Though most who follow national politics are familiar with how the Republican's K Street Project where people like Tom Delay forced many firms to hire Republican's and fire Democrats -- or lose access to the Republican leadership in the House.
But what seems to have gone quietly under the radar is just how institutionalized and integrated these lobbyists became in Republican circles.
Under the Republican control of the House, the lobbyists when from being on the outside looking in, to actually being on the inside.
For example, Congressman Joe Knollenberg's Chief of Staff is a Washington Lobbyist who has been very influential on behalf of Big PharMA.
The Republican's Cozy Relationship with K Street
The Washington Post had an article on this issue back in 2001 where they described a particularly close relationship between my incumbent Republican Congressman Joe Knollenberg, the corrupt and now imprisoned Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and a lobbyist named Mark Valente, III.
The Washington Post reported:
The story of how the lawyers' advocates succeeded illustrates anew the influence wielded by individual members of Congress -- and unelected players -- who take a personal interest in District legislation.
In this case, key roles were played by lobbyist Mark Valente III, who enjoys close ties to House GOP leaders, and Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.), the new chairman of the House panel that oversees the District budget.
Valente was lobbying on behalf of the Alexandria law firm of Dalton, Dalton & Houston, which often represents parents seeking special education services for their children. Knollenberg has long been sympathetic on the issue of lifting the cap -- his top aide has an autistic son and won a large judgment against a suburban Detroit school district after a debilitating legal fight.
Keeping Their Lobbyist's Close
But it goes well beyond that these days. Valente was not only a "lobbyist", but he was also the treasurer of 10 GOP PACs.
Well, we have recently learned that lobbyists aren't just running non-candidate committee PAC funds -- they are actually 'running' Congressional Offices.
For example, Joe Knollenberg's Chief of Staff, Trent Wisecup, is a powerful Washington, DC lobbyist.
And not just any lobbyist -- according to the firm he was associated with, he was the lobbyist behind blocking the adoption of a provision into the Medicare bill that would have allowed Seniors to import less expensive Canadian Drugs.
We have more detailed information on this case >here and >here. (Note there is a picture of Abramoff front and center on each of these posts -- he isn't related to the story, but we know it irritates Knollenberg's office when we mention Abramoff's name so we do that or show his picture every chance we get.)
Congressional Watch Blogs
We have volunteers watching each and every Republican Congressional Rep in Michigan. They are reporting not only on their voting record, but also tracking their statements to the press and even at private functions. Plus, many are working on investigative type reports such as this.
We no longer have functioning newspapers in Michigan -- at least not in the Detroit area. Neither the Detroit News or the Detroit Free Press report much other than local sporting events, some sensationalized crimes and trials, and then they run some AP articles just for filler.
So without these blogs, voters would learn little about what their Congressional Reps were really doing. I would encourage you to visit these sites and then set one up for your own pet Republican.
Michigan Congressional Watch List
Pete Hoekstra: Shadow Pete (MI-02)
Vern Ehlers: Eye On Ehlers (MI-03)
Dave Rogers: Duplicitous Dave (MI-04)
Tim Walberg: Walberg Watch (MI-07)
Mike Rogers: Mr. Rogers Neighborhood (MI-08)
Joe Knollenberg: Vote No On Joe (MI-09)
Candice Miller: Candy Land (MI-10)