- ‹ previous
- 1329 of 2011
- next ›
The Rise and Fall of Lobbyists
THE RISE AND FALL OF LOBBYISTS....On K Street, the free market is hard at work:
An assistant department secretary leaving the Bush administration three years ago, with Republicans in control of the House, Senate and White House, might fetch as much $600,000 to $1 million a year in the influence business, recruiters and lobbyists said. But the same person might now expect less than half as much.....But for Democrats, the bidding is fierce. Three years ago, a Democratic staff director for an important House or Senate committee might have earned about $130,000 a year on Capitol Hill, and jumped to K Street for an annual salary of about $250,000. Now, the same person might command as much as $500,000 to $800,000 a year, several recruiters said.
OK, but it still sounds like Republicans work at a higher pay scale than Democrats. How come? The answer, perhaps, comes from Republican John Feehery, a former MPAA lobbyist who lost his job after Democrats took over in 2006:
A spokesman for the association declined to comment on the departure. So did Mr. Feehery, who now runs his own lobbying shop. But he said Republican lobbyists would always be in demand because Democrats lack the stomach to push for industry goals that go against their party, like rolling back environmental regulations."At the end of the day," Mr. Feehery said, "Democrats don't like to ask for the order" — the client's objective.
So there you have it. Democrats just aren't willing to screw their own party and violate their own principles quite enough. It's a pretty sad state of affairs.
Digg
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook
Buzz Up!
StumbleUpon
MySpace
LinkedIn
Delicious
Furl
Google
Yahoo
Lobbyists are basically against democracy.
Democrats just aren't willing to screw their own party and violate their own principles quite enough. It's a pretty sad state of affairs.
No, it's not a sad state of affairs. It's sales and the sales culture. Some people are salespeople and a whole lot are not.
Henry Paulson is a salesperson, not an economist. So is Rubin. Bankers do sales, not economics.
The most effective lobbyists are pure sales people. They'll say or do anything to make the sale, and no matter how rotten what they say or do is, if they make the sale and get the commission they walk out proud of themselves and feel superior to those who can't do what they do. Because they have "won."
Shorter Freehry: Those damn Democrats have integrity, can't be bought.
Now I'm worried-Democrats can't be bought to go against their party's principles!Let's talk about the Principles of protecting the U.S. against all enemies both foreign and domestic-Like borders, illegal drugs,etc. 12 to 13 million Illegal Immigrants is not a border violation , it is a covert invasion. Drugs were used by the British Trading Company to break the Bamboo Curtain of China for trade and is responsible for high murder, Prostitution and organized crime-but none of our Congressmen or Presidents want to deal with it-WHY?
12 to 13 million Illegal Immigrants is not a border violation , it is a covert invasion.
How do you say "Manifest Destiny" in Spanish?
Aw shucks, that was me. But the question stands.
Simple answer - the best way to deal with the funding that drugs and prostitution provide to organized crime is to let the market decide. I.e. legalization - except most of the American public either doesn't want to hear that(Jebus says "just say 'No.'"!, or has a vested financial interest in the Drug War.
It requires taking a cold unflinching look into the eyes of reality, and they(and you) just don't have the stones for it.
So, does that explain why the economy is tanking. With the Democratic sweep, all these $1M lobbying jobs going away. That has got to affect the DC luxury car market!
Enh...
Republican lobbyists, when they push for policy ideas such as looser environmental regulations, aren't demonstrating lack of integrity. They're demonstrating actual integrity -- those are policy positions Republicans broadly agree with.
They get paid more because those positions also align with those of their donors, who can expect a Republican dominated congress to actually deliver. When they pay the Democratic lobbyists, interested groups don't expect much in the way of favorable policy, but perhaps their lobby dollars can slow the tide.
They're demonstrating actual integrity
Bwahahahahah!
Kind of like Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling showed integrity in fleecing their stockholders. It's because their values and policies are all about gettin' paid.
Thus, government service pays a lot better for Republicans. And if money draws talent, they're probably attracting more effective crooks than the Democrats.
Democrats just aren't willing to screw their own party and violate their own principles quite enough. It's a pretty sad state of affairs.
I didn't realize this was a humor column.
Watch out, Dave Barry!
Man walks up to a woman in a bar and says "If I offer you a Million Dollars, will you come home a sleep with me?" The woman, caught a bit off guard, stutters out "Y..Y..Yes!" Man says "OK, how about $50?" The woman, insulted, slaps him and says "What do you take me for?" ....
As Kanga said, most Americans can`t handle the truth. Neither can most of the human community.
Simple and frightening.
Deal with it.
"...it's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine..." - REM
It has nothing to do with the ethics of the lobbyist (or salesperson) involved. It has everything to do with the cause they're advocating (or product they're selling). If you're working for the Sierra Club pushing environmental legislation there's a lot less money in it than if you're lobbying for Exxon.