The You Deserve To Know campaign, launched by The Agenda Project, featured a video on YouTube[1] criticizing President Barack Obama for speaking with the United States Chamber of Commerce without acknowledging its status as the largest lobbyist in the United States and confronting it about its vehement opposition to vital economic reform.[2]
Agenda Project founder Erica Payne explained the campaign by stating, "The Chamber claims to speak for American business, but half of the Chamber's budget is paid for by 45 big corporations. The President is well aware that the Chamber is in actuality just a high priced lobbyist for a small number of corporations. I hardly think the President will restore our faith in government by fawning over the banks at the center of the financial crisis, oil companies like BP who destroyed the Gulf, and insurance companies who secretly funneled $10 million through the Chamber to fight insurance reform."[3]
The title of the video is a reference to the President's State of the Union address, during which he stated "You deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists."[4]
This brief campaign garnered attention from news sources such as:
References edit
- ^ "You Deserve To Know". YouTube. 2011-02-06. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
- ^ "Group reminds Obama of SOTU vow | POLITICO 44". Politico.com. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
- ^ Hall, Mimi "Obama takes heat for Chamber speech - before he delivers it "The Oval", February 7, 2011, accessed June 20, 2011.
- ^ "State Of The Union 2011 Transcript", "ABC News", January 25, 2011, accessed June 21, 2011.
- ^ "Obama takes heat for Chamber speech - before he delivers it". Content.usatoday.com. 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
- ^ "Obama Chamber Of Commerce Speech (FULL TEXT)". Huffingtonpost.com. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
- ^ "The Fix - President Obama's on-again, off-again relationship with the Chamber". Voices.washingtonpost.com. 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
- ^ "Alternative content". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Obama Won't Press States to Repay Unemployment Debt". The New York Times. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 2016-01-04.