Centrist Dems Courted By Lobbyists
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in General Politics, MoneyYou know the center has grabbed the attention of Washington when the money flocks to them. But how will centrists conduct themselves?
From The Hill:
Worried about what the Democratic Congress may mean for their business clients, to say nothing of the new limits on member access Democrats may impose as part of an ethics reform package, lobbyists have tried hard in the weeks following the election to build new links to the new majority.One favored path has been through moderate to conservative blocs like the New Democrats and the Blue Dogs, who are a group of budget-minded conservative Democrats mostly from Southern states.
So what does that mean? What else…more money…
Blue Dog leaders had planned on a smallish lunch with lobbyists to discuss their hopes for the new Congress. Organized by ex-Blue Dog Jim Turner, who now lobbies at Arnold Porter, the event turned into a panel discussion moderated by the former Texas Democrat after more than 300 people RSVP’d an interest, Wortman said.Tauscher’s annual holiday party, a modest affair last year, spilled out of her Kalorama home into a white tent crammed with people.
It’s going to be interesting to see if these moderates can turn around the “greedy politician” perception, because these first signs aren’t very encouraging.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 12th, 2006 and is filed under General Politics, Money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 12th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
I guess I’ve been in and out of Washington too much to see a major problem with a well-attended lunch or holiday party, here and there. As long as it’s the exception rather than the rule, it’s one element of how business gets done inside the Beltway that causes me the least concern. Maybe I need my own wake-up call … ?
December 12th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
This is compelling information to encourage the parties to recruit more centrist candidates.
December 13th, 2006 at 12:15 am
On the bright side, there was the somewhat comedic spectacle of Robert Byrd, king of earmarks, denouncing earmarks and pledging to put a moratorium on them for fiscal 2007. The money will corrupt the new Dems eventually, I’m sure, as it corrupts nearly everyone. But for now Dems are talking the talk, and giving clear specifics that will let us easily judge if they are walking the walk come January.