A Quiet Revolution In Business Lobbying

"After brief pleasantries on the phone the other day," writes Jeffrey Birnbaum, "Thomas J. Donohue got down to business with a top health insurance executive. 'We're in a new year and a new time,' Donohue said smoothly. 'Can we put you on the list and get your money?' The executive said yes, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was $100,000 richer. So, in effect, was President Bush's push to rein in trial lawyers and lower taxes." Birnbaum shows how Donohue and the chamber have led a "quiet revolution in business lobbying," marked by massive increases in corporate spending and close allegiance to the Bush administration's political agenda.