Bud Cramer to become a lobbyist
Retiring Rep. Bud Cramer of Huntsville hinted Thursday that he might become a lobbyist after he leaves office in January.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the conservative Democrat said he has developed valuable relationships over his nearly 20 years in Washington and could take advantage of them to advocate for Alabama’s interests.
This is interesting. During the Republican primary Cheryl Baswell Guthrie made a big deal about Wayne Parker being a lobbyist - even though none of his lobbying efforts were objectionable. It didn’t help her gain any ground, but that won’t necessarily stop Parker Griffith from using the same tactic in the general election. But with Cramer hinting he might become a lobbyist after leaving office its going to be awkward for Griffith to make such an argument. He is basing his campaign on how great Cramer is and how he wants to walk in Bud’s shoes. Griffith won’t be able to sling mud at Parker over lobbying without dirtying Cramer as well.
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July 24th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Cheryl Baswell-Guthrie’s lobbying charges seemed to be extremely effective. She got criticized by the local party for going negative, she turned off voters to her, and she used much of her own money on a message that enabled her to get blown out. Needless to say, Griffith has other things in his playbook than bringing up CBG’s lobbying claims. Anyways, Griffith, running for the larger district, is concerned now about defining his own candidacy rather than going after Wayne Parker on lobbying.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
His legacy?! Don’t you think it is just a wee bit early to be concerned about his legacy? Shouldn’t he, you know, win the election before he gets too concerned about his legacy?
July 28th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
[...] Flashpoint Bud Cramer is going to become a lobbyist after he leaves Congress. [...]