WP: Katrina Leads a Lobbyist to Reevaluate His Priorities

[DeepModem Mom]

Katrina Leads a Lobbyist to Reevaluate His Priorities
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 12, 2005; Page A04


Frederick L. Webber, a longtime denizen of Washington's lobbying corridor, showed up at work one day last week and found on his desk a dozen fundraising requests from members of Congress.

He threw them all in the trash.

In a self-described epiphany, Webber, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, drafted a large check to help families displaced by Hurricane Katrina and decided that an imperative of his vocation -- political giving -- had finally gone too far.

How could lawmakers be asking for money for their reelections, he asked himself, when thousands of Americans were desperate for aid along the Gulf Coast?...

***

It's a message he was repeating passionately at lunches and in private conversations with other lobbyists all over town last week.

Webber's opinion is worth noting; he isn't just any lobbyist. At age 67, Webber has been a major player in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked both in the Nixon White House and on Capitol Hill and has headed up or helped direct lobbying groups representing car companies, chemical manufacturers, electric utilities, savings institutions and soft drink makers....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/11/AR2005091101084.html

[roguevalley]

1. now that he can actually see the dead bodies he helped to create,

it wasn't just a game anymore.

[hatrack]

2. "You have chosen not to seek him in your heart . . .

Therefore, you shall seek in the hearts of men of good will."

Or something like that, I suppose.

[krkaufman]

3. Also posted to Editorials forum

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x155946

[rodeodance]

4. whow. a heart emerges from the ashes.

[marbuc]

5. I fear his call will fall on deaf ears

just as Jerry McGuire's manifesto did (i know this is fiction, but still a fair comparison).

[marbuc]

6. Self Delete

[JohnLocke]

7. From darkness, light.

Thanks, Fred. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. nominated

[Spinzonner]

9. This too shall pass

[truthisfreedom]

10. sweet!

nice guy.

[radwriter0555]

11. My GOD finally a republican man with a CONSCIENCE.. hell has indeed

frozen over.

I hope he puts his money where his mouth is, and it stays there.

Chances are, he'll have a heart attack instead though.

[burrowowl]

12. Hell hasn't frozen over

yet! But maybe it is a beginng. I guess he will lose his job. But I am sure he has adequate retirement.

[Maine-ah]

15. you're right. Think of it as a "light frost".

[ladylibertee]

13. Okay, so he saw the light , however,

How long will it last?

[fooj]

14. The system, itself, is "diseased"...amen to that!

Webber told K Street colleagues that radical change is needed in election laws: Donations should be further limited, campaign seasons should be shortened and lawmakers, somehow, should be freed up to do more legislating and less soliciting.

peace.

[texpatriot2004]

16. Well I'll be. n/t

[madame defarge]

17. Hey - it's a start

Granted, it's only one in lobbyist a sea of many other sharks, but at least it's one less.

My hat's off to this guy. My hope is that there are many others with a conscience out there. (And right now, I need to have that hope; otherwise I'll go nuts.)

[calimary]

21. Welcome to DU!

Glad you're here!

Help us encourage the enlightenment!

And don't forget to help us

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!
And then go DO something to MAKE IT HAPPEN.

[Toots]

18. The road of a thousand miles starts with the first step

:shrug: or something like that.

[Weembo]

19. I don't buy it -- it sounds like a Rove trap

With a "universal movement" to restrict or eliminate giving to campaigns ("How can you think of politics when such a disaster is unfolding?") for the 2006 cycle, who holds the edge? The incumbents! And who are they? C'Mon folks, think this through.

[Pacifist Patriot]

20. I don't know if we have great minds, but we definitely think alike.

My first thought was, "Okay, now who would benefit from depressing campaign contributes and who would not?" Given the make up of the federal legislature I fail to see his actions as entirely philanthropic and humanitarian. Quite clever actually.