Lobbyists banned and banished by the Obama administration are making a comeback.  I don’t know how you feel about lobbyists, but if you dislike them, you’re not alone.  A lobbyist friend of mind has a poster on his wall that reads, “I’m ashamed to tell my mother I’m a lobbyist.  She thinks I’m a part-time piano player in a brothel.”  Lobbying is named after those who hung around the lobby of the Willard Hotel hoping to see President Grant, who liked to sit in the lobby smoking cigars.  President Obama had limited lobbyist access to his administration, including a complete ban on registered lobbyists having any conversations with government officials regarding any item funded by the $787 billion Stimulus Act.  But a recent blog posted by a presidential advisor indicated that oral communication with lobbyists will be banned only after a specific project has been let out for bid, a significant reversal of the earlier policy.  It is clear how information gets to government officials without lobbyists, but one thing is clear, for Washington lobbyists, there’s not a lot of living room.

THIS IS NEIL CHAYET LOOKING AT THE LAW™

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