We wish you a safe and happy holiday and will be back on Monday Dec. 1. Happy eating!

It wouldn't come as a surprise if at least some of Dick Gephardt's former aides ended up in the Obama administration. Some, such as David Plouffe played top roles in the campaign, while others, such as Obama's Harvard classmate Cassandra Butts, were important advisors. But a few Gephardt alumni may soon end up working once again for their former boss this time at his lobbying shop: The Gephardt Group. In a phone interview with National Journal, Gephardt mentioned that he hopes to hire two or three of his former aides soon, but declined to provide names, saying talks are still ongoing. What with clients such as Goldman Sachs and mid-western power company Ameren as clients, Gephardt and crew are apparently hoping to bulk up for what could be very busy 2009. 

                                                                                                               --Julie Kosterlitz

Although President-elect Obama has continued to press his campaign promise to change business as usual by limiting the influence of lobbyists and moneyed interests, two new studies suggest that some old traditions linger. Although Obama got nearly half of his campaign contributions in dollops of $200 or less, The Campaign Finance Institute found that only about one quarter of his money came from donors whose contributions totaled $200 or less. Obama received 80 percent more money from large donors than small ones--and much more than his rivals or predecessors. It also appears, the Institute study says, that close to a majority of the large-donor money came through the now-standard "bundling" of smaller contributions.

Some of those responsible for the bundling have made it onto the transition team, says the Center for Responsive Politics. The Center turned up 14 transition team members who raised at least $50,000 for Obama's campaign. The report also found 23 members who are or have been federally registered lobbyists over the past decade--although transition rules forbid them from lobbying while on the transition effort, or from working in policy areas on which they've lobbied in the past year.
                                                                  --Julie Kosterlitz

Once again lobbyists, your money isn't wanted.

President-elect Obama announced his inaugural committee will not accept contributions from corporations, political action committees, current federally registered lobbyists, non-U.S. citizens and registered foreign agents. Individual contributions will also be capped at $50,000 - though there is no law requiring this limit.

The inaugural committee will be run by co-chairs: former Commerce Secretary (and erstwhile lobbyist) William Daley, hotel executive Penny Pritzker, businessmen John Rogers and Patrick Ryan, and Democratic fundraiser Julianna Smoot.

In 2005, George W. Bush spent a record $42.3 million on his bash, most of it for festivities, including fireworks, inaugural balls, the parade and a concert on the Mall. The District of Columbia and the federal governments spent a combined $115.5 million, most of it for security, the swearing-in ceremony, clean up and on a holiday for federal workers, according to The New York Times.

So where will the dough come from for Obama's party?
                                                                                         --Bara Vaida

There's been some confusion over Hilary Rosen's new job heading the D.C. office of Brunswick Group. Media Bistro initially reported last week that Rosen was leaving her current home with the super blog, Huffington Post. But later, Media Bistro crossed out its initial statement and said she would remain in an "at large" position.

                                                                                                              --Gregg Sangillo

Continue reading New Rosen Gig Raises Questions

A U.S. Chamber of Commerce official predicted a "firestorm" on Capitol Hill over the Employee Free Choice Act in a press conference today at the chamber's Washington, D.C., headquarters. Randy Johnson, the organization's vice president of labor, discussed the chamber's efforts against the legislation and where he sees it fitting into the agendas of both the incoming administration and Congress. Read the rest of the story, written by Amy Harder, here on National Journal's blog, Lost In Transition.
                                                                                   --Bara Vaida

On June 28, I co-authored a story for National Journal with colleague Jennifer Skalka taking a hard look at the women's political group, EMILY's List. Its track record over the past couple of elections had been pretty miserable and the organization chalked up one more defeat when Hillary Clinton, who EMILY's List had endorsed, lost the Democratic primary to Barack Obama. We asked, "Can EMILY's List Get Its Mojo Back?"  (subscription required)

Well, the group just received a huge vote of confidence from President-elect Obama. He has hired Ellen Moran, the executive director of EMILY's List, as White House director of communications. The move came even though EMILY's List played hardball against Obama during the primaries and questioned his pro-choice credentials. Clearly, Obama is looking to the future and not the past and the hire is very good for the group, which only endorses pro-choice female candidates.

