But I will know this: if I run for President, what you see is what you get, and I am from Mississippi, I do have a southern accent. I was a lobbyist and a pretty damned good one. And I'm very proud -- we were talking before the show came on -- I am happy about my life. I've got a great marriage. I've got great family, and I've had a great career. Wouldn't do anything differently."
"And I will tell you this -- the next President of the United States on January 21, 2013 - - is going to start lobbying. He's going to be lobbying Congress, he's going to be lobbying other countries. He's going to be lobbying the business community. He's going to be lobbying the labor unions, the governors, because that's what Presidents do, and I feel like it's an advantage for me to have the chance to do that."
Please oh please nominate this man. Nominate the man who wants to brag about his time as a lobbyist.
2 comments:
I agree it's a potentially damaging quote (but perhaps not, it wasn't bragging about the virtues of being a trial lawyer that did John Edwards in). But didn't you just yesterday suggest that lobbying was a good thing, or at least a necessary one? ("We blend lots of interests together, in a variety of cocktails. And that's okay.")
I mean, technically you were talking about the existence of various groups that are said by some to comprise "a lobby," but regardless of whether said groups actually have much policy cohesion, they're all understood to be engaged in the act of "lobbying." Which, you argued, shouldn't be taken to mean "somebody is subverting the true needs of the American nation."
Of course, I believe that most lobbying does distort policy in harmful ways across the board, and this harm justifies sharp restrictions on all lobbying and campaign spending. But if didn't see things so starkly then I'd have a hard feeling happy that a Republican would likely lose because of an irrational public animosity.
Hey, at least it's honest. I'm so sick of hearing candidate X or Y swear they'll "reign in spending", "cut government pork", or my favorite "end partisan bickering".... Yeah, exactly HOW are you going to do that????
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