Foxes: "We Weren't Consulted on Henhouse Rules"

I had to laugh out loud--and, y'know, cry just a little--at this headline in yesterday's Chronicle:

Lobbyists press Congress to ease tough ethics rules
They're angry they had no input in law about to take effect

Yes, that's right: the people whose job is to distort and corrupt the political process are put out because they weren't consulted on the bill meant to curb their excesses.

Or, to put it another way, the criminals who have been waging scorched-earth warfare against representative democracy can't understand why, when democracy finally decided to defend itself, they weren't consulted.

Okay, I'm being harsh here; really, I do understand where they're coming from. This just isn't the way it's done. They're used to not just being consulted but actually being able to write bills and regulations. This must come as something of a shock to them.

Also, there's the parties. Cue the world's tiniest violin:

The House rules took effect as the law firm Holland & Knight was organizing its February new members' welcome. Staffers took plans before the House and Senate ethics committees.

"They made it very clear: 'finger food,' " recalled Holland & Knight lawyer Rich Gold. " 'No sandwiches, nothing that would be considered a meal. You don't want people sitting down.' "

For 1,000 members, staffers, lawyers and clients mingling to the strains of a jazz trio among the Corinthian columns of the Cannon House office building's Caucus Room, "there was nowhere to sit, there was nowhere to even to put a drink down," Gold said. Attendees ate hors d'oeuvres with their hands.

I think I'm tearing up here. No, sorry--something in my eye. Never mind.

And again, snark aside, I do understand. They see an end to the way they do business; they fear, ultimately, an end to their whole industry. I get that.

But here's the thing: it's an industry that shouldn't exist. It's an industry that is killing America.

A lot of people are disappointed in the Congressional Democrats of late. I prefer to highlight the things they're doing right--and if the lobbying industry is this unhappy, then this regulation is clearly one of them.