Still, EMILY's List didn't have a great 2008 election compared to other liberal organizations. Half of its federal picks scored wins - including two Senate candidates, Kay Hagan from North Carolina and Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire - but half lost. That track record was the worst among liberal groups and unions. See our scorecard (subscription required). To be fair, in reporting our story in June, EMILY's List officials stressed repeatedly to us that the group usually supports challengers -- who lose 90 percent of the time. In comparison, the other liberal outfits in National Journal's election survey endorsed incumbents, who are more likely to win.

We'll look forward to seeing how EMILY's List may capitalize on Moran's hiring.

                                                                                                                    -- Bara Vaida

What's the effect of the Democrats expanding their control in Congress and taking over the White House? K Street Democrats can command much higher salaries, The New York Times reports.

"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 told the Times.

Meanwhile, Republicans on K Street are seeing their salary potential drop to half of what they could earn back in 2002 when the GOP controlled both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
                                                                                                   --Bara Vaida

Lobbyists have complained regularly to National Journal over the past year about Barack Obama's anti-lobbyist rhetoric on the campaign trail. So I was interested to see The Washington Post editorial this weekend calling out the President-elect for some hypocrisy when it comes to transition rules regarding this group. The paper also criticized a rule that prohibits lobbyists from offering advice to the transition team in fields in which they have been registered to lobby or have been lobbying in the past year.

"It seems silly to prohibit lobbyists from giving advice in the very fields of their expertise," the Nov. 23 editorial said. "Well-qualified advisers will no doubt be excluded as a result. And it seems similarly odd to single out lobbyists for special prohibitions, when say, union leaders are free under the rules to give advice on the Labor Department transition or pharmaceutical company executives are permitted to participate in the health-care review."

So hey, K Street, The Washington Post is on your side.

                                                                                              -- Bara Vaida

There's been lots of chatter on K Street about certain lobbyists losing some clout as the result of Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., being forced to relinquish the gavel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. will be the new chair of the committee in the next Congress.

Continue reading Impact of Dingell's Loss on K Street

MSNBC is reporting that Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, is President-elect Obama's pick for Treasury Secretary.

Under the Influence reported on Oct. 29 that Geithner was the likely pick, based on information we received from Senate Banking Committee sources.

Here's Geithner's bio.

                                                                                                                    -- Bara Vaida

We interviewed more than 90 people in town for this week's issue of National Journal to find out how associations, unions, interest groups and other advocacy organizations are shifting their strategies to reflect election results that have left Democrats in control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. What did we find? Out is a too-heavy reliance on pure access politics. In are more collaborative approaches that focus on finding allies and building coalitions. Read the story here. (Subscription required for all stories)

Managing Editor Bob Gettlin and Staff Correspondent Peter Stone also sat down with U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue to get more on the business community's shifting tactics. Read here. Video of the interview here.

And Peter Stone looked into the coming lobbying battle between business and unions over "card check" legislation. See here.
                                                                                                                    --Bara Vaida
                                                                                                      

Since I was one of the judges, I thought I'd post the names of the flaks (and one CEO) who won this year's "flak jacket" awards honoring press secretaries a panel of journalist/judges deemed are the best at their game.

The awards ceremony, which included plenty of food and booze, was held Wednesday evening in the "Gold" room in the Rayburn House Office Building and was sponsored by lobbying and public relations firm Quinn Gillespie & Associates. The firm's co-founder Ed Gillespie (who left the firm last year to become special advisor to President Bush) came up with the "flak" jacket awards back in 1998 to honor the Republican press secretary who had taken the most "flak" from reporters with grace.

