Oh yeah, Republicans are all about this kind of affirmative action !

Initiative fortified ties to lobbyists
'K Street Project,' now mired in scandal, aimed to ensure GOP control
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, January 15, 2006
By ALLEN PUSEY / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON – In 1995, they named it the "K Street Project," a kind of affirmative action for Republican lobbyists, a program to expand GOP influence in the influence business.
The idea was to pressure those who lobby Congress – the trade associations, industry groups and high-dollar law firms – to help cement newly gained Republican control. They were asked to hire Republicans, fund GOP political initiatives and dramatically curb their support of Democrats.
But the K Street Project, now mired deeply in a lobbying scandal, could well undo the continuing Republican majority it was once designed to ensure.
Republican strategist Grover Norquist conceived it after the GOP took over the House. Fast-rising Texas congressman Tom DeLay embraced it. And Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist superstar, became the program's archetype.
"What the Republicans need is fifty Jack Abramoffs," said Mr. Norquist back then, explaining the aims of the K Street Project to The Washington Post. "Then this becomes a different town."
Mr. Abramoff recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges. His campaign contributions, lavish golf trips, sinecure jobs and expensive meals for congressmen and their staffers are the focus of a criminal investigation – which has implicated several former members of Mr. DeLay's staff and at least one Republican congressman.
Mr. DeLay, who had ridden the K Street Project to an 11-year tenure as a senior Republican leader, lost that power this month when a rebellion by GOP colleagues forced him to concede his post as House majority leader.
DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said the K Street Project has been valuable on its own terms.
"It [the Republican revolution] was about transforming the culture of Washington. Changing things is more than changing the 435 people in office [in the House]. You have to change the culture that surrounds it," he said. "And I think it's succeeded to the extent that we've had legislative success."
Though little known outside Washington, the project has become an issue, even among Republicans. Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, one of the candidates to replace Mr. DeLay as majority leader, has vowed that if elected, "There will be no longer be a K Street Project, or anything else like it."
Democrats have long made the project the centerpiece of their charge that Republicans have fostered a "culture of corruption." In 2000, they filed a federal racketeering lawsuit against Mr. DeLay over his demands of lobbyists. The suit was later dropped.
Paul Weyrich, head of the conservative Free Congress Foundation, said Democrats could capitalize on ethics issues, even though a number of their own party have been identified as recipients of Mr. Abramoff's largesse.
"Rightly or wrongly, Republicans seem to be held to a higher standard," Mr. Weyrich said.
Though Mr. Abramoff and his clients were generous to both parties, records show he favored Republicans. Between 1999 and 2005, Abramoff-related entities gave more than $4.4 million to more than 300 lawmakers, including $1.5 million to Democrats, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
In its heyday, the K Street Project – so named for the downtown Washington corridor on which many lobbying firms have offices – was regarded as both networking and extortion, depending on your point of view. Either way, it is seriously big business.
Though dependable figures are difficult to come by, the 13,500 active registered lobbyists reported fees of more than $2.1 billion for their work in 2004, according to the consumer group Public Citizen. Because of their influence on legislation, lobbying firms often compete for former congressmen and their staffers, both for their grasp of the process and their personal relationships on Capitol Hill.
They lobby not only for Wal-Mart and Halliburton and Exxon, but the Catholic Church and the Girl Scouts, dispensing insight, information and suggestions. They also give money to lawmakers for their campaigns, charities, pet projects and defense funds.
Republicans argue that the project was made necessary by 40 years of a Democrat-dominated Congress. Most Washington lobbying firms were populated with Democrats at the time the K Street Project began, and the newly elected Republican majority wanted access to the high-paying jobs and campaign cash.
Mr. DeLay was unapologetic for that.
"We're just following the old adage of punish your enemies and reward your friends," he told The Post in 1995.
What differed from past practice by Democrats was the efficiency Mr. DeLay and Mr. Norquist brought to the process. Contributions and party affiliations were compiled into a database that Mr. DeLay could consult when lobbyists came to call. Lobbyists and their firms were rated "friendly" or "unfriendly" or "neutral."
A Web site posted job openings, and an e-mail service blasted Republican résumés.
"The K Street Project brought a partisanship to lobbying that just wasn't there before," said Larry Noble, a former Federal Election Commission general counsel who now heads the Center for Responsive Politics. "They didn't just want campaign contributions for Republicans, they wanted firms to stop giving to Democrats. And that was something new."
The program was wildly successful – too successful, according to critics – cementing the relationship between big money and party politics.
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