CAFTA: White House Caught Peddling Corporate Invitations

A source just emailed me a message being sent out officially from the White House urging people to attend corporate sponsored events that trumpet the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Specifically, the White House is using taxpayer resources to urge people to attend events being put on by Fedex, Citigroup, and Western Union to promote this corporate-written free trade deal (you can see the official invitation being blasted out by the White House here in Word format - notice the corporate logos). Most brazenly, the White House asks that invitees RSVP directly to the White House - as if there is now no distinction between these corporations (who have given more than $2 million to Republicans in the last election cycle alone) and the White House.

It's one thing for the White House to lobby for an awful trade deal like this. But it is a whole new low to have taxpayer dollars being used to directly promote corporate-sponsored events, essentially eliminating the line between business and government.

UPDATE: A number of you have asked me how I know that invitation is being sent out by the White House. The source who emailed me that invitation received it from the White House. In other words, the White House PR shop is sending out the invitation to that corporate event, which is improper. The source, however, has to remain anonymous, so I cannot post the email from the White House publicly. Sorry.