Friday, June 6th, 2008...6:43 am
‘Cause Corporate Lobbyists Aren’t Close Enough to the Levers of Power
I got a report from one of our DC correspondents yesterday that Susan Bitter Smith was in Washington yesterday, lobbying for the Arizona - New Mexico Cable Association. You’d think she could cut down on the lobbying now that she is running for congress. Haven’t these Republicans learned anything from 2006 yet?
Well, she is one Republican who hasn’t. Check out this quote from an article about her in Association Trends, a trade magazine for “association executives.” These are what we in the non-beltway world refer to as lobbyists.
“I think it’s time for an assn executive to be in Congress, and to have a CAE in Congress, and this looks like the window to make it happen,” she said.
In other words, it’s time we elect a cable lobbyist to congress.
Here’s the funny part: you’d think I would have had to dig around to find this article, or some R-Cubed fanboy would have had to call me to point it out to me. Nope, Bitter Smith helpfully has this article up on her website. Not only does she copy the article, she features the quote “I think it’s time…to have a CAE in Congress” on her web page as if it is the most important thing about the article.
It’s time to have a cable association executive in congress. Wow, that’s right up there on the list of concerns of Arizonenses, ain’t it?
6 Comments
June 6th, 2008 at 8:43 am
You should have put an additional picture on the very same story…Sydney Hay, likely GOP nominee for Renzi’s seat, and a mining lobbyist.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Im new to the blog, what’s the official definition of an R-cubed? Also, what is the CAE proposing?
June 6th, 2008 at 11:13 am
R Cubed…from the initials of the blog’s title…Rum, Romanism and Rebellion.
CAE is “cable association executive.” I don’t know what specific bill she was working on on behalf of her group, but it could have been anything from relaxing local regulations to getting rid of “must carry” provisions for local television.
June 8th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
CAE is “Certified Association Executive.” Our Executive Director for the National Association of Social Workers has this credential, which involves among other things, a rigorous examination. So not all CAE’s walk on the dark side…..
June 9th, 2008 at 8:12 am
This one seems to…:)
June 9th, 2008 at 9:14 am
It should no longer be a surprise to anyone that the R’s believe in corpoartions having control over the people in America. SBS is following her heartfelt beliefs–and that should scare the crap out of all of us.
Lobbying isn’t all that bad–it helps legislators understand what organizations need, however, the recent power given to lobbyists is what is criminal and what must be curtailed.
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