Ryan Grim has an excellent story on the amount of talent being drained from the administration due to the prohibition on hiring lobbyists. The word, of course, conjures besuited pharma shills. But the ranks of registered lobbyists are thick with out-year Democratic operatives who registered to be on the safe side of the law and have been working -- and lobbying -- for health advocates, women's groups, environmental organizations, human rights outfits, and a variety of other recognized members of the political coalition. I've heard a lot on this from frustrated health care and economic types who have spent the last eight years battling the Bush administration and got themselves registered as lobbyists in order to do it. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is thin on the ground, with crucial appointments, particularly in the Treasury Department, going unfilled. And Obama can't release a statement saying that it's simply too hard to fill an administration with non-lobbyists. Poor politics, that. In a year or two, the strain will be alleviated, as hordes of progressive advocates are deregistering as lobbyists and waiting for the two-year mark when they're free to enter the administration. But for now, Obama's young administration is starved of seasoned talent at the exact moment that it needs it most. As precedent, this is probably a healthy thing: Democrats will be less likely to lobby in future off-years. But in the near-term, the consequences could prove serious.