This year's winners (among the hundreds nominated) were:

Political Campaign

Republican: Ken Spain, NRCC
Democrat: Jennifer Crider, DCCC

Captiol Hill Press Secretary

Republican: Don Stewart, Sen. Mitch McConnell
Democrat: Brendan Daly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Industry

Business man: T. Boone Pickens (for getting his message out in a year crowded with political news)

The judges, besides myself, were Jeff Birnbaum, The Washington Times; Eleanor Clift, Newsweek; Bob Cusack, The Hill; Eve Fairbanks, The New Republic; Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post; Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review Online; Bob Merry, Congressional Quarterly; Charlie Mitchell, Roll Call; Brody Mullins, Wall Street Journal; and Jim VandeHei, Politico.

                                                                                                                    -- Bara Vaida

The December 2 runoff election for Georgia's U.S. Senate seat between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin is getting hotter by the day. Grassroots allies on both sides -- including the National Rifle Association for Chambliss and the AFL-CIO for Martin -- are pouring money and people into the state.

Chris Cox, the NRA's top lobbyist says that the pro-gun rights group is spending well over $200,000 on mail to 120,000 NRA members and roughly 250,000 other gun owners in the Peach State to get them to the polls. Cox spent much of Wednesday in Georgia, joined by NRA chief Wayne LaPierre, spreading the word that Chambliss is their man and that gun owners need to get to the polls in two weeks. "We're extremely concerned and engaged," Cox says. The stakes are huge -- Democrats now control 58 Senate seats in the next Congress, just shy of the 60 votes needed to shut down future GOP filibusters.

Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO is also spending in the six figures to rally support for Martin. Karen Ackerman, the union's political director, says about 100 staffers from the union and its affiliates are on the ground in Georgia. They're doing worksite leafleting, organizing phone calls from worker to worker, and doing other ground game work in five key cities: Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, McComb, and Savannah. "This race is very, very important," says Ackerman.

                                                                                                              -- Peter H. Stone

A reader contacted us about former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle's likely nomination as Secretary of Health & Human Services. Daschle is currently special policy advisor at Alston + Bird and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole is special counsel at the firm. Here's our reader's comment:

"Good news for Tom Daschle and the country.

Really bad news for Alston + Bird and Bob Dole.

Alston + Bird's very large healthcare lobbying practice is about to lose a number of its members to the HHS and those who don't chose to go into government service will have to deal with the ethical restrictions that will then be placed on Senator Daschle and any other A+B lawyers who move to HHS. All of them then will be barred from acting on issues that affect their former clients.

First Bob Dole's wife lost her job, now he's lost a large chunk of his lobbying practice.

Bummer. " 

                                                                                                               -- Bara Vaida

Former lobbyist Christopher McCannell has been nabbed to serve as chief of staff to Congressman-elect Mike McMahon, D-N.Y. McCannell was previously a director in the government relations firm Quinn Gillespie where he focused on financial services. He also spent eight years as chief of staff to Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., and served as press secretary for Rep. Steny Hoyer, and on the staffs of Rep. Paul Kanjorski and Sens. Frank Lautenberg and George Mitchell. McCannell is a Fordham graduate who is originally from Maine.

Senator-elect Mike Johanns, R-Neb., has hired former lobbyist Chris Peterson to be his deputy chief of staff in Lincoln, Nebraska. Peterson was Johanns' campaign manager and previously served as director of government affairs for Union Pacific Railroad. He also served executive director of the Nebraska Republican Party.

                                                                                         -- Winter Casey

Update: Waxman wins. See Congress Daily's story (subscription only).

Lobbyists across town are holding their breath this morning. Some are part of the crowd of 100-or-so reporters, staffers, and assorted others waiting at the Cannon Office Building as Democratic House members are gathered for a secret-ballot vote to decide if John Dingell will remain chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee or if he'll be deposed by Henry Waxman.

