In light of the massive change our President - Elect has to manage, it seems that understanding the good parts and bad parts about the operation and function of lobbyist needs to be explored. Although demonized to some extent, we also need to understand if they offer a benefit to navigating public relations between government and business in a way that offers benefits to all in the form of jobs, government reach in creating new opportunities for our businesses and business climate and how those efforts trickle down for good for America.
If I had my druthers, I would assign film-maker documentarians from all political spectrums, with an eye of a bit of the cynical to Ralph Nadar's organization to explore the world of the Lobbyist. Reading between the lines in many documentaries about government –lobbyist interactions include pictures of lots of cash and influence being peddled, but the function of that operation to enhance business and show benefit to workers, citizens, voters and the economy have not been linked in a cross-functional way that allows for a balance.
Insider camera operators showing good being done as well as corruption would be the invitation to those who's conscience would look to regulate good business from the corrupt roots of cash peddling for pure influence into one-sided interests and policies. There are always going to be 'winners' and 'losers' with every policy initiative, the question is - "What will achieve a 'Greater Good" for All?
Capitalism is a component of these functions and has some grounds for survival and beneficial relationships in a global environment where the competition for honest business dealings is not always on equal footing in international settings. To that end, Michael Moore's perspective on exposing us to the seamy as well as the substantive portions of Corporate and Government interactions to benefit Americans as well as their own agenda's needs to be explored, revealed and given transparency to the public.
Seth Platt's Article "The Bureaucracy" needs to be resurrected and posted on the Internet for us to explore, realize and learn from the structures of how we build programs and overhead through government interaction and intervention, but also leave waste and legacy systems that do not always warrant extended life past the necessary tasks of running institutions long past the needed function in order for people to retain jobs or functions that are either no longer relevant, or unnecessary to the common good or purpose that they once were put in place to fulfill.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111304309_2.html
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Democrats Benefiting From Post-Election Lobby Boom
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By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 14, 2008; Page A01
Barack Obama spent much of his presidential campaign decrying the influence of Washington lobbyists. In the 10 days since he was elected, he already has had an impact: He has touched off a mini-boom on K Street.
Top lobbying firms are gearing up to handle increased demand from corporate clients who fear that the Obama administration will expand its regulatory reach and target them for tax increases. Some firms, such as Patton Boggs, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and Alston & Bird, are also preparing for new business resulting from the ongoing effort to stabilize the economy.
And who is cashing in on this boom? Democrats who supported Obama, such as Jaime R. Harrison.
Harrison helped mobilize voter turnout for Obama in South Carolina, and for the past two years he directed floor operations for House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) -- credentials that made him a sought-after addition to firms looking for an edge in a new administration.
"I built a lot of strong relationships with members, as well as their staff, and some of my very best friends worked on the campaign," Harrison said. He will start with the Podesta Group next week.
For some Republicans, this is bad news. Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Comcast have recently replaced Republicans in top corporate lobbying posts with Democrats. But most Republicans, especially prominent ones, profess little concern about Obama's desire to shake up the culture in Washington, or seem chastened by strict new rules aimed at weakening their influence.
"Barack Obama campaigned on change. Well, change is good for the lobbying business," said Ed Rogers, who was an aide to President Ronald Reagan and whose firm has represented such clients as Citigroup, Pfizer and Raytheon. "People will need the expertise and guidance more in the next year than they have in the last five."
Many of the issues Obama has expressed an interest in tackling early, such as health-care policy, energy and taxes, have broad implications for some of the lobbying world's most free-spending corporate clients. Patrick Von Bargen, a former chief of staff to Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and aide to William Donaldson, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said he joined Quinn Gillespie this month with the expectation that his knowledge of clean energy issues would be a valued commodity.
"People who have labored in Democratic vineyards for years are familiar with the people involved, but also with the substantive issues, and how Democrats approach those issues," he said.
The shadow transition on K Street really began two years ago, when Democrats won control of Congress. For more than a decade, Republican-controlled lobbying firms had the exclusive ear of GOP lawmakers, and the industry worked in close contact with congressional leaders to develop policy and control the political agenda.
