If you look closely at the lobbyists who have the best batting averages in Frankfort, you can detect some of their interesting patterns:
• They are concerned about long-term relationships
• They don’t let their ambitions make them abrasive
• They are accessible to legislators and other lobbyists
• They are honest and can be trusted
• They know that issues come and go, but relationships and friendships remain for years.
A thin line
Actually, a thin line separates the best lobbyists from all of the rest. Often, the difference lies in small mistakes (which can accumulate and have large consequences) that some lobbyists make, because of their state of mind, or because they just don’t know any better.
Rule No. 1 is to be honest, and Rule No. 2 is to be accurate. Problems begin when lobbyists, intentionally or not, stray from truth and accuracy.
Jody Richards, a speaker of the Kentucky House, said lobbyists who tell whoppers are not his major concern, although that happens occasionally. It’s the small doses of dishonesty — the persistent snow jobs, sugar coatings and spins — that most often destroy a lobbyist’s reputation, he said.
It’s not so much the big lies but the small ones that come back to bite you.
“The worse thing a lobbyist can do is to get caught misrepresenting a bill. Most lobbyists are honest, but sometimes people want to get a bill passed so much they’ll try almost anything. They may not lie to you outright, but they’ll shade things, or won’t tell you who’s behind the bill and who’s against it,” said Joe Clarke.
When we asked why some lobbyists would do that after being warned over and over never to lie to a legislator, Clarke said, “Maybe it’s just stupidity some of the time, but it hurts them just the same.”
[More in the Book.]
