CITIZEN LOBBYISTS. John Edwards has made it very clear that he thinks lobbyists are the bane of the American political system, and will prevent needed healthcare reform. He said so again at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Political Action Conference yesterday, warning that if you give industry lobbyists a seat at the table, "they'll eat all the food." So it was with some amusement that I looked up, after Edwards finished his remarks yesterday, to find a man on the stage jazzing up the crowd for the SEIU's "Lobby Day." "We're going to lobby, and then we're going to lobby some more," he shouted at the crowd. "And then we are going to rally." And that, indeed, is the SEIU's Political Action Conference's agenda for today. From 10:30 to 11:30, the group is holding "Lobby Day Briefings" at the Washington Hilton, after which participants will be ferried to Capitol Hill by bus. And then, at 1:45, they will hold a "Money for Healthcare, Not War" rally. In addition to citizen lobbying efforts like today's, the SEIU works with registered federal lobbyists to forward its agenda and weigh in on legislation critical to its members. Since just 2000, Senate records show, the SEIU has worked with: Bond & Co.; Clark & Weinstock; Colling Murphy Swift Hynes Selfridge LLC; Robert Giroux; Jennings Policy Strategies; the Nueva Vista Group; Bill Lynch Associates; and Tighe Patton Armstrong Teasdale. Additionally, the SEIU has its own in-house registered lobbyist, Alma Henderson, according to Senate disclosure records. These are likely the sorts of efforts Hillary Clinton was defending at the Yearly Kos conference when she said: "A lot of those lobbyists, whether you like it or not, represent real Americans." I seriously doubt that the Edwards campaign has a problem with any of this SEIU activity, either, despite his anti-lobbying stance.
--Garance Franke-Ruta
