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Lobbying Rules Also Ensnare Do-Gooders

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 21, 2009 3:49 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Obama administration’s strict new rules on lobbying—aimed at stopping stereotypical DC weasels from cashing in—are also tripping up do-gooders, the Washington Post reports. Activists who work for non-profits and charities, many of whom registered as lobbyists for reasons of transparency and have a yen to work in the administration, are out of luck, too.

“These are not the people they were trying to get at,” an advocate said. “They were not trying to say that if you were lobbying to stop the genocide in Darfur, you're not going to be able to work for us.” Though the administration may have hoped to exclude only corporate interests, the policy is necessarily broad. “It's very hard to do this sort of thing with a scalpel,” one lawyer said. “And there's always going to be a lot of collateral damage when you use a hammer.”

[Images (2)]

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Some of the in-crowd. (AP Photo)

President Barack Obama makes remarks. (AP Photo)

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Congressional records show that more than 700 lobbyists or lobbying groups have filed "de-registration" papers with the House and Senate since Obama took office, including scores of charities and other nonprofits.
- Dan Eggen, Washington Post

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