Most observers predict a close vote, noting the varying predictions of members themselves. "Add in the nature of caucus elections, egos, current events (everything from the transition to the Big-Three bailout to the troubled TARP), newbies with no memories and oldies but goodies with long memories," one lobbyist said. "Any guess is good."

                                                                                                                   -- Brian Friel  

Who's to say? But do browse our photos from last night's bash celebrating the launch of National Journal's new blog, "Under the Influence." We feature reporting on the lobbying and advocacy industries from our team of experienced scribes, Bara Vaida, Peter Stone and Julie Kosterlitz and edited by Managing Editor Bob Gettlin. We welcome your tips and tidbits. In the meantime, here's a look at the festivities from our soiree at Peacock Grand Café located where else? On K Street.

                                                                                                     -- Bara Vaida

Update: Here's the official press release announcing the blog.

All Photos by National Journal photographer Liz Lynch

Continue reading Were We Under the Influence?

The business-friendly Blue Dog Coalition of moderate-to-conservative Democrats in the House elected its leadership team for the 111th Congress this afternoon. The new co-chairs are Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, D-S.D., Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., and Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La.

                                                                                                                      --Brian Friel

A lot of K street folks have been wondering in what sequence President-elect Obama's legislative issues will be considered by Congress. Well, some of the people who will be deciding that can be found here in my posting on National Journal's "Lost in Transition" blog.

                                                                                                                    -- Bara Vaida

These are the economic times that try men's souls -- nowhere more so than at Focus on the Family. The Colorado Independent and the Denver Post report that the Colorado Springs-based powerhouse of the religious right is cutting 202 jobs. Coming on top of another reduction of 46 jobs in October, the cuts add up to roughly 20 per cent of the group's workforce. The group blames declining contributions and rising costs. Still, the Independent says, the group laid out $539,000 to help pass a California ballot measure banning gay marriage.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that "humans, freethinkers, secularists" and "nonbelievers or every description" have been enjoying something of, er, a rebirth. The American Humanist Association is spending $42,000 for an ad campaign on Washington, DC buses, and the Secular Coalition for America has raised enough funds to hire its first ever lobbyist. 

                                                                                                      -- Julie Kosterlitz

If you need any proof that Washington might just be recession proof, look no further than the billions of dollars being spent on lobbying. While the national economy was slowing this year, the lobbying industry was expanding. The Center for Responsive Politics expects that spending on lobbying will be about $3.2 billion for all of 2008, up 13 percent from the $2.83 billion spent in 2007. The projection is based on a just completed analysis of third quarter lobbying forms, which are required to be filed with Congress under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

"It means it will be the first time reported lobbying will top $3 billion," said Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center. "That is still more than is spent on either the presidential or congressional campaigns." (In the 2-year 2008 election cycle, about $2.4 billion was spent on the presidential race and about $2.7 billion was spent on the congressional races, the Center said.)

For the first three quarters of the year, lobbying spending hit $2.41 billion. A comparative annual number isn't available because this is the first year that lobbyists have had to file quarterly disclosures, following the passage of new lobbying disclosure rules in 2007.

The Center also estimates there are more lobbyists than ever. The number of people registered in the profession has grown to 15,965 up from 15,498 for all of 2007.

Other highlights from the Center's numbers - unsurprisingly, the top spending organization this year so far is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has spent $57.9 million on lobbying. And the top contract was Altria Group, owner of cigarette maker Philip Morris, which has spent $3.66 million on lobbying so far this year.

                                                                               --Bara Vaida

Washington offices of the beleagured financial services industry are having serious makeovers.

The latest is the American Insurance Association, which just announced (click here) that it's saying goodbye come Feburary to it's A-list Republican CEO of the past three years, Marc Racicot, the former governor of Montana. That doesn't mean the AIA is having its colors redone: successor CEO Leigh Ann Pusey is a former aide to then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the Republican National Committee. She is currently AIA's chief operating officer and its senior vice president for government affairs.  The AIA covered its left flank somewhat late last year, when it hired Thomas J. Santos, a one-time aide to Rep. James Maloney, D-Conn., as vice president of federal affairs.

