Patrick Gaspard, Obama’s “Glue Man,” even more important than Jones

One of the most critical and influential jobs in a White House, the Director of Political Affairs, is occupied by a former SEIU health care lobbyist and ACORN organizer.

Wade Rathke, founder of ACORN, and current organizer with SEIU Local 100 (in New Orleans) and ACORN International, called Gaspard a “great friend” on his ChiefOrganizer.org blog. Additionally, Rathke theorized how Gaspard was likely instrumental in working with SEIU to bring “big health care operators” to the table.

That is curious, given the Obama Transition team’s pledge that Gaspard would refrain for 12 months from issues he had lobbied previously.  According to the Washington Post, a transition spokesman said, “Patrick and Mark [Gitenstein] have jobs on the campaign that are general in nature, but per the unprecedented ethics policy laid out earlier this week they will recuse themselves from the fields of policy or agencies they lobbied in the previous 12 months.”

So we are to believe the Political Director of the White House—one of the most important players in the administration—is sitting on his hands while Obama attempts to salvage his biggest “reform” yet, and likely ever?  Not likely.

When Sean Bell was shot by New York City police in 2007, Al Sharpton reached out to Patrick Gaspard (while he was at SEIU 1199) to formulate a response.  According to Politicker NY, “In December 2006, Mr. Sharpton asked Patrick Gaspard to help him assemble an emergency meeting of about 300 activists, black nationalists, union and political leaders to decide on an appropriate response to the police shooting death of Sean Bell, an unarmed young black man.”

Sharpton used the SEIU 1199 office to hold a protest organizational meeting.  According to The Observer, the union was represented by Gaspard at the meeting.

The People’s Organization for Progress, along with the New Black Panther Party, organized protests against the New York City police department, carrying signs saying such things as “KILL THE PIGS THAT KILL OUR KIDS.”

In October 2007, when Gaspard was Executive Vice President of SEIU Local 1199, the union hosted an event at its headquarters to mark the 40^th anniversary of the assassination of Che Guevara “by the military dictatorship of Bolivia under the direction of the CIA.”

“The bitter truth for U.S. imperialism forty years later is that Che’s example and ideas are more powerful and resonant than ever among oppressed peoples of the world, especially the Americas,” an announcement of the event read. Yes, under Gaspard’s watch and likely authorization, the union hosted a celebration of Che Guevara’s life.  See the accouncement flier.

Other participants included Communist Party USA, Freedom Socialist Party, People’s Organization for Progress, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Socialist Workers Party, Socialist Action and many others.

SEIU 1199, in 2007, was a signatory on a petition to “free Mumia Abu-Jamal.”

Shortly after that, SEIU 1199 hosted the “International Secretary of the Hands Off Venezuela Campaign and Latin America correspondent for Marxist.com.”  SEIU 1199, under Gaspard’s leadership, has filled a radical role in New York and national politics.

Gaspard has contributed to the Working Families Party, a political party founded—and still co-chaired—by ACORN.

He is still listed as a member of the advisory board to the Center for Working Families.  The CWF’s address is the same as New York ACORN.

In 2004, Gaspard worked for America Coming Together, a George Soros-funded 527 organization that worked in swing states to elect John Kerry president.  According to Michelle Malkin:

During the 2004 election cycle, he had led the radical, left-wing, George Soros-funded group, America Coming Together (ACT) as national field director.  SEIU poured $23 million into ACT in a costly, unsuccessful attempt to put Democratic Senator John Kerry in the White House.  Under Gaspard’s tenure at ACT, the get-out-the-vote group employed convicted felons as canvassers and committed campaign finance violations that led to a $775,000 fine by the Federal Elections Commission–the third largest civil penalty levied in the panel’s history.

Sibling and associations

Patrick Gaspard’s older brother, Michael, is also deeply involved in New York politics.  He is employed by The Advance Group, a lobbying and political consulting firm headed by Scott Levenson.  The Advance Group is under contract with ACORN for “crisis communications,” and most notably, Levenson was kicked off the set of the Glenn Beck Program for accusing Beck of “being scared of black people.”

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