WP: Minority Party's Stock Is Rising (K St. anticipates Dem gains)

[kskiska]

Thursday, August 17, 2006; A01

Washington lobbying firms, trade associations and corporate offices are moving to hire more well-connected Democrats in response to rising prospects that the opposition party will wrest control of at least one chamber of Congress from Republicans in the November elections.

In what lobbyists are calling a harbinger of possible upheaval on Capitol Hill, many who make a living influencing government have gone from mostly shunning Democrats to aggressively recruiting them as lobbyists over the past six months or so.

"We've seen a noticeable shift," said Beth Solomon, director of the Washington office of Christian & Timbers, an executive search firm that helps to place senior lobbyists and trade association heads.

In June, one of Washington's largest lobbying law firms, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP, transferred the chairmanship of its government affairs practice from a Republican, Thomas F. O'Neil III, to a prominent Democrat, James J. Blanchard, a former governor and congressman from Michigan.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/16/AR2006081601598.html

[JohMunich99]

1. I just hope we don't peak too soon n/t

[Demeter]

2. K Street Better Start Trimming Sail and Backing and Filling

They are in danger of a full housecleaning.

[roguevalley]

3. like a proper gutter rat, they cover their bets on all sides.

[theanarch]

4. and what's so wonderful about this?

99% of the job-exporting, tax-sheltering-the-rich, environmental back-rolling, predatory corporatism legislation the GOP controlled congress passed was at the behest of K St. Now they're investing in potential Democratic MC's for the same services...look at all the good it did for Cunningham, Ney, Delay, Harris, et al. Mark my words: when the DSCC/DCCC start representing K St, they stop representing us.

[wellst0nev0ter]

5. Oh Ho-Ho, Pelosi Should Give Them A Nice, Warm

"Fuck you very much." These rat bastards made their bed financing, aiding and abetting the Republican corruption machine, now they should be left twisting in the wind.

[bklyncowgirl]

6. Democrats are worth bribing again. That's a good sign.

The lobbyists are the ultimate political realists.

[smaug]

7. But, we need to stop this now -

Our so-called Washington leadership (yes, I'm talking to you, DLCers) should reject this. I know, it's money, and all money is green, but the grassroots of the Democratic party damn sure doesn't want a repeat of the corruption of this decade, but with Democratic Washington insiders benefiting instead of ReTHUGlican. Bluntly, we need to find a way of severely reducing (I don't think we can eliminate, but we can definitely fight to turn down the volume) the influence of big money (read: corporations, dominionists, etc.) in our political system. Public financing would be good, but requiring the reintroduction of the Fairness Doctrine, making it mandatory, and having a five year ban on political pundits (on either side - but especially administration officials who aren't being identified as such on certain TV ""NEWS"" programs) would be a good start on cleaning up the media.

Restrict media ownership to one TV channel, one newspaper, and one radio station per parent company. See how fast Sinclair, Disney, GE, and News Corp. (now why did they leave Australia again?) scream. Democrats should say, 'time to pay the American piper.'

/rant

[Olney Blue]

8. What if we had a Congress that could not be bribed?