Lobbying World

… are in a fight for control of the 35-year-old libertarian think-tank. Internal battles over the composition of the organization’s officials and board members have spilled over into public litigation in Kansas over control. I have found myself admiring of the intellectual level of Cato scholarship, even when opposed to its provocative conclusions, as is often the case. But having read the public exchange between Cato Chairman Robert A. Levy and Charles Koch, this non-libertarian casts his vote for the Levy position.

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You can thank Jeff Becker for the fact that there isn’t an excessive tax on your beer.

Jeff was the longtime president of the Beer Institute. He loved the beer industry, loved the people who made beer, the people who sold beer and the people who drank beer.

You go to his Facebook site, and you will see that even in his last days, he was checking out links to different beer distributors and beer groups and beer brands. Read more...

Bob Bauer is one of the folks helping fix some major problems in American government by helping articulate and address a major problem. His work is of major importance, reminding us that lobbying often is in the public interest or is just about someone getting a fair shake for their clients.

This is a really big deal. Read more...

President Obama’s administration seems to be following through — in some ways — on the promises of change within the government.

To this end, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner today announced several key reforms to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) in an effort to provide much-needed transparency, accountability and oversight.

The goal is to limit the influence of lobbyists in the decisionmaking process aimed at stabilizing the financial system. According to a news release from the U.S. Treasury, these new rules include: Read more...

Last week Politifact.com gave President Obama four Promise Kept ratings on his first day. Pretty remarkable, I think. The good-government folks went wild. They couldn't believe what they were hearing: at last, an open government with the strongest ethics laws ever, no lobbyists in the White House working on their former issues, no lobbying on those issues when members of the administration leave.

Alas, it was a bit too good to be true, since at the behest of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, President Obama is giving incoming Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn a pass on these tight restrictions. They will remain tight, all right — for everyone else — but not for Lynn, who was a lobbyist for Raytheon and will remain involved in decisions involving his former employer. Not a total waiver, but indeed a partial one. Read more...

Who best understands the oil industry, the media industry and the securities industry? An academic who studies people’s behavior or a well-regarded successful industry participant?

An academic may be very knowledgeable about an industry, but his views of the industry are primarily scrutinized by academics in esoteric academic journals. If he is wrong, he is criticized by his peers. (He cannot lose his job because he probably has tenure.) An industry participant, on the other hand, has his views scrutinized by the marketplace. If he is wrong, he loses his job or a lot of money. Read more...

The hand that President Obama had raised to take the historic oath of office came down hard on lobbyists yesterday during his first full hours in the Oval Office. Facing a limping economy, the newly installed commander in chief froze senior staffers’ pay and executed stricter restraints on relationships between federal lobbyists and his administration in an ode to public service’s original objectives. Those are admirable moves and send the right message that he’s ready to lead by example.

Intending to stop lobbyists from utilizing public service to climb the corporate ladder, President Obama restricted his new White House staffers from working with issues they had previously lobbied for, as well as curbing individuals from interacting with the Obama administration if they leave the White House and return to the advocacy world. But let’s take this to its next logical level. Read more...