Wednesday, January 11, 2006

The New Etiquette of Lobbying - Emily Post, meet Jack Abramoff. By John Dickerson

The New Etiquette of Lobbying - Emily Post, meet Jack Abramoff. By John Dickerson: "The standards of decorum for courtship and lobbying have moved in opposite directions. In the Victorian era, a gentleman seeking a lady's affection asked her to dance, took her to the refreshment room, and then returned her to her chaperone. A 19th-century lobbyist offered lawmakers cash for votes and threw liquor-soaked parties where he introduced his targets to women of loose morals. According to a Senate report, Samuel Colt's lobbyist won government contracts to buy revolvers by adopting the rule: 'To reach the heart or get the vote, the surest way is down the throat.'"

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