Kerry & the 'Special Interest' Hit Piece

[Oilwellian]

One of the new rules of modern campaign coverage is to tailor a script to each candidate and squeeze developments into that script whatever the facts really are. In 2000, the prevailing script promoted George W. Bush as the blunt straight-shooter and belittled Al Gore as the delusional liar, even if journalists had to change Gore’s words (as with the Love Canal case, “invented the Internet,” etc.) and downplay examples of Bush deceptions.


A new case in point for Campaign 2004 is the portrayal of Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts as a captive of Washington “special interests.” This theme has been gaining momentum even though Kerry ranks as a leader in the Senate in supporting environmental causes and is best known for his investigations into foreign policy scandals, such as drug trafficking by CIA-backed Nicaraguan “contra” rebels, not for pushing through corporate-favored legislation.

<snip>
The Post article, for instance, doesn’t identify the lobbyists. The Center for Responsive Politics, which was cited in the Post story, acknowledges that its data doesn’t distinguish who the lobbyists are, what they lobby for or even whether they directly lobbied Kerry on any specific policy issues.

This lack of clarity means that some of these lobbyists may be registered to lobby Congress on public-interest issues, such as the environment, abortion rights or other legislation that most Americans would tend to categorize as public-interest advocacy, not “special interest” influence peddling.

http://consortiumnews.com/2004/021904.html

[tobius]

1. one person's special interest lobbyist is another's advocate.

It's always been that way.

v. lob·bied, lob·by·ing, lob·bies
v. intr.
To try to influence the thinking of legislators or other public officials for or against a specific cause: lobbying for stronger environmental safeguards; lobbied against the proliferation of nuclear arms.

v. tr.
1. To try to influence public officials on behalf of or against (proposed legislation, for example): lobbied the bill through Congress; lobbied the bill to a negative vote.


2.To try to influence (an official) to take a desired action.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lobby