Where Have All the Lobbyists Gone?

On paper, the influence-peddling business is drying up. But lobbying money is flooding Washington, DC like never before. What’s going on?

Lee Fang, a reporter for The Nation, went to the Capitol Building on October 4.  His goal was to interview some law makers coming from the House of Representatives during the government shutdown in October.    He reported many people, in business clothing, were out making the city come to life.  Fang encountered former lawmakers and associates.  Amoong them, former Senate majority leader Tome Daschle was there escorting a group of internatnional attorneys into a meeting with other lawmakers.  The men said they were with Alston &Bird, a law firm heavily involved in lobbying.

Lobbying is defined as people seeking to influence a political issue.  These people are employed to persuade legislators to vote for certain legislation, of which the lobbyist's employer is in favor. 

Fang heard former congressman Zach Wamp.  Fang reports that Wamp is now working for Palantir, a controversial intelligence contractor.  When asked about the scandals associated with the firm, Wamp ended the conversation.  Fang found a computer and searched the lobbyist registration database.  Lobbyists are required to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) to give the public an idea about the lobbyists employers.  Wamp, and most of the others Fang saw that day were nowhere to be found.  As a side note, Matt Long, Palatir's corporate counsel,  would not comment on Wamp's job in company.

Tom Daschle is known as a "policy adviser" to many different corporate interests and a close confidant to many top Democrats.  He has become a famous unregistered lobbyist in DC.  Daschle is so well known that the technicality in the LDA law is called the "Daschle Loophole."      

On paper, the lobbyist industry is disappearing; however, it is simply going underground, according to experts.  American University professor James Thurber stated, "Most of what is going on in Washington is not covered [by the lobbyist-registration system]."  He is currently advising the American Bar Association's lobbying-reform task force.  Thurber also states that his research suggests the true number of active lobbyists is closer to 100,000.   

Mike Huckabee "Leading" early 2014 polling for the 2016 GOP Candidate

http://reason.com/blog/2014/02/04/mike-huckabee-leading-in-early-2014-earl

New early 2016 polling by CNN has stated that the Chris Christie scandals in New Jersey have taken him from the lead of the GOP presidential candidate.  Mike Huckabee was found by the CNN polls to be rising above the others by 14%.  The CNN poll called Huckabee a "new name;" however, he had been in the polling for the 2012 candidate spot.  He has also hosted a show on fox news for more than five years now.  Less than a year out from the GOP primaries, Gallup started tracking candidates' name recognition.  The Gallup poll has also found 20% of respondents have never heard of Chris Christie, and 26% have never heard of Rand Paul.  Jeb Bush and Mike Huckabee have been heard of through other means and therefore have a higher name recognition.

Conflicts and Events around Middle East: Syria, Irian, Russia

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/370063/big-chide-matthew-continetti

The conflict in Syria is far from over.  Bashar Assad has retained 95% of his WMD's after the United States made the deal of not bombing.  Al-Qaeda affiliates claim jurisdiction over most of Syria, and the Syrian conflicts are spilling over into neighboring countries such as Iraq and Lebanon.  Russia has been caught violating a decade-old nuclear missile treaty.  In order to keep the peace and future success of treaties, the United States has said nothing to the Russians about the breakage of the old nuclear treaty.   Iranian propaganda is bolstering Iran's "greatness" to the rest of the superpowers, such as Russia and the United States.