POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

“If men of wisdom and knowledge… and true republican simplicity of manners… are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation.” —Samuel Adams

Quote of the week

“One thing that [Iraqi war theater commander Gen. David Petraeus] reminded us was, this [war] is a test of wills, and he admonished us… that what we say to the world, to our adversaries and our allies, is listened to by the other side… It must come as a shock to al-Qa’ida leaders to have an aide come into their safe house and tell them that Senator [Harry] Reid has declared that, in fact, they are winning and the war is lost. I think it’s highly irresponsible for the leader of the U.S. Senate to have said that and, just speaking for myself as the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, I think that the leader of the Senate should step down from that position.” —Congressman Duncan Hunter, California Republican, on Wednesday, after Gen. Petraeus’ closed-door congressional briefing sessions

Lobbying continues to grow in DC

In the past, power shifts in Washington usually meant dark days for lobbyists who had solicited the party being removed from power, but with Congress closely divided and an active GOP administration in the White House, Republican lobbying firms are still pulling in big business. Match this with the sharp rise in Demo lobbyists looking to gain access to the new committee leaders on the Hill, and we have the makings of a lobbying boom. In the months since the 2006 elections, new lobbying registrations totaled 2,232, up from 1,222 this time last year. Clients at Patton Boggs, DC’s largest firm, have tripled, and many other firms are also experiencing double-digit growth. Some organizations like the Carmen Group are going bipartisan and hiring new lobbyists to handle the surge in clients looking to work with both parties.

This sharp rise in the growth of lobbying firms is the surest sign that lobbying reform—fortunately—is dead and buried in Congress. While we don’t condone the unethical behavior of some lobbyists, efforts to stifle the free speech of any constituency group are not the solution to corruption. Democrats came to power promising a change in the way lobbyists work on Capitol Hill, but we don’t think this is the change they were promising.