Lobbyists, Congress and Corruption

The decision of former Tom DeLay aide Michael Scanlon (35) to plead guilty in a corruption case (which includes his paying $19 million in restitution) threatens to expose the nasty underbelly of money and politics. The politics of quid-pro-quo practiced by Scanlon and his partner Jack Abramoff , at least on the surface, appears to be the standard operating procedure of today's crop of Republican leaders and lobbyists (referenced by the area of Washington where most have offices, K Street). Today's Baltimore Sun provides a short profile of Scanlon and this historical summary:

Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who was then House Majority Whip, launched the "K Street project" to strengthen ties between the GOP-led Congress and high-dollar lobbyists, many of whom ply their trade from plush offices on that downtown Washington thoroughfare. Access to key lawmakers was granted only to those lobbying firms and trade associations that put Republicans in the top jobs.

Scanlon, a public relations practitioner (it's doubtful that PRSA will honor Scanlon like SPJ did Judith Miller), succinctly summarized the current politics by character assassination thusly:

"You kick him until he passes out," Mr. Scanlon wrote at the time in an e-mail to a colleague that was published in the Clinton biography, "The Breach." "Then beat him over the head with a baseball bat - then roll him up in an old rug - and throw him off a cliff into the pound(ing) surf below!!!!!"

A must read. More on this story later.

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Congress, Corruption, Jack Abramoff, K Street, Michael Scanlon, Politics, Tom DeLay