                                                                                                           -- Julie Kosterlitz   

Continue reading Some Stay Red, Some Go Blue

Washington lawyer, Democrat, and media talking head Lanny Davis says the bad rap on the K Street crowd is all wrong.

In a column in today's Washington Times headlined "Lobbyists Are Good People, Too," Davis points out that lobbyists' "clients are companies that employ people, real people, sometimes hundreds of thousands of people who deserve to be considered when laws are made. The First Amendment protects petitioning and communicating with government." Critics "are hypocritical to use the word 'lobbyist' as an unqualified pejorative because what is a 'bad lobbyist for some is a 'good' lobbyist for others."

Davis offers a proposal for "total transparency" by lobbyists. Read what he has to say (click here). Is his idea a good one, or not? Post your comment to us at Under The Influence.

                                                                                                               -- Robert Gettlin

Update (11-20-08): Name principles James Copeland and Lynn Jacquez broke off from the firm and formed the governmental affairs shop CJ Strategies.

Innovative Federal Strategies, the renamed company of controversial former lobbying firm Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White, recently signed on CoalStar Industries as a client. One of the lobbyists listed on the registration is David Kilian, who was a minority staffer at the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee from 2000-2003 under then-ranking Democrat John Murtha. Coalstar Industries, interestingly, is based in Johnstown, Pa., the main city in Murtha's district and the hometown of the veteran lawmaker.

                                                                                                             -- Gregg Sangillo

Continue reading A K Street Murtha Connection

After talking to several K Street firms and corporate office in Washington, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., has decided where he'll land after he retires from Congress at the end of this year. Davis will be joining Deloitte Consulting to work in the federal practice area (as a non lobbyist), and will be earning about $1.5 million a year, according to two sources familiar with his job search.                                                                                   -- Peter H. Stone

Republican lobbyists are shifting into overdrive to raise big bucks for Sens. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Norm Coleman of Minnesota as they work to keep their seats.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is "putting together a seven figure effort in Georgia with ads and grassroots" to help Chambliss win his Dec. 2 runoff against Democrat Jim Martin, says Bill Miller, the chamber's political director. Further, on Nov. 17, Chambliss is slated to attend a fundraiser at the Capitol Hill Club to help fill his coffers that's being organized by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and other K Street money harvesters. And on Nov. 20, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will host a joint fundraiser at the National Republican Senatorial Committee of four GOP committees helping Chambliss. (The proceeds to be divided among the different committees).

Two sources familiar with the Chambliss money blitz say that overall he's trying to raise a total of $8 million for his runoff. Meanwhile, on Nov. 18 at the NRSC offices lobbyists are expecting to schmooze with Coleman and write checks to help with his recount drive against Democrat Al Franken. According to two lobbyists, Coleman is seeking to haul in about $2 million overall to help with legal expenses and other costs associated with the recount.

                                                                                                       -- Peter H. Stone

Want to get a movie star to your presidential inauguration party?

Well, the Creative Coalition can help. The group, which describes itself as the advocacy arm of Hollywood, is planning to throw a Jan. 20 inaugural ball at downtown D.C.'s Harman Center for the Arts (also known as the Shakespeare Theatre), and is inviting sponsors to help pay for it.

For a mere $100,000, (the Platinum Package) a sponsor gets 50 VIP admissions to its inaugural ball and 20 admissions to a pre-ball dinner. (See the offerings here: Creative Coalition.pdf) Presumably, that means that sponsors and their guests get to rub shoulders with the stars -- Tim Daly, Susan Sarandon, Kerry Washington, Spike Lee, Matthew Modine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and others -- listed on the offer.

The Creative Coalition had similar sponsorship events at both political conventions this summer. In exchange for money, the group offered its stars at various lunches, parties and concerts. Executive Director Robin Bronk has told me these events help the stars promote their policy issues. "Our whole mission is to use the power and the spotlight of the entertainment industry to promote issues of social welfare and importance," she said.

