WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- Capital Comment -- Daily news notes, political rumors and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International.
Making a list, checking it twice -- Washington's lobbying community was all abuzz Monday thanks to a front-page report in the Washington Post saying that some GOP lobbyists are researching the partisan affiliations of corporate and trade association representatives who do business with Congress and the administration.
According to Post staff writer Jim VandeHei, formerly with the Capitol Hill gossip sheet Roll Call, the Republicans "are researching the party affiliation and political contributions of hundreds of lobbyists in Washington, part of a campaign that could dent government access and prime lobbying jobs to Democrats, according to people familiar with the project." VandeHei says Grover Norquist, president of the Americans for Tax reform citizen lobby and the leading political strategist of the center-right coalition, is masterminding what the Post calls "The K Street Project."
Norquist says the hue and cry about the effort is much ado about nothing.
"The Democrats track and act" on the same information, Norquist told Capital Comment. "For 40 years, the Democrats controlled Congress and they convinced corporate America that the only way to have influence on Capitol Hill was to hire Democrats, many of whom didn't agree with the goals of the associations they were representing." He calls the project's purpose "purely informational."
"We want to identify the political background of the people who work for trade associations and represent corporations in D.C. What we have found thus far is that there is overwhelming Democratic balance in hiring by associations who claim their goal is to lower taxes and to reduce the regulatory burden," he says.
Making a list, checking it thrice -- Washington is also buzzing about a memorandum sent by the Democrats to political action committees that at least one PAC director says, "stops just short of extortion."
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent the memo to PAC directors who had previously contributed to GOP congressional candidates in Minnesota. The opening graph of the two-page document reads in part, "You are receiving this memo because your organization contributed to congressional candidate John Kline's losing effort in either or both of the last two election cycles. ... I think this is a good time to share some information with you that will hopefully lead you to the conclusion that you should either throw your support to Congressman Luther or decide to spend your resources somewhere else."
"Clearly, the Democrats are saying, 'You give to Luther or sit out the race -- or your legislation isn't moving anywhere if we take back the Congress in '02' and they are not being very delicate about it," says one D.C. fundraiser who asked not to be named for fear of retribution. "There is an implied threat in the way the message is written that should make everyone uncomfortable," the fundraiser said.
Kline, a Republican who is engaged in a third campaign against Rep. Bill Luther, D-Minn., lost the 2002 race by just under 5500 votes while being outspent by almost 2-to-1.
"Don't make the same mistake for the second or even third time," the memo concludes. "Congressman Luther is a New Democrat and a moderate Democratic member of the important House Energy and Commerce Committee -- you'll be better off trying to find ways to work with him rather than wasting more money on a three-time loser."
God bless the child who's got his own -- National Call to Action, a movement to end child abuse and neglect, is hosting a congressional briefing to explore ways to reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect in America. The program, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, will feature remarks from Dr. Robert Anda of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Eva Bunnell, the chairman of the Connecticut Health Policy Project and a child abuse survivor, and Jayne Fawcett, ambassador and tribal councilor for the Mohegan Indian nation. The event starts at 10:30 a.m. on June 13 in room EF-100 of the U.S. Capitol.
The wheels of justice turn -- On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had filed a complaint and agreed to a consent order with Miami-Dade County, Fla., concerning violations of Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act. That section mandates that voters who are blind, disabled, or those who cannot read or write be permitted necessary assistance at the polls by the person of their choice. The department alleged that Miami-Dade County engaged in practices that prevented certain Creole-speaking Haitian-American voters, limited in their ability to understand English, from receiving assistance at the polls. The complaint also alleges the county fail to train poll workers about the various means of assistance provided for by the law.
Can't afford to miss this -- As the Senate prepares to debate the issue of whether the abolition of the death tax should be permanent, Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and representatives of some of America's wealthiest individuals will be releasing a new poll on America's perceptions of repeal.
Conrad, Bill Gates Sr., and Americans for a Fair Estate Tax will release the poll, conducted by the firm of Greenberg, Quinlan & Rosner on Wednesday, June 12 at 9:30 a.m. in room 608 of Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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