T A B L E+T A L K Pay tribute to King Hussein of Jordan, who died this week, in the International Issues area ofÊ Table Talk   Find deep discounts and great selection on the books you need to read at barnesandnoble.com Search by:  Keyword Title Author       R E C E N T L Y Stalking Sidney Blumenthal By Joshua Micah Marshall Is it possible Christopher Hitchens and his "former friend" are both telling the truth? (02/09/99) The mysterious death of Tyisha Miller By Lori Leibovich Black leaders in Riverside, Calif., insist a police shooting victim would be alive if she were white. But would she? (02/08/99) The vanilla story By James Poniewozik Our long national bad date is almost over (02/05/99) What did the president touch, and when did he touch it? By Michael Bérubé Republicans say no to more Monica, and look for a way to end the trial (02/05/99) The last plantation By Debra Dickerson The "niggardly" scandal should teach whites to watch their language, and blacks to toughen up. (02/05/99) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		SCANDAL'S SILVER LINING | PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - The Republican lobbyists at the fifth-ranked firm of Preston-Gates, particularly Bill Jarrell and Jack Abramoff, are so proud of their strong ties that they even have their own internal software program, "ConData," to measure and track them. In today's topsy-turvy world of congressional leadership and staff, you can't tell the players without a program. (That kind of computer power-tool befits a firm that represents Microsoft and was co-founded by Bill Gates' father, Bill Gates Sr., who is now retired.) Jarrell, the tall, amiable former deputy chief of staff for DeLay, looks up some congressional names, points to the screen and says, "We're stronger now." On an access scale of 1 to 10, he estimates, Preston-Gates rated a 7 under Gingrich. "We were pretty close to Newt," he admits. But his and others' ties to DeLay are even better. "We're about a 9 now," Jarrell says. Even so, although Preston-Gates gave about 60 percent of its $194,000 individual and PAC donations to Republicans (according to an analysis by the Conservative Leadership Political Action Committee), it makes sure to have a fair share of Democratic lobbyists, too. The firm, which pulled in $9.5 million in lobbying fees last year and represents more than 100 clients ranging from Pitney Bowes to the Choctaw Indians, has also reaped a bonanza of recent inside-the-Beltway publicity. It's all neatly packaged by the firm with highlighted quotes, almost like a smash Broadway show: "A heavy-hitting policy firm -- Legal Times" and "A D.C. lobbying giant -- Roll Call." "We're in a great position," says Jarrell, who has been fielding a blizzard of calls from reporters, clients and Hill staffers, as well as from some lobbyists he hasn't heard from in quite a while. "They were reminding me," he recalls wryly, "of how close they are to the leadership" -- hoping that he'd plug them to reporters, too. Still, Jarrell and other well-connected lobbyists don't want to appear unseemly as they quietly -- or not so quietly -- win new attention from the press and current (or potential) clients. "We're not running around advertising our friendships," says Abramoff, a veteran conservative Republican Party activist, a multimillion-dollar fund-raiser and, incidentally, a close personal friend of Tom DeLay. "We don't trade on it with anyone. But it's helpful." All the buzz about his firm, he adds exuberantly, is paying off: "We have a lot more people calling to give us business. It's great!" Of course, the turmoil has had some casualties. Take, for instance, the momentary brush with inside-the-Beltway fame of an obscure lobbyist named Jay Stone, who happened to be a good friend of Rep. Bob Livingston of Louisiana, who was supposed to become the next speaker of the House before being derailed by yet another Washington sex scandal in mid-December. Back in early December, Stone had his brief, shining moment in the sun, winning attention in Business Week and National Journal and among the players on the Washington influence scene. It all seems so long ago now. Other hot-wired firms and lobbyists have reaped benefits from the congressional upheavals unleashed by the scandals in Washington. One recalls meeting with a regular client who added extra monthly payments to his lucrative retainer, telling him, "I don't know if we'd give it to you if Newt was still there." The client's company decided to trim its payments to another lobbying firm that had been hired, in part, to secure more access to Gingrich. "It frees up money for us," the grateful lobbyist observes. So much for the tragic legacy of impeachment and scandal in Washington. SALON | Feb. 10, 1999 Art Levine is a contributing editor of U.S. News and World Report and a TV columnist for Slate. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Clinton in Crisis Salon's complete coverage of the investigation, impeachment and trial of the president.