Apparently Trump Draining The Swamp Of Lobbyists & Crony Capitalists Requires A Lot Of Lobbyists & Crony Capitalists

from the funny-how-that-works dept

I get that this is how politics works, but this is just a pretty stark and extreme example. A big part of Donald Trump's pitch to the public was about getting rid of the "corruption" in DC, that was sure to follow with Clinton, and her close connections to various lobbyists and Wall Street in particular. Here's what Trump campaign CEO (and, apparently, lead candidate for White House Chief of Staff) Steve Bannon told Bloomberg this week about the campaign:

“Those elites [Trump rails against] are represented in Washington by a bevy of lobbyists,” says Bannon. “Crony capitalism has gotten out of control. Trump saw this. The American people saw this. And they have risen up to smash it. Ordinary people want to make sure we have an evenhanded system that’s transparent and accountable and takes their interests into mind. And they want to share in the rewards.”

This was most clearly put forth with the phrase "drain the swamp," which the public was told was about "removing corruption and greed in local and federal government."

So, how's that going? Well, as soon as the victory was announced, with it came the news that basically his entire transition team was made up of top influence peddling lobbyists. The NY Times has an article about how old lobbyists and power brokers in DC are practically giddy in being able to shape the new administration. They're even out there mocking the "drain the swamp" phrase already:

“Trump has pledged to change things in Washington — about draining the swamp,” said Mr. [Trent] Lott, who now works at Squire Patton Boggs, a law and lobbying firm. “He is going to need some people to help guide him through the swamp — how do you get in and how you get out? We are prepared to help do that.”

Yeah, suuuuuuuuuuuuuure. The best way to "drain the swamp" is to hand it over to the alligators who make it their home and who have gotten fat off the swamp? The swamp sure is pretty crowded too:

— Cindy Hayden of tobacco company Altria is in charge of Homeland Security.
— Steve Hart, the chairman of Williams & Jensen, is in charge of Labor. His clients include Visa, the American Council of Life Insurers, Anthem, Cheniere Energy, Coca-Cola, General Electric, HSBC, Pfixer, PhRMA and United Airlines. He worked at the Labor Department in the Pension Welfare Benefits Program and on the Office of Management and Budget's ERISA Reorganization Task Force under Ronald Reagan.
— For the Energy Department, Michael McKenna of MWR Strategies lobbies for Engie (formerly GDF Suez), Southern Company and Dow Chemical.
— For Interior, David Bernhardt of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck lobbies for the Westlands Water District and used to represent Freeport LNG Expansion and Rosemont Copper Company. He was the Interior Department's solicitor, deputy solicitor, deputy chief of staff, counselor to the secretary of the Interior and director of the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs under George W. Bush.
— Michael Torrey, who has the Agriculture portfolio, has his own firm representing the American Beverage Association and the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau.
— Mira Ricardel, tasked with defense, isn't a registered lobbyist but is a consultant for Federal Budget IQ, a government research firm. Until recently she worked for Boeing.
— Dan DiMicco, overseeing the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, serves on Duke Energy's board and represents steel company Nucor (of which he used to be CEO) on the U.S. Council on Competitiveness and the Coalition for a Prosperous America.
— Paul Atkins, though not a lobbyist, is CEO of advisory firm Patomak Global Partners and charged with independent financial agencies.
— Ken Blackwell, in charge of domestic issues, isn't a lobbyist but is a senior fellow of the Family Research Council, which does lobbying.

That swamp is looking mighty damp. And this doesn't touch on the fact that top execs from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan have been floated as Trump's Treasury Secretary. Draining that swamp, huh? Remember Bannon's quote about how people were sick of Clinton's ties to Wall Street? Should we remind you that Bannon used to work at Goldman Sachs himself?

Anyway, let's just address two responses I'm sure will likely appear in the comments below -- perhaps by people so furious that we're insulting "their guy" that they won't read this far: Yes, Clinton would have brought in probably just as many lobbyists. Just as President Obama campaigned on stopping the power of lobbyists in DC... and then went ahead and brought a bunch into his administration, it's almost certain that Clinton would have done the same. But the Trump campaign's explicit claim was that it would be breaking away from lobbyists, crony capitalists and close ties to Wall Street at the very time it was bringing those people into the campaign.

Yes, these lobbyists do have some expertise. This was the main pushback when I jokingly tweeted about these Wall St. execs' names being tossed around for Treasury Secretary. It's true that they have experience and knowledge of how the system works. And it's also (frankly) why I think when people get all worked up about "lobbyists" they are totally missing the point. There are reasons why lobbyists do what they do and it's because they know the system. That has both good sides and bad sides. But, a true leader is one willing to admit that and explain that, rather than flat out lying about it. Don't say "drain the swamp" and promise an end to special interests, lobbyists and crony capitalists and then immediately bring a metric ton of them into your administration. That's called lying to the public. Which, I guess, is also something that many lobbyists have some experience with.

Filed Under: corporate cronyism, donald trump, drain the swamp, lobbyists, trent lott