Laura Sheehan, who recently became vice president of marketing and communications for the American Gas Association, had been policy director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and a top aide to Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.).
"After the last election, when the House flipped, I got three to four serious job inquiries on election night just because of my party background," she said. She did
Democrats Benefiting From Post-Election Lobby Boom
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"In this climate, Democratic backgrounds are attractive to people," Sheehan said. "This town, that's what it runs on."
Some large firms that focused exclusively on an ability to connect with top Republicans began to view the 2008 election as a serious business problem. This was true of Rogers's firm, BGR Holding, which made its name with blue-chip connections in elite Republican circles. Shortly before Election Day, BGR signed a deal with Westin Rinehart to give his clients better access to a broader range of services, and to Democrats. "We wanted more familiarity with the inner workings of the Democrat machinery," Rogers said.
Other firms had already hedged against a partisan restructuring.
Ron Kaufman, a Republican lobbyist at Dutko Worldwide who served as a close adviser to PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, said he cannot recall a better time to be a Democratic staff member looking for work. But he said his firm has always tried to keep both sides of the aisle covered so it does not have to panic during shifts in political control.
"The only change for us is that the Democrats are now the varsity squad, and I've been demoted to the junior varsity," Kaufman joked.
Republicans working at industry associations have felt some pain. But not all long-established Republican insiders have to worry about life in a town run by Democrats, said Michael S. Berman, a Democrat who is partnered with Republican Kenneth M. Duberstein at the Duberstein Group. Most are valued as much for their strategic advice as their Rolodexes, he said.
"Yes, this will be a different government," Berman said. "But there are clients we have worked for for years and never made a call to the Hill. You're advising people on how to structure their business -- that doesn't require a partisan contact. It requires knowing what's going on."
This week, Obama transition chief John D. Podesta told reporters that the president-elect would impose "the strictest and most far-reaching ethics rules of any transition in history," including a series of rules defining how the group that is planning the new administration will interact with the lobbying industry.
Political scientist Norman J. Ornstein said that while the rules "may exclude some good people with deep experience in their fields . . . it will also exclude those who see government service as a springboard to financial success, or who are more intent on pleasing future potential employers or clients than making tough choices in the public interest."
But almost from the start of his campaign, Obama made clear that he would not be slamming the door on interactions with lobbyists. In a December 2007 speech in Iowa, he said he was "running to tell the lobbyists in Washington that their days of setting the agenda are over. They have not funded my campaign. They won't work in my White House." But the candidate quickly backed away from that second part. A few days later in Waterloo, Iowa, he changed the phrasing to say that lobbyists "are not going to dominate my White House."
One bright line Obama will continue to draw is his prohibition on campaign contributions from lobbyists, now extended to cover the nonprofit accounts he has set up to pay transition costs and fund inauguration festivities. That is in keeping with the ban on donations Obama enforced during the campaign.
Steve Elmendorf, a former top adviser to former House minority leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), said that he understands why Obama took that approach, but that he does not believe lobbyists will be turned away. "I don't think they've said 'We're not going to talk to lobbyists,' " Elmendorf said. "They are going to talk to stakeholders. The stakeholders are all going to be represented by lobbyists. It's not going to be a black-and-white thing."
Elmendorf is one of several who foresee a boon for the industry. A new Democratic administration and an increasing Democratic tilt in Congress means more activist government, he said. "That means businesses will have the potential for more things to happen to them. If they think that's coming, they will be hiring people to figure out how to contend with that."
Fred Wertheimer, president of the campaign finance reform group Democracy 21, said he is encouraged by the new transition rules aimed at restricting those who work in the administration from cycling into lobbying. "It shows he wants to attack the influence money culture that has permeated the city," Wertheimer said.
But Tony Podesta, John Podesta's brother and a top Democratic lobbyist, said the party's expanding ranks are not going to force him to curtail his work. "I'm not studying for the priesthood or thinking of opening a doughnut shop," he said.
Research editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.
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