Rick Santorum in today’s Post-Gazette:
“I had absolutely nothing to do — never met, never talked, never coordinated, never did anything — with Grover Norquist and the — quote — K Street Project,” Mr. Santorum said.
Rick Santorum on November 15, 2005:
“The K Street project is purely to make sure we have qualified applicants for positions that are in town,” Mr. Santorum said. “From my perspective, it’s a good government thing.”
From Nick Confessore’s landmark piece on the K Project in the Washington Monthly, 2003:
…[T]here’s one confirmation hearing you won’t hear much about. It’s convened every Tuesday morning by Rick Santorum, the junior senator from Pennsylvania, in the privacy of a Capitol Hill conference room, for a handpicked group of two dozen or so Republican lobbyists. Occasionally, one or two other senators or a representative from the White House will attend. Democrats are not invited, and neither is the press.
The chief purpose of these gatherings is to discuss jobs — specifically, the top one or two positions at the biggest and most important industry trade associations and corporate offices centered around Washington’s K Street, a canyon of nondescript office buildings a few blocks north of the White House that is to influence-peddling what Wall Street is to finance. In the past, those people were about as likely to be Democrats as Republicans, a practice that ensured K Street firms would have clout no matter which party was in power. But beginning with the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, and accelerating in 2001, when George W. Bush became president, the GOP has made a determined effort to undermine the bipartisan complexion of K Street. And Santorum’s Tuesday meetings are a crucial part of that effort.
Every week, the lobbyists present pass around a list of the jobs available and discuss whom to support. Santorum’s responsibility is to make sure each one is filled by a loyal Republican — a senator’s chief of staff, for instance, or a top White House aide, or another lobbyist whose reliability has been demonstrated. After Santorum settles on a candidate, the lobbyists present make sure it is known whom the Republican leadership favors. “The underlying theme was [to] place Republicans in key positions on K Street. Everybody taking part was a Republican and understood that that was the purpose of what we were doing,” says Rod Chandler, a retired congressman and lobbyist who has participated in the Santorum meetings. “It’s been a very successful effort.”
Rick Santorum, January 17, 2006:
SANTORUM: Well, I don’t know what you mean by Senate liaison to the, quote, “K Street Project.” I’m not aware of any Senate liaison job that I do for the K Street Project.
What I’ve done is I do host meetings, you know, once or twice a month with members who represent a variety of different groups in Washington, D.C.
Reported in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, 6/18/2002:
Santorum’s objective in completing the Project was clarified by Senate Republican Conference spokesman Robert Traynham, “Sen. Santorum’s objective is very clear and that is to find experienced, talented individuals who are going to assist Senate Republicans in advancing the president’s agenda.”
From the WaPo, 10/12/2004:
The Motion Picture Association of America, Hollywood’s trade group, had been hoping for $350 million a year in subsidies, which were written into the Senate version of the bill as partial compensation for the loss of a bigger export subsidy that the bill repeals. But the Senate’s largesse was cut back to around $100 million in the final bill that emerged from the House-Senate conference, leaving the movie industry as the biggest net loser from the legislation.
Why did the movie studios, which usually lobby with the best of them, lose out? Perhaps because three months ago they had the temerity to choose Dan Glickman, a Democrat, to head their trade association. The congressional Republican leadership, which had the final say on the tax bill, made no secret of its fury that a plum lobbying job had not gone to a Republican: Grover Norquist, a close ally of House Republicans, called Mr. Glickman’s appointment “a studied insult,” adding that the movie industry’s “ability to work with the House and Senate is greatly reduced.” Commenting on the movie moguls’ comeuppance last week, Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.) told Brody Mullins of Roll Call that “it’s a good idea to have someone who can communicate with those who are in power,” and that “[i]t’s a consideration that any organization hiring a lobbyist should take into account.”
Deny me three times…
(Wink and a nod to Josh Marshall)
Santorum Denies Knowing Anything About This ‘Senate’ ClubPost + Comments (42)