9.12.2005
Katrina Leads a Lobbyist to Reevaluate His Priorities (WashingtonPost.com)
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 12, 2005; Page A04
Frederick L. Webber, a longtime denizen of Washington's lobbying corridor, showed up at work one day last week and found on his desk a dozen fundraising requests from members of Congress.
He threw them all in the trash.
In a self-described epiphany, Webber, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, drafted a large check to help families displaced by Hurricane Katrina and decided that an imperative of his vocation -- political giving -- had finally gone too far.
How could lawmakers be asking for money for their reelections, he asked himself, when thousands of Americans were desperate for aid along the Gulf Coast?
"It really hit home when I was writing out that check," Webber said. "Political fundraising in this town has gotten out of control."
(More ... Katrina Leads a Lobbyist to Reevaluate His Priorities) ¶ 20:54
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 12, 2005; Page A04
Frederick L. Webber, a longtime denizen of Washington's lobbying corridor, showed up at work one day last week and found on his desk a dozen fundraising requests from members of Congress.
He threw them all in the trash.
In a self-described epiphany, Webber, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, drafted a large check to help families displaced by Hurricane Katrina and decided that an imperative of his vocation -- political giving -- had finally gone too far.
How could lawmakers be asking for money for their reelections, he asked himself, when thousands of Americans were desperate for aid along the Gulf Coast?
"It really hit home when I was writing out that check," Webber said. "Political fundraising in this town has gotten out of control."
(More ... Katrina Leads a Lobbyist to Reevaluate His Priorities) ¶ 20:54
