Norm Ornstein in
Roll Call and Tom Ferrick in the
Philadelphia Inquirer have unearthed more statements, made as far back as 1998, that make Rick Santorum's assertions that he wasn't involved in the K Street project and that the K Street project didn't pressure lobbyists to hire Republicans seem increasingly suspect.
Ornstein:
From a Sept. 13, 2004, Roll Call piece by Brody Mullins:
“As recently as this summer, the GOP failed to convince the Motion Picture Association of America to hire a Republican to succeed Jack Valenti, who is set to retire as Hollywood’s man in Washington after a long and legendary tenure.
“Instead, the trade association announced in August that it had hired former Clinton administration Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman.
“The move infuriated Republicans. Santorum even raised the issue of Glickman’s hire at a closed-door meeting of high-ranking Republican Senators.
“‘Yeah, we had a meeting and, yeah, we talked about making sure that we have fair representation on K Street,’” Santorum said soon after the hire. “‘I admit that I pay attention to who is hiring, and I think it’s important for leadership to pay attention.’”
Ferrick:
The public record is replete with references of Santorum leading the effort to get lobbyists to meet with GOP legislative leaders in regular sessions. The aim was twofold: to get the Republican message out, especially to friendly lobbyists, and to get lobbying firms to hire more Republican-friendly lobbyists. It has a lovely symmetry.
Santorum is on the record complaining publicly about industry groups' picking Democrats over Republicans to lobby.
As his chief of staff, Mark Rodgers, told the National Journal in 1998, the message of the K Street effort was simple: "Hire Republicans."
Do you think Rick didn't get that message?
