"Everything's on the menu, which is why business is good. Those fiscal deals potentially impact everybody. There's almost no client who's not interested in the outcome. And it's hard to predict."
That statement is disconcerting both because of who said it and what he was referring to. It's what Steve Elmendorf, a Democratic strategist who runs Elmendorf|Ryan, had to say (sub. req'd) about prospects for K Street lobbyists in 2013. In other words, they'll be very busy.
Special interest lobbyists are getting to know new members as well as those who have just assumed committee or subcommittee chairmanships. When these guys are hard at work, some special interest groups may very well benefit, but rarely does the country as a whole.
Last year we noted how the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations became a "K Street Gravy Train." Well, K Street lobbyists are willing to use upcoming battles to get their way as well on a range of issues such as the debt ceiling, Dodd-Frank, Social Security, the Affordable Care Act, a potential transportation deal, and sequestration, among others.
There's virtually no area of our lives that the federal government doesn't touch, or want to touch. And K Street lobbyists will be there every step of the way.
But if they have their work cut out for them, lobbying for their special interests rather than for the good of the country as a whole, we have our work cut out as well, fighting for freedom and against the perpetual expansion of the federal government.