It’s ironic, to say the least, that the polls show that the majority of the people believe that the political system is broken (according to a new CNN poll) and the polls also show the Democrats on the verge of taking over the House BUT, BUT, BUT, read this from The Hotline:
K Street Veering Left
For all the Republican effort in the last decade to append Washington’s corporate lobbying community to the GOP coalition, K Street’s main project, as it were, is, was, and always will be to deliver for clients and companies. To ensure favorable legislation — or to block unhelpful measures — these lobbyists need to be able to access the influential. That is done, among other ways, through campaign contributions. While the business community is more inclined to support Republicans on both philosophical and personal grounds, their professional motivation trumps all.
This is why, as a review of their latest campaign finance filings reveals, House Min Leader Nancy Pelosi and Min Whip Steny Hoyer will both break their all-time fundraising records this cycle, and will do so thanks in no small part to PAC contributions. Both Pelosi and Hoyer have already raised more PAC dollars through the end of September than they did for the entire campaign in 2004, when both held the same leadership positions they do now.
According to PoliticalMoneyLine, nearly $940K of Pelosi’s $1.46M raised so far this cycle comes from PAC contributions. Of the $940K, over half comes from business interests or law firms and lobbying shops. While a third is from organized labor, Pelosi’s corporate contributions have spiked compared to 2004. Just in the third quarter of this year, her donors included such GOP-friendly groups as the American Bankers Assoc, the American Hospital Assoc, Credit Suisse, the Financial Services Roundtable, the Mortgage Bankers Assoc, Honeywell Corp, Accenture, Genworth, Lockheed Martin and even the Nat’l Beer Wholesalers.
Some of these heavyweights gave to Pelosi in 2004, but with a full month of contributions yet accounted for, many have already exceeded their past donations. The Bankers gave Pelosi $6K in ’04; they’ve already given $7.5K. The Financial Services Roundtable? They donated $2K for the whole ’04 cycle, but had given $5K through last month. The Mortgage Bankers offered a token $1K in January of 2003. Last month, they maxed out to $10K. And how about the Beer Wholesalers, perennially one of the most loyal GOP allies? Maxed out to Pelosi — in July.
Hoyer, the chief K St liaision for House Democrats, has already raised nearly $2.1M so far this cycle, the most ever in his 24 years in Congress. Of that, almost $1.5M comes from PACs. Though widely viewed as more friendly to business interests than his rival from California, Hoyer has also has seen his corporate contributions soar from Republican-leaning sources. The National Retail Federation, Capital One, Sallie Mae, and Occidental Petroleum have all stepped up their giving from 2004 to the man who could be the next Maj Leader of the House.
In short, bets are being hedged. Groups that could be impacted by the Democrats’ top priorities in January want to be sure they can get their calls returned. Whether it be the minimum wage (the Retail Federation), student loan interest rates (Sallie Mae) or lobbying reform (all of the above), Pelosi has made clear that her caucus would waste no time pushing through their agenda. And when that happens, these interests want to have the chance to make their case to somebody in leadership.
Asked about the influx of K St dollars to the would-be leaders of a Democratic-controlled House, Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said it indicated “support for our agenda and the political reality that we have a chance to win.” Pointing to their “6 for ’06” plan released before the summer recess, Daly said such donors “understand our agenda” and that is the agenda they can expect should Democrats take the majority.
