LOBBYING

For A Week, Lobbyists Join Republican Party

Donors Tout GOP Message While Left-Leaning Lobbyists Note Lukewarm Reception In Denver

by Bara Vaida

Monday, Sept. 1, 2008


It's a time-honored tradition that Washington lobbyists take off their suits and put on partisan hats to volunteer their time to work at the Democratic and Republican conventions in a variety of roles, such as strategists, media consultants, floor managers, or just answering the phone.

This year is no different at the Republican convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Despite the anti-Washington rhetoric of the party's presumptive nominee, John McCain, many of the people laboring behind the scenes to make the convention function are well-known Washington lobbyists and insiders.

"There are a lot of smart, talented people with institutional knowledge who are working [backstage], and that's beneficial to us," said Robert Smith, a lobbyist with the law and lobbying firm Venable, who is volunteering his time for the convention's Official Proceedings Committee. Because that panel is responsible for the convention's multitude of speakers, Smith and his team are in offices literally behind the giant stage where McCain is scheduled to accept his party's nomination.

Smith said that the job entails long hours and little glamour. And because it's a full-time operation, he is unable to actually be a lobbyist and shepherd clients who might be attending the convention. "My free time is extremely limited," he said.

Other Republican insiders working on the Official Proceedings Committee are Ed Goeas, president and CEO of the Tarrance Group, a D.C. polling firm, and Larry Harlow, president and CEO of Timmons & Co. Gary Andres, vice chairman of public policy and research at lobbying firm Dutko Worldwide, is running floor operations; Bryan Cunningham, a principal at BGR Holding is working on rehearsals for speakers; Ed Ingle, a lobbyist with Microsoft, is handling speechwriting; and Bobbie Kilberg, president and CEO of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, is overseeing the participant lounge -- the green room.

In contrast, Democratic Party officials were much less welcoming of lobbyists to their convention in Denver. Many Washington lobbyists, particularly those who work with corporate clients and who had volunteered at past Democratic conventions, were turned down by planners when they offered their time.

"I think there was a lot of concern about the optics," one Democratic lobbyist said.

Lobbyists volunteering for party conventions don't necessarily trigger alarm bells for those watchdog groups that monitor the influence of money in politics. Massie Ritsch, communications director at the Center for Responsive Politics, said it's hard to know whether lobbyists volunteer at conventions to get access to party officials or whether they are doing it to support the team.

They certainly, however, "may build points with the party for volunteering, which they can use to remind people they helped out at this high-profile event, which could be good for business down the line," Ritsch said.

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