BusinessWeek: Shakedown on K Street

[PhilipShore]

BusinessWeek
Shakedown on K Street
February 9, 2006

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/feb2006/nf2006029_6809_db038.htm

The conventional wisdom: Crass corporate lobbyists lavish millions of dollars on lawmakers in a transparent attempt to buy influence on Capitol Hill. But in the carpeted corridors of K Street, the 11,500 people who earn their living in the influence-peddling profession know a different reality.

More often than not, they understand that money is vacuumed up to Capitol Hill by demands from members of Congress. "Everybody thinks it's the interest groups buying the members," says John J. Pitney Jr., a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif. "A lot of the time it's the members shaking down the interest groups."

[BR_Parkway]

1. Cue Sally Struthers: "Won't you please help these poor, undernourished

purchasers of your democracy?"

In all seriousness, I'm glad to see even the lobbyists stating that it won't go away without public finaincing of campaigns - but how are we going to get those entrenched to go along with cutting their incumbent lock on their seats?

[RedEarth]

2. thanks for posting .... interesting article