WASHINGTON-While the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association was laboring to find a new leader whose conservative politics would align with the GOP-led Congress and as top members steered hundreds of thousands of dollars to congressional Republicans who might share their deregulatory goals, top lobbyists at the trade group were aggressively rounding up scores of contributions for the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).
According to a document released by Kerry’s presidential campaign, outgoing CTIA President Thomas Wheeler and Christopher Putala, a trade group lobbyist, each brought in $50,000 to $100,000 to date for a serious Democratic contender dogged by his image as a Northeastern liberal. Putala is a former aide to Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.).
CTIA refused to say whether money gathered from individuals ($2,000 limit) by Democrats Wheeler and Putala for Kerry’s 2004 presidential bid came from employees of the cell-phone association.
This is final week on the job at for Wheeler, though he is expected to be retained as a consultant for some time. His political opposite, former Rep. Steve Largent (R-Okla.) takes over the reigns at CTIA on Nov. 3. CTIA thought it had its man several months ago, but Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.), a strong conservative like Largent, turned down the $1 million-plus-a-year job. Largent agreed to take the CTIA post in late August.
Now Largent, who will have pressing industry issues to confront when he begins at CTIA next Monday, may be forced to put out a political brushfire as his first order of business. Largent could not be reached for comment.
After Wheeler announced late last year he would step down at the end of 2003, CTIA spent the good part of this year searching for a replacement who could be effective in a political landscape dominated by Republicans at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. It was important that the next CTIA president be acceptable to influential Republicans like House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Texas), Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist. They want Republicans in top jobs at trade associations and corporate government relations offices here.
Republicans claim lobbying shops for years hired ex-Capitol Hill Democrats who remained party loyalists, working to put Democrats who favored regulation and taxes in Congress and the White House.
Republicans are having success reversing that trend through The K Street Project, housed in ATR and named after a main drag in downtown where lobbyists work.
K Street does more than merely advocate-pressure, some say-to get Republicans influential lobbying jobs these days. It also follows the money. K Street monitors who is giving to whom at trade associations.
As such, heavy fund-raising by CTIA lobbyists for Kerry could be a problem for a trade group whose intention by hiring a conservative Republican was to signal the GOP-controlled Congress it got the message and was ready to deal.
“If you elect John Kerry, this wouldn’t be good for the cellular industry or any other living thing,” said Norquist. Norquist predicted Kerry would hand over the country to organized labor, trial lawyers and tax collectors.
SBC Communications Inc., co-owner of No. 2 mobile-phone carrier Cingular Wireless L.L.C., is not betting on Kerry. The telecom firm is one of President Bush’s biggest supporters, having contributed nearly $124,000 to date through its political action committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Norquist said he did not think Kerry fund-raising by Wheeler and Putala would have long-term consequences for CTIA, so long as Largent does not surround himself with “left-wing Democrats.” He said CTIA’s hiring of Largent is “a huge step forward.”
Though Kerry has helped mobile-phone carriers on key auction issues in recent years, it is debatable whether he is the industry champion painted by the Center for Public Integrity, which in May published a harsh critique of Kerry’s ties to the wireless industry.
