Posted September 27, 2006 by J. Gerald Hebert

What’s Good for the Elephant is Good for the Donkey (and bad for the American public)

Yesterday, we chastised the GOP leadership over its Good Ol’ Fashion Revival of the “K Street Project.”  We pointed out that the GOP was essentially telling Washington lobbyists, “look, access us to us if for sale, and you’d better pony up if you want a seat at the table.”  To that end, House Republicans were meeting with as many as 200 lobbyists this week to warn them not to give to Democrats or face the consequences, in a Karl Rove-led shakedown. 

Not to be outdone, as Roll Call reports this morning in an article by Tory Newmyer, Democrats’ Last Call for K St. Dollars, “[t]op Democratic House aides are rallying their friends on K Street to open their wallets one final time this week before party operatives scatter to the campaign trail.”  The Democrats’ rally is titled, “Countdown to the Majority,” and they are falling all over themselves at the prospects of winning back the House this fall.  Polls show those prospects wavering a bit, but apparently not enough to keep Washington lobbyists from filling up the Party’s campaign coffers.  So while Republicans are busy strong-arming the K street crowd, that very same night Democrats will gather with K Street lobbyists to hear from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and a host of other Democratic leaders and ranking members.  The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has scheduled at least two similarly structured events this cycle as well, Roll Call reports.

For $500, you get an evening with Leader Pelosi, who has tattooed the GOP leadership over the “culture of corruption” ever since the Abramoff-DeLay-Ney scandals broke. A spokeswoman for Congressman Steny Hoyer told Roll Call that the Congressman will deliver a simple message to the crowd this week: “Thanks for helping us win back the majority.”

Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with having a fundraiser or meeting with a lobbyist.  But what message does it convey to the American people when leaders in our two major parties make it clear to all who wish to have access to the Hill that you have to pay to play? 

Nor has it been lost on the lobbyist crowd that giving money to Democrats will help buy them access to Pelosi, Hoyer, and other Democratic leaders if they take control of the House.  After all, “the chiefs of staff to top Democratic lawmakers. . .have been responsible for rounding up support” and “[m]ore than 25 of them have worked off-hours to corral personal checks from friends in the lobbying world.”  Why else would lobbyist Dan Turton warn in his email invitation to the event that “for any Democrats downtown that have not gotten on the books with the DCCC, this is the last event to do so before Democrats regain the Majority” and that “[e]very one of us downtown needs to participate in order to help the Democratic Caucus across this finish line.” Turton knows as all lobbyists know that that the money the Democrats need to take over the House is linked to getting lobbyists that meeting with the Democratic Leadership come January, so he advises “[p]lease dig deep and help.”   

And so the Democratic leaders, if they take over the House, will be beholden to the same group of well-heeled lobbyists that the Republicans have been beholden to with their K Street Project.  And so the Capitol dome, which has been for sale to the highest bidder with the GOP in charge, may come under new management in January, but it appears it will have the same “for sale” sign on the front lawn.  Pardon me for being a bit slow, but how exactly will that end the “culture of corruption” Ms. Pelosi has been railing against this past year?