By Robert Schlesinger
Remember the old aphorism that light is the best disinfectant? Members of Congress have turned it on its head.
When we first met the Democratic Congress, they were going to clean the halls of power — specifically they were going to do something about the Capitol’s cash confluence. They would disentangle the threads that connect lobbyists and legislators: loot.
Apparently, they’ve taken a different tack: merely obviating the middle man. Eliminate earmarks? Not hardly: They’ve just egalitized them.
The Democrats had campaigned against a Republican “culture of corruption.” Examples of GOP legislators taking cash became the vivid examples that punctuated the broader malfeasance motif, with earmarks and campaign contributions illustrating what had gone with Washington. One of the first things the new Dem majority did was pass new budget rules meant to cut down on earmarks. “These reforms are just our first steps,” newly-minted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) crowed. “In the coming months, we will propose legislation to close the revolving door between government officials and lobbying firms and shine a light on lobbyists’ efforts to influence legislation.”
A year later the only moves earmarks have made is from the corners of congressional offices to the bright public light of the Web. From today’s NYT:
Many lawmakers have created online “request forms” for people to use in seeking federal money for local projects.
There’s more:
In seeking earmarks, many lawmakers indicated that they were prepared to deal with Washington lobbyists.
The online “appropriations request form” of Representative Kendrick B. Meek, Democrat of Florida — due on Feb. 22 — says: “Please provide contact information for two people willing to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for questions about the project. If you are working with a lobbying firm, please provide one contact at the lobbying firm and one contact in the organization.”
Representative Jeb Hensarling, Republican of Texas, said the online request forms showed that business as usual was continuing in the House under Democratic leadership.
Mr. Hensarling said that Speaker Nancy Pelosi “continues to dance around efforts to begin fixing the earmark process.”
Lobbyists have become something akin to literary agents: Your manuscript might get selected cold, but you’ll do better off with an agent. (Did I mention I’ve written a book?)
Democrats vowed to rein in earmarks, and in a way they’ve domesticated the practice, bringing the public into the process. Light may indeed be the best disinfectant, but it also helps weeds grow.
