people next to us registering]

[Lee Fang chats with Evan McMorris-Santoro from Talking Points Memo]

RUSSELL: I do have an e-mail from Travis, I don’t see any requests from you.

FANG: I thought he did a +1 for me?

WALDRON: Because I asked for two–

RUSSELL: This ain’t the prom night. There are no +1′s. You gotta make your request just like everybody else.

FANG: Uh, do you think you can make any kind of accommodations?

RUSSELL: Well, I can’t find anything you sent in, but he sent it in. So I’m making an accommodation for Travis.

WALDRON: I made mine for both of us–

RUSSELL: You might have another person with you but there wasn’t any follow-up. This event’s been in the works for months and months and months.

FANG: Yeah, I live in California. I didn’t know I would be here this long, but I’m just doing a longer trip. But it would be great to just cover this–

RUSSEL: Yeah. Sorry.

FANG: Just one quick exception?

RUSSELL: Are you here tomorrow?

FANG: I’ll be here for half the day tomorrow. My flight’s tomorrow night.

RUSSELL: There is, if you’re interested, you can buy a registration for tomorrow. That you can–

FANG: But I can’t buy one for today? I don’t mind paying.

RUSSELL: It’s closed. The registration for today, we’re at capacity.

FANG: Ah, nuts. Hm.

RUSSELL: Yeah, sorry about that! But hold up just for a second, let me get yours.

WALDRON: Okay.

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) screams at a constituent

After our story, the Capitol Fax, an Illinois political website, contacted Walsh for a response. Walsh wrote in an e-mail that he was “working on an empty stomach and had a quicker fuse than normal.” Despite the fact Walsh’s biggest campaign benefactors come from the banking industry — $132,329 in campaign contributions from the finance industry and $18,400 from bank employees — the freshman congressman claims that he’s “no pal of the big banks.” He also reiterated, “but [banks] didn’t get us into this mess — government policy” did:

I do these cup of joe’s every wkend, I show up at a coffee shop or restaurant anywhere in district and anyone can come meet with me and talk to me about anything. They are fun, engaging sessions, I often get people who disagree w me on issues at these events and the conversation can be very spirited. I am very passionate at these events as well as at my town halls. This was no different except I was working on an empty stomach and had a quicker fuse than normal.

The woman I had the heated exchange with was great and she appreciated how open and unusual these events are. I apologized to her for getting a bit to passionate and she smiled and didn’t mind at all. Regarding the substance rich of what I was trying to say – I’m no pal of the big banks and I wouldn’t have voted to bail any of them out. If they’ve abused their charters they need to be prosecuted fully. But they didn’t get us into this mess – goverment policy which has dictated for years that everyone should own a home got us here. The banks only followed the rules government set. And further government meddling will only exasperate the problem.

View the full video and Walsh’s rant here.

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) erupts at a constituent who asked about the bank lobby

Freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) is known for his anti-Obama rhetoric on cable television and his inability to pay his child support payments. But during a recent meeting with constituents in his Chicago-area suburban district, Walsh lost his cool when several attendees asked about why banks have so much power in government. At one point, Walsh even threatened to eject a man who asked Walsh about the revolving door of bank lobbyists infiltrating Congress and financial regulatory agencies.

Walsh at one point screamed, “don’t blame the banks … this pisses me off!” After several constituents accurately pointed out that bank lobbyists occupy key positions within Congress, the SEC, and other oversight bodies that are supposed to supervise bank practices, Walsh began sticking his finger close to his constituent’s faces, yelling, “quiet for a minute or I’ll have to ask you to leave.” The constituent, who had calmly asked his question before being cut-off midway through his sentence, obliged:

WALSH: Thats not the problem! The problem is you’ve got to be consistent. And I dont want government meddling in the marketplace. Yeah, they move from Goldman Sachs to the White House, I understand all of that. But you gotta’ be consistent. And it’s not the private marketplace that created this mess. What created mess was your government, which has demanded for years that everybody be in a home. And we’ve made it easy as possible for people to be in homes. [...] Don’t blame banks, and don’t blame the marketplace for the mess we’re in right now! I am tired of hearing that crap! This pisses me off! Too many people don’t listen. [...]

WALSH: Quiet for a minute! Quiet for a minute!

CONSTITUENT: Joe, what did I say–

WALSH: Quiet for a minute or I’m going to ask you to leave. You need to listen, or I’m going to ask you to leave.

