A number of corporate lobbyists with Democratic ties landed a story in the Hill newspaper, criticizing House Democrats for distancing themselves from the lobbying community. The story also notes that House minority whip Steny Hoyer is seeking “to make himself the first contact for K Street” on Capitol Hill, “hold[ing] regular meetings with lobbyists.” Such stories suggest Democrats are fudging what should be an all-out effort to draw a contrast between themselves and the Republicans’ culture of corruption.
Toward the Majority.
The same Hill story notes that House minority leader Nancy Pelosi and Representative George Miller are not bending to the lobbyists’ criticism and are pressing forward with their agenda to crack down on lobbying and ethics abuses.
David SirotaDavid Sirota is a journalist, nationally syndicated weekly newspaper columnist, and radio host. His weekly column is based at The Denver Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Portland Oregonian, and The Seattle Times and now appears in newspapers with a combined daily circulation of more than 1.6 million readers. He has contributed to The New York Times Magazine and The Nation and hosts an award-winning daily talk show on Denver's Clear Channel affiliate, KKZN-AM760. He is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and a Huffington Post contributor and appears periodically on CNN, The Colbert Report, PBS, and NPR. He received a degree in journalism and political science from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He lives in Denver with his wife, Emily, son Isaac, and his dog, Monty.