Call it a redemption of faith, call it a confirmation of belief, but regardless of the caption, Obama's promise of change has gained substance. Change was the keystone of the Obama presidential campaign; but, until elected, it had to remain just that, a promise. That promise was put into practice by his performance on the first full day of the Obama presidency. Many days and many executive orders will follow, but today he started to keep his promise to America.
Foremost of these was Obama's promise of ethics reform. The abuses of the lobbying industry centered on K Street in Washington had become notorious over the last few years. The reach of these purveyors of influence was tantamount to another branch of government. But unlike a branch, K Street was without portfolio and without accountability to anyone except the special interests that paid them. The K Street lobbyists were part of the campaign finance triangle that reached from moneyed special interests to the lobbyists to the campaign treasuries of office-seeking politicians. Underlying this covert influence peddling was the unspoken but rigid demand that special interest money be repaid with legislative favors.
But today, the winds of fear are blowing through K Street.
President Obama's first salvo of change was the ban on lobbyist gifts to anyone serving in his administration. Following that was the closing of the revolving door that pushed members of previous administrations from positions of public office to the welcoming arms of the lobbyists. That revolving door was abruptly slammed shut with Obama's order that no members of his administration could become a lobbyist dealing with his/her former position for two years after leaving office.
Added to this, the new president choked off the earmarks that were the favorite self-serving tactic of the lobbyists and their legislative pals. Now Obama insists that earmarks carry the name of the legislative sponsor along with written justification. It would be informative, if not amusing, to read the justification of the Bridge to Nowhere.
The real threat to the lobbyists of K Street is Obama's call for transparency. If sunlight is the best political antiseptic, then the new requirement for visibility of lobbyist reports, ethic records and campaign finance reports will have a cleansing effect on the political process. Nothing will impede the passing of a stuffed envelope in a backroom faster than a glaring spotlight.
These new regulations and Obama's insistence on transparency are the forces behind the winds of fear that are blowing through the windows of K Street conference rooms. But Obama and his reforms cannot rest easy. Washington lobbyists have faced reform measures before and have been only slightly deterred. The lobbyist's art is the art of the loophole. They are masters at skirting efforts of reform; an instructive example is how they have circumvented campaign finance reform. If Obama follows his stated and now exercised promise of reform, he must always be ready to close the loopholes that the lobbyists will certainly devise to stop it.
Nospinicus