Watch it:

The conversation moved from talking about influence of the bank lobby to larger structural problems in government. Walsh absurdly claimed that worker unions have more power and money than corporations in America. But he was quickly rebutted by his constituent, who said that in any case, unions serve worker interests while corporate lobbies push for private, selfish interests. The video of the exchange, which occurred during Walsh’s “Cup of Joe with Joe Walsh” event on Sunday in the town of Gurnee, Illinois, was posted on YouTube last night by Gene Taylor’s District116.org blog.

Tagg Romney

The composition of investors to Solamere Capital allows top donors to Romney’s presidential bid to directly contribute to a Romney family business enterprise. Tagg and his two partners, according to documents filed with the SEC, stand to make $16.8 million in management fees while running the fund.

As Zwick has explained, investors in Solamere Capital fund an elite set of private equity firms, with the option to co-invest in some acquisition deals. Reporters for the Boston Globe obtained a copy of a document listing the names of private equity firms partnered with Solamere. Several of the partnered firms have given up to $100,000 to Romney-related political action committees this year. (One of the firms named by the Globe story as part of the Solamere Capital prospectus is TPG Capital, a firm whose managing director Karl Peterson recently hosted a Wall Street-area fundraiser for Romney).

The SEC filing indicates that one of the first funds created by the firm is called Solamere Founders Fund I.

Adding to the Globe story, ThinkProgress has identified several of the investors with money managed by Solamere Capital, the Romney family company. Most of the investors in Tagg’s fund are also involved in a serious capacity in the Romney for President campaign:

L. Scott Frantz

Meg Whitman

Mark Chapin Johnson

The University of Utah endowment also invests in Solamere Founders Fund I.

Mitt Romney and his brother actively maintain a relationship with Tagg’s firm. Mitt Romney’s campaign disclosures show that $1 million of his money is still invested in the Solamere Founders Fund. Scott Romney, Mitt’s older sibling, acts an advisor to Solamere, a company named after the Romney family ski lodge in Utah.

Harry Cendrowski, a Chicago corporate consultant who spoke to the Boston Globe, said the extent of the fund’s success, given Zwick and Tagg Romney’s limited experience and the equity market conditions, was “highly unusual.’’

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

New York Communities for Change has organized protests against the big banks, and worked to mobilize people around issues like predatory lending practices and fraud on Wall Street. Issa’s transparent smear campaign against NYCC, as some sort of zombie ACORN organization, only serves the bank lobby’s interests. Since so many lobbyists have spun through the revolving door and onto Issa’s staff, bank lobbyists could actually be directing Issa’s new campaign from within Congress:

– Issa’s Staff Director Is A Longtime Lobbyist For Private Student Loan Companies, Including Banks Like CitiGroup: In July, ThinkProgress reported that Issa had hired Peter Warren to be his staff director for investigations. Until last year, Warren was the chief lobbyist for a trade group that represents Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Discover Student Loans, on issues related to student loan policy. Our story revealed that Warren, on his congressional ethics forms, signed a special severance contract with his previous employer, suggesting a bonus, incentive package or special arrangement so Warren could move into Issa’s office.

– One Of Issa’s Top Investigators Is A Revolving Door Lobbyist For Goldman Sachs: In August, ThinkProgress reported that Issa hired Peter Haller, a former lobbyist and Goldman Sachs official, as a financial investigator. Haller’s hadn’t been noticed by other good government groups because he had changed his last name between working for Goldman Sachs and Issa. We found several letters showing that Haller had supervised Issa efforts to block regulators from imposing new rules on investment banks like Goldman Sachs. Haller’s biography, in a way, encapsulates the revolving door problem: Haller had worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and later took a job at Goldman Sachs to work on regulatory advocacy.

As Lucas O’Connor has reported on his Issa Watch blog, Issa has a history of running interference for the banking industry. Issa launched a number of attacks on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission as an effort to undermine any report that showed that Wall Street was responsible for the financial crisis.

The cozy relationship between Issa and Wall Street goes beyond Issa’s staff. ThinkProgress broke the story that Issa, while fighting to derail an SEC investigation of a case in which Goldman Sachs had bet against its own customer’s investments, Issa purchased large quantities of Goldman Sachs bonds.

As NPR has reported, the oil industry is moving into hyperdrive to crush any attempt to get rid of its subsidies.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest oil companies recently posted quarterly profits of $24 billion.