Lobbyists Who Dine From Both Sides of Plate
This is one in a series of occasional stories about ethics and transparency in the part-time Texas Legislature.
Are the people who run political campaigns unsympathetic characters? Yes, they are. But they have to eat, and some of them make a living by lobbying the same lawmakers they helped elect — and who might hire them again when it is time to seek office again.
Side businesses are nothing new for political folk. Back in the day, for instance, the Texas Republican consultant Karl Rove had a business that raised money for museums and the arts. One enterprise kept him alive ...
Comments (2)
Christine Lund
I was raised in a strict Catholic family. My sister lived with the nuns in a convent for a while during WW II. My cousin was a Franciscan nun. We were taught one lesson that covered all the bases. DON'T LIE, CHEAT OR STEAL. If you follow this rule, using to gauge your every decision, you cannot go wrong. While no one is perfect, if you break this rule, it's your responsibility to not let the sun go down without correcting it and making proper amends. It would invade your sleep and make you question your every decision until you did the right thing. I live my life according to the rules. I've watched in amazement as people opine selfish, cruel, cavalier, naive, biased thoughts in open forums and expect to be cheered. It's Schadenfreude.
If it doesn't live up to the smell test, don't let it pass. DON'T LIE, CHEAT OR STEAL. And if you are part of the public trust, an official, it's even more imperative that no stain be made to the honor of Texas and America. The whole lobbyist thing stinks. Our legislators are OUR LOBBYISTS in Congress, NOT corporate America's. All lobbyists should be given an opportunity to address the entire Congress on videotape. All interactions between them should be on video and audio tape and available to the public.
Pickles Sorrell
This is crap. What Eppstein and the Delisi's do ought to be illegal.
Eppstein actually is paid to lobby while Legislators actually pay him a retainer DURING the session! Rep. Geren tried to get this banned and Eppstein and others who are doing this whined like three year olds.
And the Delisi's? While Deidre Delisi was Chairman of TXDoT and was receiving state funds for those services, she was listed as part of the Delisi Communications team on the website of their government relations practice - meaning she was receiving benefit of lobby dollars (by, if nothing else, being married to Ted Delisi who was being paid to lobby). How is this legal? And why did the media never uncover this or point it out?
Dirty, dirty, stinky, stinky. There are times when disclosure is simply not enough. These are two erstwhile examples of what is wrong with the current system.