December 29, 2007
John Edwards Says 'No' To Fed Lobbyists ... But State Lobbyists Apparently Ok With JRE
UPDATE: Edwards Camp Responds ... From Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz: "Either you lobby the federal government, or you don't. Either you are paid to influence legislation and the people who write it, or you aren't. The line is clear - and only murky for rival campaigns or reporters who are trying to blur it," reports NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller.
The earlier On Call post:
John Edwards told a crowd at a Washington, Iowa, library this morning that he would not hire any former corporate or foreign government lobbyists in his administration.
"I want to make an announcement today, which is that when I am president of the United States, no corporate lobbyist or anyone who has lobbied for a foreign government will work in my White House," he said, reports NBC/NJ's Tricia Miller.
Following the town hall, Edwards reiterated to reporters that that means he will not hire anyone who has ever been registered as a federal lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He said that would include "people who have lobbied, been registered lobbyists in Washington on behalf of corporate interests at the federal level ... corporate lobbyists, those who've lobbied against the interests of the American people, those who've lobbied on behalf of foreign governments."
Asked whether that would include federal lobbyists who have worked on behalf of interests like labor that he champions, Edwards replied, "This will be a judgment I'll make, but my view is that anybody who has been lobbying on behalf of big corporations are part of the problem because corporate greed is at the heart and soul of what's stealing the future of our children and what's killing the middle class in our country."
He said his announcement has nothing to do with other candidates' choices. "I think it would be a great thing for America if the other Democrats would commit to the same thing, but this is about my presidency," he said.
But check out this On Call post, which was reported Dec. 21 and is pasted below, about a Wisconsin lobbyist who bundles for Edwards and helped kill a state ethanol mandate.
So there won't be place for federal lobbyists in an Edwards administration, but a state lobbyist can raise money for candidate Edwards???
Edwards said today that Tyre is a friend and supporter, Miller reports. He said he had "no idea" whether Tyre is a lobbyist. "I know he's not a Washington lobbyist," Edwards said.
Loyal Edwards Fundraiser Killed Ethanol Initiative In Wisc.
Scott Tyre, a Wisconsin lobbyist who sits on John Edwards' national finance committee, has worked to kill ethanol mandates in Madison. In fact, Tyre's own firm, Capitol Navigators, advertises his efforts to tank that bill next to quotes from longtime Edwards loyalists Ed Turlington and Nick Baldick praising Tyre's "work ethic" and "brain power."
"Scott is regarded as one of the top contract lobbyists at the Capitol. When it comes crunch time and you need votes as we did during the ethanol mandate debate in the 2005-06 session, Scott was one of the first persons I called for help. His contacts and lobbying skills are certainly one of the reasons we were able to kill the bill in the Senate."
--Erin Roth, Executive Director of Wisconsin Petroleum Council/Division of the American Petroleum Institute
Tyre is an Edwards bundler, according to Public Citizen.
Edwards has said on the campaign trail that ethanol is one key to moving the country toward energy independence.
Earlier, On Call reported that Joy Philippi, the rural co-chair of Hillary Clinton's campaign, has worked to kill ethanol subsidies. A former president of the National Pork Producers Council, Phillipi is a Nebraska farmer.
Certainly that item smacked of greater irony than this Edwards post. But Tyre's anti-ethanol efforts -- his firm has also represented the American Petroleum Institute -- contradict Edwards' campaign trail pitch for expanded production of renewable energy sources. And Edwards, as we all know, slams lobbyists at every diner, community center, debate and school rally. It seems perplexing at best then that he'd have one on his team who is fighting his very policies.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Posted 12.21.07 05:35 PM | Comments (2)
Posted at 07:01 PM
Comments
So, Edwards is associating with someone working to prevent a boondoggle that will serve mainly to further enrich a couple of agra-conglomerates and raise food prices, while ultimately doing nothing to address the looming energy crises... and this is supposed to make him look bad how exactly?
Xavier Ninnis | 12.29.07 11:36 PM
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I'd say you deserved that smackdown from JRE's campaign.
corinne | 12.31.07 10:52 AM
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