My question is: Will Barack and Michelle Obama show up? Stars are fun, but my bet is anyone who is anyone will be heading to the Illinois -- Obama's home state -- inagural ball.

                                                                                                    --  Bara Vaida

Barack Obama has moved quickly to apply to his transition team some of the lobbying and ethics strictures he favored during his presidential campaign.

The transition organization will employ 450 people and operate out of Washington and Chicago until January 20 with a budget of $12 million, transition co-chair John Podesta said today. Almost $8 million will be raised from private donors.

Federal registered lobbyists are barred from donating to the transition, said Podesta, as are political action committees. He said he expected similar restrictions to apply to fundraising for inauguration festivities, although those announcements will come later. Lobbyists are prohibited from engaging in any lobbying work while serving Obama's transition, and cannot work for the transition in the fields of policy expertise on which they lobbied -- if they lobbied for clients in the past year.

                                                                                            -- Alexis Simendinger 

Continue reading Obama Wasn't Kidding About Curbing Lobbyists

Ethanol subsidies have long been a hot-button issue on Capitol Hill and it's sure to get hotter when Congress considers energy legislation in 2009. Today, a new group, "Growth Energy," launched to "promote clean, green ethanol as America's best renewable fuel." But the group's web site (here) makes it clear what the ethanol crowd is really fired up about. "About two years ago, the Grocery Manufacturer's Association initiated a massive smear campaign against ethanol," the web site says. "It's been their goal since early 2007 to turn public opinion by placing the blame for high food prices specifically on our industry."

The CEOs of the founding member companies of Growth Energy are: Jeff Broin of POET; Wayne Hoovestol of Green Plains Renewable Energy; Al Jentz of Amaizing Energy; Steve McNinch of Western Plains Energy: Bruce Rastetter of Hawkeye Renewals, and Dave Vander Griend of ICM,

I asked if this group came together in response to Barack Obama's election and group spokesman Jin Chon said no. The group was in the works for many months before the election, he said. "Ethanol producers are very optimistic about working with the new administration" Chon said. "Obama has said he is committed to renewable fuels."

No doubt it doesn't hurt that Illinois -- Obama's home state -- is a major corn producer.

                                                                                                          -- Bara Vaida

President-elect Obama is considering a number of Google's top guns for senior positions within his administration. CEO Eric Schmidt and Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, are rumored to be candidates for a federal Chief Technology Officer post. Schmidt has reportedly indicated he is not interested in the gig.

Google Exec Sonal Shah is currently serving on Obama's transition team along with Genachowski and Schmidt. Andrew McLaughlin, head of global public policy and government affairs for Google, has also been floated as a potential Intellectual Property Rights czar. 

Another person rumored to be a candidate for the chief technology officer post is Julius Genachowski, a venture capitalist who previously worked for IAC/InterActiveCorp.

The Obama campaign received $7.3 million in donations from the Internet and computer industries.

                                                                                        --Winter Casey

Veteran Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., 82 needs help. That's the message Dingell's staff sent to folks on K street as the lawmaker faces a serious challenge by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., for the gavel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. See The Washington Post story here, along with the email.

I thought it important to note this story as I had already received emails this morning from lobbyists asking if I know whether former Dingell staff, now working on K street, were helping their ex-boss hang onto his chairmanship. The Center for Responsive Politics has a list of former Dingell aides who are now working downtown. See the list here. Waxman is seen as much more skeptical of K street, so many lobbyists wouldn't mind seeing Dingell stay put.

                                                                                                   -- Bara Vaida

Barack Obama said he was getting a puppy for his daughters as promised, but is that really the reason he's getting a pet for the family?  Everyone knows, the old D.C. adage: If you need a friend in Washington, get a dog.

So what breed will the Obama's choose? Animal Rescue group Best Friends is lobbying  the new president-elect to consider a rescue dog.    Click here.

