Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

January 10, 2006

Lobbyist Ties Could Hurt Blunt, Boehner

The two frontrunners for House Majority Leader -- Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) -- "have been among the key intermediaries between Republican lawmakers and lobbyists since their party took control of the U.S. Congress in 1995," Bloomberg reports.

Of note:

• Both men's political action committees employ Jim Ellis, who was indicted along with DeLay. DeLay's PAC gave Blunt's committee a $150,000 donation in 2000, and Blunt's PAC gave $10,000 to DeLay's non-profit foundation that same year.
• Both lawmakers' PACs have employed Alexander Strategy Group, a Georgetown-based firm whose partners include former Abramoff and DeLay associates.

With three weeks until the election, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) "said concerns that the two men are too close to Washington's K Street lobbying corridor may encourage a dark-horse candidate to run against them."

Meanwhile, Hotline On Call has the tally of public endorsements: Blunt: 30, Boehner: 18.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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