The idea of playing by the rules is a tough concept to grasp for some politicians, particularly those with ties to the ever-corrupt city of Chicago. So when David Plouffe, Obama's former campaign manager and then Chief Policy Advisor for Uber, sent an email to Chicago's Mayor Rahm Emmanuel seeking assistance in fighting rules that would block Uber from picking up passengers at Chicago's airports, he probably thought his illegal lobbying efforts would go unnoticed.
That said, Chicago's ethics board had a slightly different opinion on the issue and has decided to slap Plouffe with a $90,000 fine and levied another $2,000 fine on Uber.
Apparently Plouffe wasn't registered with the city as a lobbyist for Uber, a requirement he was undoubtedly familiar with, when he sent the following email to Mayor Rahm Emmanuel:
"Assume both of us thought the airport issue was settled and we would never have to discuss again, but unfortunately two significant new hurdles were introduced. Coming to you because of their severity that would prevent us from operating. We were all set to announce Monday we were beginning pickups."
According to Bloomberg, Uber didn't contest the judgement but it did object to the size of the fine.
The San Francisco-based company argued that it was a one-time violation, so Plouffe should have been fined $1,000. Instead, the ethics board found that Plouffe had to pay a much larger fine because he'd failed to register for 95 business days.
"We work hard to ensure our registrations are accurate and up to date," Matt Wing, a spokesman for Uber, wrote in an e-mail. "We regret that in this instance we made a mistake, and we will comply with the board's assessment."
Making matters even worse, WME-IMG, the Hollywood talent agency co-run by Rahm's brother, Ari Emanuel, just happens to be an investor in Uber. Shocking.
Of course, many of you will remember Plouffe as the Democratic operative who went on NBC's "Meet The Press" back in August to label Trump a "psychopath" (see "Trump 'Unfit To Be Human': Commentators Unleash Personal Attacks On 'Mothaf---a', 'Psychopath'").
It started with David Plouffe, Obama's former campaign manager, who during NBC's "Meet the Press" show, called Donald Trump "a psychopath." Plouffe told Chuck Todd that "we have a psychopath running for president. I mean, he meets the clinical definition, OK?"
After Todd pushed back that Plouffe isn't a psychologist and that such claims frustrate voters, Plouffe elaborated, "The grandiose notion of self-worth, pathological lying, lack of empathy and remorse. So I think he does; right, I don't have a degree in psychology."
Plouffe opined that the race is already unwinnable for Trump because, he said, Hillary Clinton is guaranteed 269 electoral votes, including those from Virginia and Colorado. "There's maybe a 20 percent chance it's close — 2 or 3 points; I think it's likely going to be a landslide," he said. While attacking Trump Plouffe naturally defended Clinton, saying there are "legitimate questions" about conflicts of interest at the Clinton Foundation. But he said the charity shouldn't shut down, because it does great work.
Of course, the $90,000 slap on the wrist is likely considered money well spent as Uber operates in both of Chicago's major airports today...the bums will always lose, Lebowski.