Thank you, Vernon, for that extremely nice introduction. As you know, Vernon Jordan is a very special person and a man of many talents and many accomplishments. He’s had a long and notable career as an advocate for civil rights and has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the NAACP’s highest honor for distinguished achievement. He has also written two books and even performed at the Kennedy Center and, yes, his portrait does hang in the National Portrait Gallery. But more important to me, he is a great Akin Gump partner and a great friend, and I very much appreciate his coming here tonight to make that introduction.
You know, following Vernon Jordan on any podium is a daunting task, and watching that video was really a trip down memory lane, but also a little embarrassing. But – that notwithstanding, let me start by thanking the Board of the Bryce Harlow Foundation and its chairman, Ed Ingle, for this terrific award – which I humbly accept. It is especially gratifying to be honored by one’s peers.
Thanks also to Gloria Dittus who chaired this very successful event. I know how much work it takes to fill a room of this size. You did a great job.
And a very special thanks to the Foundation’s President, Linda Dooley. Linda is a wonderful person and she does an outstanding job in leading this fine organization. I served on the Bryce Harlow Foundation Board so I know first hand the important work they do to help young people become involved in public policy and also the work they do to spread the word about the value of professional advocacy. Thank you, Linda, for all that you do.
I also want to thank my friends who appeared in the video for their kind remarks – Steny Hoyer, Vic Fazio and Bill Paxon. Steny Hoyer is a great Majority Leader in some very tough times but, as you can observe from recent events, he is doing an absolutely terrific job. Vic Fazio and Bill Paxon – the dynamic duo – I believe they are just the very best “live pair” of advocates in this town. We are lucky to have them at Akin Gump.
And let me congratulate Senator Tom Carper. He is very deserving of the award he is receiving. He is a Senator’s Senator who, as you know, works hard to find common ground on the many difficult and complex issues facing our country today. It is a real honor to be able to share this evening with him.
I want also to acknowledge, and to thank, my wonderful wife of 41 years – Carol, who stayed married to me even when in the early days I read the Congressional Record in bed at night. I would not be standing before you tonight to receive this award without her love and support through the years.
And I want to recognize my son, David, who is here with his lovely wife Sarah. They are also representing our two daughters and our three grandchildren who could not be here.
And I want to especially acknowledge and thank my colleagues, and former colleagues, at Akin Gump. They are a special group of people with whom I have had the privilege of working during my more than 33 years at the firm, with special tribute to one who is not here tonight – Bob Strauss, a great friend and mentor who, at 91 years young, is still going strong.
Any professional success I enjoy has come from standing on the shoulders of others – like Speaker Carl Albert, Bob Strauss, Vernon Jordan, and, my many colleagues at Akin Gump. There is no finer institution than Akin Gump. We have accomplished much together over the years and, with an admitted bias, I believe Akin Gump represents the very best tradition of law and public policy representation.
And I must acknowledge and thank two people with whom I have the good fortune to work every day, Margaret Stosik and Marie Manganelli.
And finally, let me also congratulate the Bryce Harlow Fellows who were recognized tonight. You are on the right track – stay on it!
I think you’d agree that we lobbyists have had a challenging year. The administration’s attempts to demonize our profession as part of its effort to generate support for its political agenda have only served to intensify an already skeptical view of lobbyists held by the American public. The Administration’s attitude just reinforces a view that public officials are inherently susceptible to corruption by lobbyists and so-called “special interests.”
And this campaign of political convenience against lobbyists is meant to give the impression of purity. But this is illusory because it doesn’t apply to those who aren’t registered under the Lobby Disclosure Act, including campaign contributors. This inconsistency does a disservice to public policy making by discriminating against those individuals with the greatest obligation of transparency – lobbyists – and has therefore decreased openness in public policy making as people are now limiting their activities and deregistering themselves in order to avoid being stigmatized. This scapegoating of lobbyists and, by extension, the recipients of their supposed “undue” influence – public officials – is at best misguided. Our public officials are not inherently corruptible; they act in their constituents’ and the nation’s best interests. By the same token, lobbyists act in the best interest of those they represent, cognizant of the goals of good public policy making.
The fact is that our political system is built on a foundation of checks and balances, and therefore, so too, is good public policy making. No “special interest” gets a free ride. Every issue and position is tested at each stage of the process because invariably there is a counter-interest involved. And each of these counter-interests has its views made known – by professional advocates, by a critical press corps now operating on a 24/7 cycle, by the all-present internet, including ever increasing blogs, and by the public’s direct participation through town hall meetings, demonstrations, etc. These “checks” allow the system to produce a better and more balanced product. It’s called a compromise.
And even when a compromise – or as James Madison called it – “concurrence” – is not possible, and an initiative or a proposal stalls or is set aside as the result, that just may mean the will of the people has also been achieved.
Many of you are familiar with Bryce Harlow’s five characteristics of a good lobbyist:
Integrity
A willingness to work hard
Adaptability to change
Humility and perspective
An understanding of the processes of government
These weren’t just five good-sounding bullet points ginned up to be slapped on promotional material; they constituted the ethical and personal framework within which Bryce Harlow lived his life. I’d like to focus for a moment on the first of these characteristics – integrity – and its importance for our profession.
Integrity should be both the foundation and the superstructure of a lobbyist’s professional life. The absence of integrity, honesty and credibility is invariably raised whenever an individual in our profession goes off the rails and behaves in a way that is antithetical to these principles. But I must say that in my more than 40 years in Washington, I have observed relatively few “bad actors,” and, just as Bryce Harlow noted, they don’t last very long.
However, the fact that there are relatively few “bad actors” has not deterred the executive and legislative branches from regulating and legislating lobbying based on the worst conceived facts and circumstances. As a result, lobbying is one of the most regulated industries in the country, a fact that serves only to fan, not dampen, the public’s perception that public policy making is corrupt. This is an extremely unfortunate result because the existence of a corps of professional advocates is not only desirable, it is necessary for the health of our political system.
The participation in public policy making of educated, experienced, committed and, honest advocates, makes for better, sounder and more balanced decisions by public officials. Our participation in the process, as we all know, is constitutionally protected under a citizen’s right to petition the government, but, even beyond that protection, what it connotes is an indispensable service. A service that professional advocates contribute not only to those they represent, but also to better public policy making.
Bryce Harlow understood this. From his time working as a House staff member, as an advisor to presidents and finally as a professional advocate for Procter & Gamble, he recognized and exemplified the spirit of civic service that motivates the best lobbyists.
Let me state clearly – lobbying is an honorable profession. I wholeheartedly encourage those young people here tonight who are considering becoming lobbyists to do so. Our republic is forged and tempered by the contest of ideas. We need the very best among us to bring those ideas to that contest, and to do so, individually and collectively by following the Bryce Harlow principles. If we do that, I believe we will begin to restore the public’s confidence in public policy making and in the positive, and valuable, role that professional advocates contribute to it.