Saturday, November 13, 2004

Ok, Tell Me What's "Moral" Here!


thinkers
Originally uploaded by pabulum.
K Street has taken over Austin Texas!



So Ralph Reed's friend's friend Tom DeLay must love public relations very much to have such good friends in salesmen! In his effort to "exterminate" the Democrats via TRMPAC and ARMPAC, DeLay has created a "kitchen cabinet" (Could there be delusions of Presidency?), that includes lobbyists, whose help he used to create the "K Street Project" in the 1990s.

And what is the "K Street Project" pray tell? ,It is a racket to help the Republicans grab more special-interest money. "K Street" does it's work by threatening companies with political reprisals if they hired lobbying firms with Democrats at the head. Republicans get more corporate money if a Republican headed the lobby.

It was a bonanza! the "K Street Project" was highly effective. One case in particular was the the delay of an intellectual property vote on behalf of the Electronic Industries Alliance because they used a Democrat lobby. All they got was an admonishment from the slumbering House Ethics Committee.

"K Street Project" hit Austin in 2002 when a DC firm by DeLay's friend Drew Maloney got $360,000 state contract to promote Texas' interests in Washington. They got so cozy that after the 2002 election, Governor Rick Perry and Lieutenant Governor-elect David Dewhurst and speaker-elect Tom Craddick all used lobbyists in their transition teams or staffs. Two of Craddicks' men Bill Miller and Bill Messer hatched a plan where they would make lobbyists members of the "Speaker's Team", in exchange for material or financial support.

According to "Texans for Public Justice", there were 11 Washington lobby firms and 11 Texas firms and solo lobbyists working for multiple donors to TRMPAC in 2002. These firms and individuals lobbied for 15 corporations that gave TRMPAC $389,250 to TRMPAC, 65% or TRM's total corporate funding.

So tell me what's "moral" here? "K Street"'s job is to strong arm people into supporting the Republican party.

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