WASHINGTON — Whether or not Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) returns to power, few industry lobbyists in the nation's capital are likely to forget the lesson he once taught the electronic manufacturers: Support the Republican Party -- or else.
That industry felt DeLay's wrath in the fall of 1998, when one of its leading trade associations hired a Democrat as its top lobbyist. DeLay and his staff temporarily blocked one of the industry's favorite measures from coming to a vote.
His slap at the Electronic Industries Alliance led to a private reprimand from the House Ethics Committee, and even some Republicans called his approach heavy-handed. But DeLay was not deterred.
And the beleaguered former House majority leader has left a lasting mark on the capital: turning the Washington lobbying establishment into a critical cog of the Republican political machine.
Seven years after the dust-up with the electronics group, many on K Street -- home to Washington's network of business associations and lobbying shops -- believe they can no longer divide political contributions evenly between the parties. Instead, they see their success in Congress riding more on how hard they work to provide money and political muscle to the Republican Party and its quest for a long-lasting conservative majority.
Although DeLay's indictment this week on a Texas campaign finance charge renews questions about the ethics of mixing corporate interests and electoral politics, his well-cemented relationship with business is likely to benefit the GOP into the future.
"DeLay deserves credit for bringing about a significant change" in the way Washington works, said Richard Hohlt, a veteran lobbyist for banking and other interests. "It takes a whip and a chair to control K Street, and DeLay had both and used them," said Hohlt.
"He was the tip of the spear," said Stuart Roy, a former DeLay aide who now works as a consultant. "Before we were in the majority, the Republican leadership was reticent" to go too far in telling trade groups what to do, he said. "Now it is the mind-set of the leadership: If you are supposed to be pro-business, that should be reflected in your political giving and your political activity."
Indeed, although DeLay's indictment Wednesday forced him to step down, at least temporarily, as House majority leader, the same view of K Street has been adopted by the person replacing him in that role, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). Blunt was assigned by DeLay several years ago to take over the monitoring of K Street, and some lobbyists say he has surpassed DeLay in getting businesses to mobilize on behalf of the conservative agenda.
