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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Marc Racicot: The New Lobbyist at the RNC |
Current rating: 0 |
by Center for Responsive Politics
(No verified email address) |
06 Dec 2001
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The Bush Administration abandons even the attempt to portray themselves as anything but corporate shills. |
WASHINGTON - December 5 - President Bush today tapped former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot to head the Republican National Committee, picking a close friend and a well-connected Washington lobbyist for the GOP's top political post.
Racicot, who was on Bush's short list for attorney general, will replace Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, who resigned last week citing family reasons.
At an Oval Office ceremony today, Bush talked up Racicot as a team player who will help the GOP tap crucial voting blocks including labor unions and minorities in the next elections, but that's not the only experience Racicot brings to the table.
Racicot also happens to be an increasingly prominent Washington lobbyist. In just under a year, he has signed up a short, but powerful, roster of clients, including Enron Corp, railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Recording Industry Association of America, which retained the former governor in its copyright fight against Napster.
One of the obvious keys to Racicot's quick rise in Washington is his close ties to the White House, an attribute that has benefited his clients on more than one occasion this year. For instance, Racicot was among the wave of lobbyists who contributed ideas to the Bush energy policy, and he personally lobbied Vice President Dick Cheney on the subject of forcing companies to update their clean air equipment.
More recently, Racicot pressed Tom Ridge, director of homeland security, for federal aid for energy companies looking to beef up security in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. In October, Bush named Racicot as a special U.S. envoy to help broker a settlement with Canada over a long-running trade dispute over lumber imports-a subject Racicot likely is very familiar with, considering that one of his clients is the American Forest & Paper Association, the trade group representing the timber industry in Washington.
But in Racicot's case, the past won't exactly be prologue. At the White House event announcing his appointment, Racicot told reporters that he will scale back, but not give up, his lobbying practice in Washington-becoming the first party chairman in recent memory to openly maintain such duties.
Even Haley Barbour, a Washington lobbyist who helmed the RNC from 1993-97, officially put his lobbying aside while running the party. Today, Barbour is one of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington, with clients including Microsoft, Philip Morris and several airlines.
It appears the issue of Racicot's lobbying was clearly vetted by the White House. According to the Associated Press, Racicot and Karl Rove, President Bush's senior political strategist, discussed terms of employment in recent days, including whether Racicot could earn income from outside the RNC while chairman.
Apparently, the answer was yes.
Click here for the web version of this report, including links to Racicot's lobbying reports filed with the U.S. Senate: |
See also:
http://www.opensecrets.org/alerts/v6/alertv6_34.asp
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