Time Warner’s decision to hire Carol Melton as its top lobbyist has garnered “quiet attention” from House Republican aides who have raised questions about her political affiliation.

“The entertainment industry continues to prove they just don’t get it,” a top House Republican aide remarked.

[...]

House GOP leadership aides and their allies on K Street (many of whom are former Hill staffers) continue to monitor closely the political background of lobbyists whom the biggest corporations hire. The effort is known as the “K Street Project,” a research project that tracks lobbyists’ party affiliations, and is led by GOP activist Grover Norquist, who heads Americans for Tax Reform.

Since Republicans gained control of Congress in 1994, several congressional leaders, including Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Mike Oxley (R-Ohio), have been accused of trying to pressure corporations to hire Republican staffers for their highest-paying and most powerful lobbying posts. In 1998, the House ethics committee reprimanded DeLay for holding up legislation that would have benefited the electronics industry to penalize the Electronic Industries Alliance for hiring Oklahoma Democrat Dave McCurdy.

Posted by: Jonathan Singer / 10:09 PM | Basie! Home