Lobbying

A Quiet Revolution In Business Lobbying

by Sheldon Rampton — February 7, 2005 - 11:21am

"After brief pleasantries on the phone the other day," writes Jeffrey Birnbaum, "Thomas J. Donohue got down to business with a top health insurance executive. 'We're in a new year and a new time,' Donohue said smoothly. 'Can we put you on the list and get your money?' The executive said yes, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was $100,000 richer.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, February 5, 2005

Burson-Marsteller's Bromine Front Groups

by Laura Miller — February 4, 2005 - 7:27pm

As the European Parliament has come into power, the population of lobbyists, PR firms and front groups has boomed in Brussels. In a new report, the Corporate Europe Observatory exposes the work of global PR firm Burson-Marsteller on behalf of the bromine industry as it attempts to stymie bans on bromine-based flame retardants.

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Corporate Europe Observatory, January 2005

Perception Is King

by Diane Farsetta — January 18, 2005 - 8:24pm

Sir David King, the British government's chief scientific adviser, has been "aggressively targeted by American lobbyists trying to discredit his view that man-made pollution is behind global warming." King said, "You have a group of lobbyists, some of whom are chasing me around the planet. ...

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The Independent, January 17, 2005

Feeding Social Insecurities

by Diane Farsetta — January 13, 2005 - 7:45pm

The "start of a coordinated effort to build public support" to privatize Social Security "and pressure Congress to act" included a Washington DC town hall with the president and six "carefully selected participants." One was a Seattle-area businessman who, after being contacted by the White House, got a call from the conservative lobbying group FreedomWorks, "offering to pay his expenses." FreedomWorks

Main Source: 
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 12, 2005

National Association of Manufacturing Consent

by Diane Farsetta — January 10, 2005 - 1:51pm

The National Association of Manufacturers, whose political action committee BIPAC mounted a massive get-out-the-business-vote drive last year, is forming two new groups to support the Bush administration.

Main Source: 
PR Week (reg. req'd.), January 10, 2005

A Front Group Affront

by Diane Farsetta — January 4, 2005 - 3:33pm

An American Prospect article on Rick Berman of the front group Center for Consumer Freedom notes, "Berman's strategy turns on a simple rhetorical gimmick: By employing the language of consumer freedom, he protects his client industries by demonizing (and, hopefully, discrediting) their critics." Berman "stands out, if only for the sheer, unparalleled audacity with which he's straddled his dual roles as consumer 'advocate' and indu

Main Source: 
The American Prospect, January 3, 2005

Lobbying Bill Tops $1.1 Billion For First Half of 2004

by Laura Miller — December 29, 2004 - 3:45pm

"As President Bush campaigned for reelection pledging to protect doctors and insurance companies from patient lawsuits while easing the tax burden on businesses, industry groups spent record amounts of money lobbying to influence the White House, Congress and their constituents," the Los Angeles Times' Peter Wallsten writes. According to public records filed with the Senate, industry groups spent $1.1 billion on lobbyists and advertising campaigns for the first half of 2004, a new record.

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Los Angeles Times, December 29, 2004

White House Astroturf For Social Security Phase Out

by Laura Miller — December 17, 2004 - 8:20pm

When White House Budget Director Joshua B. Bolten introduced a "single mom" from Iowa to promote President Bush's plan to dismantle Social Security, she was presented as one of the "regular folks" in favor of private savings accounts. But Sandra Jaques, who addressed a White House economics conference on Thursday, "is not any random single mother," the New York Times' Edmund Andrews wrote.

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New York Times, December 17, 2004

Don't Let the Revolving Door Hit You

by Diane Farsetta — December 16, 2004 - 6:33pm

Representative Billy Tauzin, "a principal author of the new Medicare drug law, will become president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the chief lobby for brand-name drug companies." The Medicare law is generous to industry, forbidding price controls, regulations, or even negotiations with drug manufacturers "to secure lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries.

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New York Times, December 16, 2004

Qorvis Got Served, with Subpoenas

by Diane Farsetta — December 9, 2004 - 1:53pm

The FBI searched three offices of the PR firm Qorvis Communications and delivered subpoenas to a fourth office.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, December 9, 2004
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