DALE MCFEATTERS Changing of the guard on K Street

WASHINGTON -- K Street, the important part, starts in the weeds under a freeway, becomes a broad esplanade crossing downtown Washington west to east before terminating, for the purpose of this piece, at the capital's handsome old Carnegie Library, now shuttered.
It is lined with generic office buildings that house lobbyists, law firms and trade associations, enough of them that K Street has become synonymous with the industry that exists to wring favors out of Washington on behalf of its clients.
As the results of the congressional election came in, passersby on the broad sidewalks swore they could hear the sound of color printers pumping out resumes, the click of voice mails receiving importuning messages and the soft rustle of red ties being exchanged for blue. Collectively, it was the sound of lobbyists changing sides.
In with the old ...
The Democrats were in, the Republicans were out and, one guesses, the lobbyists weren't sorry.
After taking control of the House 12 years ago, the Republicans, perhaps having ingested too much hubris from their new majority status, launched the "K Street Project." They set out to replace all the Democratic lobbyists in town with Republicans from their ranks on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Tom DeLay sought to accelerate this process by declaring that House Republicans would deal only with Republican lobbyists, and firms that persisted in retaining their Democrats, well, tough, their projects were dead.
The lobbying firms had no choice but to play along -- sort of. Lobbying firms are said to "lean" Democratic or Republican. Most of them employ some of each. They want to work with the majority, of course, but they don't want to lose touch with the minority.
Most lobbying firms are headed by Washington veterans, people who have served in Congress as members or staffers, or held key posts in the executive branch, or cut their teeth on political campaigns.
They know that such Washington sayings as "nothing lasts forever" and "what goes around comes around" may be cliches, but they're also true -- unlike the new Republicans who believed that because they had won an election, they had launched a revolution and that there really was, in their own phrase, "a permanent Republican majority."
The newcomers came to treat as rights, rather than perks, flights on corporate jets, expensive meals, golf outings and luxury skyboxes. And the lobbyists flourished who could provide these luxuries, so necessary to the legislative process. Unfortunately, the government tends to frown on lawmakers soliciting these perks. It's called "influence peddling."
The pre-eminent practitioner of this kind of lobbying turned himself into federal prison last week. Two of DeLay's aides were convicted in the same scandal, and one Republican congressman is in jail and another is headed there for allowing lobbyists to do a little too much for them.
Next in line
Now it is lobbyists said to be "close to" the next House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, the next Senate leader, Harry Reid, and the incoming Democratic committee chairmen who are fielding the calls from defense contractors, pharmaceutical interests, the oil and gas industry and telecommunications companies.
Soon-to-be-out-of-work Republicans, new converts to the spirit of bipartisanship, are calling around K Street looking to land a lobbying berth. And Democratic staffers on the Hill are seeking to make up for their 12 years in the legislative wilderness with a well-paid lobbying job.
There will be a lot to do. In addition to everything else Congress will do, many believe that the Iraq war will begin winding down, freeing up the billions of dollars we're spending on it. The money will have to go somewhere and, you can bet, fellow taxpayer, it won't be us -- unless we hire a good lobbyist, one "close to" the Democrats.
Scripps Howard News Service