                         -- Bara Vaida

A number of leading Republican fundraisers on K Street have launched a drive to fill the campaign coffers of Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia who is expected to face a runoff election on December 2. Chambliss' total from Tuesday's voting appeared to put him just shy of the 50 percent-plus-one required under state law to win the election.

The stakes are high. In January, Senate Democrats will have at least 55 seats (plus Independents Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders, who caucus with them) -- leaving the party just three short of a filibuster-proof majority. "Retaining the (Chambliss) seat is clearly strategically important to stop liberal overreach," says Dirk Van Dongen, the president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, one of the groups that's now working hard to help Chambliss in his race against Democrat Jim Martin.

                                                                                                    -- Peter H. Stone

Continue reading GOP on K Street Ramps Up to Hold Senate Seats

With Barack Obama's win and the Democrats' gains in Congress, a lot of interests will be looking to hire Democratic lobbyists -- in fact the hiring frenzy is already under way. I thought it worth posting a March 2007 National Journal piece (subscribers only) that my colleague Lisa Caruso spent weeks on. She checked into which Democratic lobbyists were considered by their K Street colleagues to be at the top of their game.

                                                                                                  -- Bara Vaida              

President-elect Barack Obama is wasting no time trying to tackle the economic mess. He and Vice President-elect Joe Biden are convening what they call a "Transition Economic Advisory Board" on Friday in Chicago.

Some pretty big names will be at the table. Take a look:

David Bonior (Member House of Representatives 1977-2003)

Warren Buffett (Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)

Roel Campos (Former SEC Commissioner)

William Daley (Chairman of the Midwest, JP Morgan Chase; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Commerce, 1997-2000)

William Donaldson (Former Chairman of the SEC 2003-2005)

Roger Ferguson (President and CEO, TIAA-CREF and former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)

Jennifer Granholm (Governor, State of Michigan)

Anne Mulcahy (Chairman and CEO, Xerox)

Richard Parsons (Chairman of the Board, Time Warner)

Penny Pritzker (CEO, Classic Residence by Hyatt)

Robert Reich (University of California, Berkeley; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Labor, 1993-1997)

Robert Rubin (Chairman and Director of the Executive Committee, Citigroup; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1995-1999)

Eric Schmidt (Chairman and CEO, Google)

Lawrence Summers (Harvard University; Managing Director, D.E. Shaw; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1999-2001)

Laura Tyson (Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley; Former Chairman, National Economic Council, 1995-1996; Former Chairman, President's Council of Economic Advisors, 1993-1995)

Antonio Villaraigosa (Mayor, City of Los Angeles)

Paul Volcker (Former Chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve 1979-1987)

If the polls are right (and if they aren't, we in the media are in big trouble) Barack Obama will be elected president on Tuesday. And if that happens, a lot of folks on K Street will be asking: "Can a lobbyist get a job in the White House, or anywhere else in the new administration?"

Obama senior strategist David Axelrod told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that, yes, lobbyists will be able to work at the White House, but added the caveat that no lobbyist can work on policy that would impact a former employer.

Stephanopoulos: "If Senator Obama wins on Tuesday, no one who's been a lobbyist will be able to work in his White House?

Axelrod: "No, it doesn't mean that, but it means exactly what he said for the two years of this campaign. He laid out a very specific plan for how he was going to deal with that. No one who is an active lobbyist and no one who has been lobbying on issues for the last two years related to their industries is going to come into our administration and work on those. We want to end this revolving door that we've seen in Washington where people come from industry, go into government, rig the deck in favor of those industries and then go back. We simply can't afford that anymore, George."

But Axelrod's comment is different from what many lobbyists have been hearing from colleagues working on Obama's transition. Several sources have told National Journal that no federally registered lobbyist will be getting a job in the White House. Nor will they be considered for any senior policy position requiring Senate confirmation. Lobbyists will be considered for mid-level policy jobs within the executive branch, but they won't be able to work on any issue that would benefit a former client, the sources said.

