Catastrophe - Dick Morris [105]
Association of American Railroads*
$600,000
AT&T
$600,000
Charter Brokerage
$50,000
Chevron Corp.
$75,000
ChevronTexaco
$450,000
Coalition for Patent Fairness
$100,000
DaVita
$100,000
Delta Air Lines
$575,000
Entergy Corp.
$450,000
FedEx
$300,000
JM Family Enterprises
$170,000
LHC Group
$100,000
National Association for Home Care
$135,000
Nissan North America
$500,000
Northrup Grumman
$500,000
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
$350,000
Plains Exploration & Production Co.
$600,000
Raytheon Co.
$225,000
Shaw Group
$370,000
Shell Oil
$500,000
Southern Shrimp Alliance
$300,000
TECO Energy
$100,000
Tyson Foods
$225,000
United Space Alliance
$300,000
Source: Center for Responsive Politics.
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What’s amazing is the number of Breaux Lott clients who paid more than half a million dollars in fees in their first year of representation (indicated in the entries that are bolded in the chart above). And these are all heavy-duty clients: AT&T, Shell Oil, Delta Air Lines. Compare this, for example, with Daschle’s firm: not one of Alston & Bird’s clients paid the firm half a million dollars or more in a single year. And even the megalobbying firm DLA Piper had only three clients that paid half a million or more. Yet seven Breaux Lott clients paid the big bucks.
In its initial year, Breaux Lott made just as much as Alston & Bird. Next year should be even better.
The new boys in town are shaking things up.
So far, Trent Lott himself has not registered as a lobbyist, but his one-year prohibition is now up. So let’s watch and see whether he becomes a publicly declared lobbyist or remains a stealth lobbyist.
BOB LIVINGSTON, THE DEFINITELY NOT STEALTH LOBBYIST
Former senators aren’t the only ones raking in the big lobbying bucks. After leaving office, members of the House of Representatives are equally prone to delving into the lobbying universe.
Take Bob Livingston, the former House majority leader. He’s not a stealth lobbyist. To the contrary: he’s an in-your-face, way-out-there lobbyist, making deals wherever he can.
Livingston resigned from Congress after he was outed for his extramarital affairs, which were publicized right after he criticized Bill Clinton about Monica Lewinsky. (What a coincidence!) Instead of becoming speaker of the House, as he had anticipated, he became a major lobbyist.
Here’s a summary of his clients and fees:
Livingston Group Lobbying Income, 1999–2008
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LIVINGSTON GROUP
Total Lobbying Income, 2008: $9,040,000
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Livingston’s client list is the best evidence of just how important leadership positions are to the lobbying industry, He’s everywhere!
OBAMA CAMPAIGN GURU BECOMES “ADVISER” TO LOBBYING FIRM
Shortly after President Obama’s inauguration, Matthew Nugen, former national political adviser to the Obama campaign, was hired by Ogilvy Government Relations, one of the top lobbying firms in D.C., as a “strategic adviser.”
Nugen insists he’s not a registered lobbyist in his new job at the mega-lobbying firm, which does nothing but lobby Congress and the administration. Instead, he says that his role will be “to help my clients interpret the thinking of the administration and what’s coming down the pike.”354
After the Democratic National Convention, Nugen was assigned to travel with then vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. (The ever-talkative Biden must have been a great source of information!)
Nugen hit the ground running. According to Politico.com, Nugen immediately began “meeting Ogilvy clients and sharing his insight into the new administration and the thinking of its senior aides and policy advisers.”355
That’s Washingtonspeak for using his contacts and friendships with former Obama campaign aides who now work in the administration to find out what’s going on inside the White House—and sell that information to lobbying clients outside the