Haley Barbour, a lobbyist for anti-Christian broadcaster and pro-U.N. propagandist Ted Turner, is a close adviser to George W. Bush and a major figure at the Republican National Convention. Barbour frequently speaks for Bush. His associate, Ed Gillespie, is the chairman of the convention's Program Advisory Committee. Barbour and Gillespie are officials of the lobbying firm, Barbour, Griffith & Rogers. They were hired by Ted Turner to lobby Congress for a financial bailout of the U.N.

Their continued association with Bush, the GOP and the national convention suggests that Ted Turner will have considerable influence in a Bush-Cheney Administration.

Desperate to pump more U.S. tax dollars into the world body, Turner's front organization, the Better World Campaign, had hired Barbour's firm to twist the arms of Republican House and Senate members. Gillespie defended their lobbying for Turner, saying that a financial bailout was supported by "conservative" Senator Jesse Helms. This was unfortunately true. Helms had been persuaded by bad staff advice to endorse the bailout in return for vague "reforms" at the world body. In fact, however, there was no "debt" to the U.N. and the world body actually owed the U.S. billions of dollars. (see "Latest News" for Cliff Kincaid's Cato Institute report on this matter.

At the RNC, Barbour raised money from tobacco companies and gambling interests, among others. Now with the lobbying firm of Barbour, Griffith & Rogers, he continued to represent the tobacco industry as well as Turner's Better World Campaign.

For a complete list of special interests represented by Barbour and Rogers, go to www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists

The Cheney-Iraq Connection

Cheney, who as defense secretary helped orchestrate the Persian Gulf War, was the CEO of Halliburton, a company involved in rebuilding the Iraqi oil industry. Cheney has not been asked to explain this curious association.

 

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