Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Not All Lobbyists Are Like Abramoff
Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff's actions are the worst I have ever seen.
All lobbyists inside the Beltway know about the intersection of money and politics. We are all aware of the entertaining that goes on. And we are all aware of campaign contributions, and the strong arm tactics some Members and staffers use to raise money (DeLay wrote the book). But I have never seen anything as bad as what Abramoff apparently has done.
Bribing a Member of Congress is a tough crime to prove, but when the briber is willing to cooperate and tell how he did the bribing, the case gets alot easier. Republican Rep. Bob Ney (Ohio), named as "Representative #1" in Abramoff's plea bargain, likely will be indicted soon. And we are waiting for the other shoes to drop.
Lots of Republicans close to Abramoff are worried. House Speaker Dennis Hastert last night announced he is giving the money Abramoff gave him to charity, as if that will somehow make him clean.
We likely will see increased calls from public interest groups for greater restrictions on lobbying and more disclosure. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.
But we also likely will see reluctance by Members of Congress even to meet with lobbyists -- and certainly reluctance to be seen at upscale restaurants with lobbyists. And this will be unfortunate.
The vast majority of lobbyists are nothing at all like Jack Abramoff. We are going into a period of greater public focus on our profession, and not everything will be pretty. But in the long run, getting rid of the current culture of corruption inside the Beltway will be good for the profession, and for the country.
All lobbyists inside the Beltway know about the intersection of money and politics. We are all aware of the entertaining that goes on. And we are all aware of campaign contributions, and the strong arm tactics some Members and staffers use to raise money (DeLay wrote the book). But I have never seen anything as bad as what Abramoff apparently has done.
Bribing a Member of Congress is a tough crime to prove, but when the briber is willing to cooperate and tell how he did the bribing, the case gets alot easier. Republican Rep. Bob Ney (Ohio), named as "Representative #1" in Abramoff's plea bargain, likely will be indicted soon. And we are waiting for the other shoes to drop.
Lots of Republicans close to Abramoff are worried. House Speaker Dennis Hastert last night announced he is giving the money Abramoff gave him to charity, as if that will somehow make him clean.
We likely will see increased calls from public interest groups for greater restrictions on lobbying and more disclosure. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.
But we also likely will see reluctance by Members of Congress even to meet with lobbyists -- and certainly reluctance to be seen at upscale restaurants with lobbyists. And this will be unfortunate.
The vast majority of lobbyists are nothing at all like Jack Abramoff. We are going into a period of greater public focus on our profession, and not everything will be pretty. But in the long run, getting rid of the current culture of corruption inside the Beltway will be good for the profession, and for the country.
