Jul

8

Bring Back the Lobbyists

Category: David V. Johnson, lobbyists | Leave a Comment

by David V. Johnson
Last November, President-elect Obama declared he wouldn’t appoint lobbyists to his administration, because he sought to curtail the influence of “special interests” and “stop the revolving door” between big business and political power.  His advisers ballyhooed the lobbyist ban as part of “the strictest, and most far reaching ethics rules of any [...]

May

24

Obama vs. Cheney: The Fix Is In

Category: David V. Johnson, Media | Leave a Comment

by David V. Johnson
Freedom of choice can be a dangerous thing.  That’s why our splendid republic tends to restrict our options to equally anodyne alternatives: Coke or Pepsi? Kris or Adam?  Democrats or Republicans?
Last Thursday, we were treated to another empty selection: Obama or Cheney?  The media portrayed their near-simultaneous speeches on national security as [...]