How Lobbyists Will Break In Franken

Call him what you will—ridiculous, heroic, a clown—but beginning next week, Al Franken will officially be known as Senator. Despite the disadvantage of getting a late start, having a fresh face will make him the newest object of attention on Capitol Hill. Other members will want to meet him and anxious staffers will ask for photos. But that's small peanuts. For lobbyists, there are few things more valuable than pushing a crisp business card into the palm of a new member with a blank slate.

Lobbying by nature is a competitive sport—there's only so much time and money to be divvied out. In Washington, the value is highest, where national legislation or federal contracts can translate into big money for interest groups that have an issue to push. Add to the equation Franken's untimely arrival in the midst of huge debates on climate change and health care and the price for Franken's ear will be high. So how does Washington's massive lobby machine break in the Senate's newest addition?

 "The first move is always from the member," says one lobbyist, who declined to be named, like many lobbyists in this story, speaking candidly about strategy. Indeed, the first move will be Franken identifying how receptive his staff will be to meetings with special interests. "We usually take the temperature of a new member by word of mouth, hearing about his reputation from other folks around town.”

 (Franken could pre-empt the whole rat race by stating a refusal to meet with any with registered lobbyists, like the White House's current policy. But all of the lobbyists who spoke to NEWSWEEK were skeptical that Franken, seeing dollar signs and influence, would be so adamant.)

 Someone new like Franken will come into the senate with a solid amount of political naiveté, but no member is ever a blank canvas. By reviewing the issues that a candidate ran on during his campaign, a lobby firm can reasonably ascertain where the member stands on certain issues. Franken ran as a liberal Democrat, so it's already clear he'll be a supporting vote for the party’s health care initiative and the confirmation of Justice Sotomayor.

 But it's the unknown territory where the member may be most susceptible.  "Lots of us are lining up to see where he might not have a defined position," says Vin Weber a former GOP congressman from Minnesota who’s now a registered lobbyist with DC firm Clark and Weinstock.

 On those undefined issues, being the first one to bend a freshman senator's ear matters, but there are different ways to get in line. Loitering outside his office to pass off a packet of information to a staff member might work, but lobbying is most effective when it creates a relationship. The longer term the better. Yet relationships are hard to build when federal lobby policy restricts the circumstances under which a registered lobbyist and senator can meet. Senate lobby rules limit the value of a gift from lobbyists to $20 and privately-funded travel is strictly limited. “No one will be buying [Franken] dinner,” says one lobbyist.

 People will be bombarding Franken's office, to be sure. But the better way to a member’s legislative thinking is by having a soft touch. "You don't want to annoy the member, or he’ll shut you out" says another lobbyist. It's hard to get far with a member, he says, if he doesn't trust you. Better strategy is to find an issue that interests them, then find a way to make him want to meet to talk about it.

 To do that, location is key. A member like Franken won his election on the narrowest of victories—300 votes—which means he's got a lot of Minnesotans to win over before his next election. "Considering 49.999 percent of people voted against him, the absolute best rationale for early attention is to meet his needs responding to constituents," says Jack Bonner, who heads grassroots lobby firm Bonner and Associates.

 Still, it’s not all a one-sided dance. There's a thoughtful process for a new member like Franken, too. He won't want to be seen meeting with every interest group that knocks on his door, nor bought by the visitor with the biggest check. Rather, it'll be important for his image back home to consider Minnesotan issues first. Lobbyists agree: anyone good in the trade will know how to define a national issue in the context of a member’s constituents.

 Franken may have already given an early indication of how open he'll be to the ways of Washington. “I’m not going to Washington to be the 60th Democratic senator,” he told a crowd of reporters after his election became official. “I’m going to Washington to be the second senator from the state of Minnesota." It's a noble and responsible thing to say to the people who elected you. But as one lobbyist sees is, he could also be playing hard to get.