Warlord
05-18-2013, 05:35 AM
http://images.politico.com/global/2012/05/120518_5_zuckerberg_ss_ap_3282_605.jpg
The group formed by Mark Zuckerberg to push for immigration reform has brought together GOP operatives who spent 2012 attacking Democratic Senate candidates with a former spokesman for Bill Clinton and a former Democratic Governors Association spokeswoman.
And when Mike Bloomberg-founded group Mayors Against Illegal Guns ordered up ads hitting Democrats who voted against expanded background checks, a Democratic ad man enlisted a Republican public affairs firm that worked extensively for tobacco companies and, more recently, the tea party group FreedomWorks.
It’s the latest illustration of how bipartisanship, something that both sides bemoan the absence of, is easier to come by when there is money to be made.
The model is helping keep the consultant class — which enjoyed a bonanza in 2012 as the super PAC era blossomed – well employed in 2013. The ad dollars are nowhere near last year’s levels, but the outside groups are adding stables of lobbyists, consultants and advisers to help them prevail in legislative battles.
Hiring consultants with ties to both political parties certainly isn’t a novel practice; it’s been a reality, even a necessity, for trade groups and companies seeking to advance their agendas on Capitol Hill or the regulatory agencies.
“People who are trying to influence legislation of influence government action work both sides,” said Steve Elmendorf, a longtime adviser to Dick Gephardt who also worked on John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. “That’s what always happened.”
What’s different now are the campaign-style tactics by FWD.us and Mayors Against Illegal Guns — ads that name specific lawmakers — and the contortions the groups have engaged in to create a bipartisan aura or respond to the ensuing criticism from one party or the other.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/interest-groups-money-bipartisanship-91580.html#ixzz2TdvzX1su
The group formed by Mark Zuckerberg to push for immigration reform has brought together GOP operatives who spent 2012 attacking Democratic Senate candidates with a former spokesman for Bill Clinton and a former Democratic Governors Association spokeswoman.
And when Mike Bloomberg-founded group Mayors Against Illegal Guns ordered up ads hitting Democrats who voted against expanded background checks, a Democratic ad man enlisted a Republican public affairs firm that worked extensively for tobacco companies and, more recently, the tea party group FreedomWorks.
It’s the latest illustration of how bipartisanship, something that both sides bemoan the absence of, is easier to come by when there is money to be made.
The model is helping keep the consultant class — which enjoyed a bonanza in 2012 as the super PAC era blossomed – well employed in 2013. The ad dollars are nowhere near last year’s levels, but the outside groups are adding stables of lobbyists, consultants and advisers to help them prevail in legislative battles.
Hiring consultants with ties to both political parties certainly isn’t a novel practice; it’s been a reality, even a necessity, for trade groups and companies seeking to advance their agendas on Capitol Hill or the regulatory agencies.
“People who are trying to influence legislation of influence government action work both sides,” said Steve Elmendorf, a longtime adviser to Dick Gephardt who also worked on John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. “That’s what always happened.”
What’s different now are the campaign-style tactics by FWD.us and Mayors Against Illegal Guns — ads that name specific lawmakers — and the contortions the groups have engaged in to create a bipartisan aura or respond to the ensuing criticism from one party or the other.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/interest-groups-money-bipartisanship-91580.html#ixzz2TdvzX1su