Boehner's Special Lobbyists Ties

Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner has tight ties with lobbyists from a bevy of business interests, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, and R.J. Reynolds. The New York Times reports that lobbyists call the congressman several times a week for help and court him with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funding and flights on corporate jets to golf resorts. And the partnership goes both ways. Last year, Boehner called more than 100 finance lobbyists to Capitol Hill to organize their opposition to the financial-regulatory overhaul. Though these sorts of relationships are common in Washington, Boehner has more of them than the average congressman, and they are especially strong. Boehner says his ties with lobbyists are simply the result of his pro-business, anti-regulatory stance. Meanwhile Democrats are trying to highlight his ties to lobbyists in advance of the November midterm elections, saying that Boehner "epitomizes the smoked-filled backroom, special-interest deal-making that turns off voters about Washington."