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.