                                                          -- Bara Vaida, with reporting by Alexis Simendinger

Continue reading No Lobbyists in the White House in 2009?

The long list of technology trade associations in town could go down by one more if AeA, formerly known as the American Electronics Association, successfully merges with the Electronic Components Association. AeA announced today that the two groups have agreed to enter into merger discussions in order to provide more "depth and offer an enhanced value model for members by creating an organization with greater clout, enabling access to a larger market, and expanding the scope of products and services currently available to members."

AeA Chairperson Peter Boni said in a statement that the merger continues a consolidation trend already underway in the technology association sector. National Journal published a story in October about the possibility that more tech trade groups could merge because of pressure from the weakening economy. Just two years ago, the high-tech sector reportedly had about 40 trade associations.

                                                                                                        -- Winter Casey

The economic downturn has hit Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson especially hard. And that could spell trouble for some of Adelson's favorite conservative groups, notably Freedom's Watch, which has received an estimated $40 million in donations from the Republican sugar daddy.

Sources say that Freedom's Watch, which launced in mid-2007 and has spent millions of dollars this fall on issue ads in about a half-dozen Senate races and some two-dozen House races to help embattled GOP members, could be forced to close its doors later this year. The group has had a hiring freeze for several months.

According to recent press reports, Adelson's personal fortune -- last year estimated at $28 billion -- has declined by about $4 billion just since August. Last month, too, in the most recent Forbes 400 listing of the richest Americans, Adelson, the chairman of the Las Vegas Sands, dropped from 3rd to 15th place.

                                                                                           -- Peter H. Stone

John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, seems to be angling for a bigger role for his group as the jockeying for influence begins on K Street on the eve of the election.

In late October, NAM sent an invitation  to numerous other trade groups inviting "thought leaders in the business association community" to attend a summit at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on December 18 "for a discussion on how we work together with the new Congress and Administration to strengthen and sustain the U.S. business economy and create American jobs."

The event, billed as a "Summit on Economic Stabilization and Growth," looks to some association leaders as Engler's gambit to raise NAM's profile. "It's really surprising that NAM would anoint itself as the leader of the business community," said one top trade group executive. "Most folks in town look to the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable to play that role."

                                                                                                 -- Peter H. Stone

With the news that troubled financial-services giant AIG had decided to stop lobbying after the government took an 80 percent stake in the firm, National Journal asked AIG whether the decision has resulted in personnel changes in its Washington office. The firm has nine registered in-house lobbyists and eight outside lobbying firms on retainer, according to Lobbying Disclosure Act forms.

AIG spokesman Joe Norton said the company has not closed any offices or fired anyone. He said AIG hasn't said what its plans are and is "reviewing all our activities." Asked what the Washington lobbyists are up to if AIG has "suspended all lobbying," Norton responded that they "are being responsive to requests."

AIG's lobbying spending in Washington did plummet in the third quarter of the year. Between July 1 and September 30, the insurer spent $1.84 million on lobbying compared to $3.87 million spent in the first quarter and $2.75 million spent in the second quarter of the year, according to LDA records. In all of 2007, AIG spent $11.4 million on lobbying.

                                                                                   -- Winter Casey and Bara Vaida

Independent soft money groups - 527s and 501(c)(3) organizations - are on course to spend almost $400 million to try and influence the outcome of the 2008 election, a significant increase from the past two elections, says the Campaign Finance Institute in a new report. Among the top spenders are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($30 million), the Service Employees International Union ($25.3 million), and Planned Parenthood ($10 million).

Candidates who win election will "presumably be somewhat responsive to" the interest groups that helped elect them, says Steve Weissman, CFI's associate director of policy.

Which groups have done the best job of getting their candidates elected? In our next issue, National Journal will tally the records for key interest groups on how effective they were in this election.
                                                                                                      -- Bara Vaida