![](\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/images\/photos\/hunters_point_funding_080103\/mw2w8837_std.jpg\")
\nSpeaker Nancy Pelosi
\nPhoto by Luke Thomas<\/strong><\/p>\n
By David Sirota<\/strong>, OpenLeft<\/p>\n September 12, 2009<\/p>\n House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the first time yesterday suggested she may be backing off her support of the public option – the government-run health plan that the private insurance industry is desperately trying to kill. According to CNN, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid “said they would support any provision that increases competition and accessibility for health insurance – whether or not it is the public option favored by most Democrats.”<\/p>\n This announcement came just hours before Steve Elmendorf, a registered UnitedHealth lobbyist and the head of UnitedHealth’s lobbying firm Elmendorf Strategies, blasted this email invitation throughout Washington, D.C. I just happened to get my hands on a copy of the invitation from a source – check it out:<\/p>\n From: Steve Elmendorf [mailto:steve@elmendorfstrategies.com] Speaker of the House Thursday, September 24, 2009 At the home of $5,000 PAC To RSVP or for additional information please contact Steve Elmendorf Again, Elmendorf is a registered lobbyist for UnitedHealth, and his firm’s website brags about its work for UnitedHealth on its website.<\/p>\n The sequencing here is important: Pelosi makes her announcement and then just hours later, the fundraising invitation goes out. Coincidental? I’m guessing no – these things rarely ever are.<\/p>\n I wrote a book a few years ago called Hostile Takeover whose premise was that corruption and legalized bribery has become so widespread that nobody in Washington even tries to hide it. This is about as good an example of that truism as I’ve ever seen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" According to CNN, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid “said they would support any provision that increases competition and accessibility for health insurance – whether or not it is the public option favored by most Democrats.” This announcement came just hours before Steve Elmendorf, a registered UnitedHealth lobbyist and the head of UnitedHealth’s lobbying firm Elmendorf Strategies, blasted this email invitation throughout Washington, D.C. I just happened to get my hands on a copy of the invitation from a source.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6413,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nSent: Friday, September 11, 2009 8:31 AM
\nSubject: event with Speaker Pelosi at my home
\nYou are cordially invited to a reception with<\/p>\n
\nNancy Pelosi<\/p>\n
\n6:30pm ~ 8:00pm<\/p>\n
\nSteve Elmendorf
\n2301 Connecticut Avenue, NW
\nApt. 7B
\nWashington, D.C.<\/p>\n
\n$2,400 Individual<\/p>\n
\nCarmela Clendening at (202) 485-3508 or clendening@dccc.org<\/p>\n
\nELMENDORF STRATEGIES
\nGOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SOLUTIONS
\n900 7th Street NW Suite 750 Washington DC 20001
\n(202) 737-1655<\/p>\n