January 24th, 2009
What’s the Point of the Lobbyist Ban, Then?
I’ve never been a fan of holding up lobbyists as some inherently evil group. I think running against them is mostly a stunt, and I think broad prohibitions against them entering government is a bad idea. That said, if you’re going to make a point of adopting rules against lobbyists, you really should stick to them.
Update: While I’m not a fan of the rhetorical device of slamming lobbyists, I’m absolutely appalled by the revolving door. As such, I’m completely okay with fairly severe post-employment bans on lobbying agencies of which you were previously a part. Not a perfect solution, but it’s better than nothing. (Thought I’d made this part of my original post, but somehow bungled it.)
James Young says:
Agreed. But where were your criticisms of Barry when he was pulling his “stunt”?
January 24th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Brown Bashes Obama: Don’t Make Ethics Rules You Won’t Follow — But As For Me says:
[...] Blacknell.net » What’s the Point of the Lobbyist Ban, Then? [...]
January 24th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
MB says:
Barry? You knew the guy in Hawaii? Went to Harvard with him? No?
January 24th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Beth says:
Ugh. See, I am with you on the hypocrisy. But the problem is that I read Campbell Brown’s take it on it before I read yours, so now I want to defend Obama even though I can’t think of a particularly good defense. Because that is the power of Campbell Brown: she can make me believe anything, as long as it is the opposite of whatever she’s saying.
January 25th, 2009 at 8:04 am
MB says:
Which brings up a more important question – why in the world were you reading Campbell Brown?
January 25th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Beth says:
Oh, you know, they put those links on cnn.com, it’s late, you’re drunk, next thing you know you are reading Campbell Brown.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:13 am
MB says:
Ah. That makes sense. (I should admit, however, that that’s how I thought those columns were written, not read.)
January 25th, 2009 at 11:42 am
More Hyp-O-crisy on the Lobbiest Front, Brown Blasts Obama Again for Hyp-O-Crisy — But As For Me says:
[...] Blacknell.net » What’s the Point of the Lobbyist Ban, Then? [...]
January 29th, 2009 at 9:24 am
More Hyp-O-crisy on the Lobbyist Front, Brown Blasts Obama Again for Hyp-O-Crisy — But As For Me says:
[...] Blacknell.net » What’s the Point of the Lobbyist Ban, Then? [...]
January 29th, 2009 at 9:31 am