The K Street Project, Part Blue

The Wall Street Journal ^ | July 25, 2008 | KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL

[anymouse]

As most of Washington met last week to fret over the economy, Harry Reid was attending a less-noticed summit. The Senate majority leader had summoned the titans of more than a dozen industry trade groups to a Capitol Hill meeting, where he delivered a crisp message: Get with our program, or get demolished.

Anyone remember the "K Street Project"? Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and conservative activist Grover Norquist designed it to pressure the business community into hiring GOP lobbyists, supporting GOP causes, and giving money to GOP candidates. The press was shocked, shocked, to discover such behavior, and ran endless coverage of this nefarious GOP operation. Democrats were shocked, shocked, too, and charged that the project was the root of Washington's corruption: "If we're ever going to have real change here, we must kill the K Street Project," thundered Nancy Pelosi.

But it was not even remotely shocking to discover that the party in power strong-arms the business community. Democrats spent 40 years in the majority demanding that industry hire former staffers and write checks as a price of access. The K Street Project was created in the mid-'90s by Republicans following suit. Now the left is at it again. Call it the K Street Project, Part Blue.

(snip)

Still, to Democrats' annoyance, their lobby tax-blackmail has yet to win them the vote. That may be in part because the GOP has been doing some lobbyist summoning of their own. Their message, according to one lobbyist who has attended meetings on both sides, has been: "You are going to need our help next Congress, when the issue isn't near-term R&D tax credits, but something really big, and the only thing protecting you is us."

[anymouse]

What the lamestream media won't tell you.

[ronnie raygun]

criminals, all of them. out and out criminals doing it right in front of our faces and NO ONE, NO ONE does or says a thing, WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?

[sinanju]

As the article makes clear at the end, paying tribute to Democrats, with their socialistic, anti-business agenda, is merely feeding the crocodile.

[traviskicks]

...summoned the titans of more than a dozen industry trade groups to a Capitol Hill meeting, where he [Senator Reid] delivered a crisp message: Get with our program, or get demolished.



Libertarian ping! To be added or removed freepmail me or post a message here.

[traviskicks]

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?

Where was the outrage here on FR when the Republicans did the same, with the Tom Delay and the rest of the sorry bunch?

[DemonDeac]

Its the name of the game. When one party is in power you see this happen to lobbying in Washington. Of course when the Republicans did it in the 1990s it became an MSM scandal.