Libya shutdowns send oil soaring

(FT) -- Oil prices surged by more than $6 a barrel as violence in Libya knocked out at least half the country's production, according to industry executives.
Brent oil futures, the global pricing benchmark, jumped 5 per cent to more than $111 a barrel -- a 2½-year peak, while Nymex West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, hit $100 a barrel for the first time since October 2008, before falling back to $98. "It is increasingly looking as if this is the real deal in terms of a supply shock," said JBC Energy, a Vienna-based consultancy.
Executives estimated that at least half of Libya's 1.6m barrels a day oil output had been shut down, although they cautioned that they did not have direct knowledge of production at their competitors' oilfields.
Amrita Sen, energy analyst at Barclays Capital, said: "The overall significance of the situation is more than just about lost barrels. Destabilisation in the Arab world, home to the world's largest oil and gas reserves and production, is of extreme significance."
Producers' cartel Opec has said it stands ready to supply the market in case of a shortage.
However, analysts warned that Opec's spare capacity was of lower quality than Libyan crude, suggesting that members of the International Energy Agency, the consumer countries' watchdog, might instead agree to release strategic stocks.
Lawrence Eagles, head of oil research at JPMorgan and a former head of oil markets at the IEA, said: "Without information on the scale and duration of any disruption, Opec cannot accurately gauge how much additional crude to produce. A release [of] stocks by the IEA may meet market needs more closely."
The subject is likely to arise at a regular two-day board meeting to be held by the IEA on Thursday and Friday.
But the agency said: "At present, we are not in a situation where [releasing oil from stocks] is necessary."
Industry executives warned that the effect of the disruptions in Libya could be felt for several months -- even if a semblance of peace were to return to the country.
"If the disruption lasts more than three weeks, the recovery will take time because pressure will be lost," one said.
According to traders, Libya's national oil company has declared force majeure -- a legal clause allowing it to walk away from contracted deliveries -- on refined products. They add that western oil majors could do the same on their contracted deliveries of crude oil within days.
Spain's Repsol and Germany's Wintershall have publicly announced that they have shut down production in Libya, estimated to be 350,000 b/d and 100,000 b/d respectively.
In addition, traders and industry executives said production had ceased at certain fields operated by Total of France and Italy's Eni, equal to a further 300,000-350,000 b/d.
The companies confirmed that there had been some impact on their oil output, without giving details.
The extent of production losses at oilfields operated by Libya's national oil company was unclear.
Ms Sen estimated that as much as 1m b/d may have been shut down -- more than 60 per cent of Libya's total production.

The rest of the country's output was "increasingly under threat", she added.

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Obama drops defense of law against gay marriage

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama has ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and woman, according to a statement Wednesday from Attorney General Eric Holder.
"The president has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny," Holder said.
The key provision in the law "fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional."
"Given that conclusion, the president has instructed the (Justice Department) not to defend the statute" in two pending cases in New York, Holder said. "I fully concur with the president's determination."
Obama has previously expressed his personal opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act but had never stated an opinion relating to its constitutionality.
The administration had a March 11 deadline to respond to two lawsuits against the measure in New York. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- which includes New York -- is the only federal circuit to have never decided the basic legal question of whether a law discriminates against gays and lesbians.
Republicans immediately ripped the decision, calling it a distraction at a time when the focus needs to be on the economy.
"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spendingm the president will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the administration had to make a decision before the court-imposed deadline.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, praised the decision, calling it a key step forward in the push for equal rights for gays and lesbians.
The administration's decision "is a victory for civil rights, fairness, and equality," Pelosi said. "I commend (Obama) for taking this bold step forward to ensure the federal government is no longer in the business of defending an indefensible statute."
The Defense of Marriage Act was passed in 1996 by the GOP-controlled Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and says states cannot be forced to recognize such marriages from other states.
In July, a federal judge in Massachusetts became the first to rule the law unconstituational. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro said that "irrational prejudice plainly never constitutes a legitimate government interest."

Carney said Wednesday the administration will continue to enforce the law.

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Check out CNN affiliate KING-TV in Seattle for a report

(CNN) -- A round-the-world boating adventure ended tragically Tuesday for four Americans, whom pirates fatally shot after capturing their yacht in the Indian Ocean last week, U.S. officials said.
The 58-foot vessel, named the Quest, was being shadowed by the military after pirates took the ship off the coast of Oman on Friday. Officials had said earlier Tuesday it was less than two days from the Somali coast.
Ship owners Jean and Scott Adam and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle were found shot after U.S. forces boarded the vessel about 1 a.m. ET, officials said.
The forces responded after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a U.S. Navy ship about 600 yards away -- and missed -- and the sound of gunfire could be heard on board the Quest, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Mark Fox told reporters.

Four Americans on hijacked yacht dead

Friend reflects on slain couple

Security expert on pirates, hijacking

American hostages killed

RELATED TOPICS

• Pirates
• Somalia

"Despite immediate steps to provide life-saving care, all four hostages ultimately died of their wounds," U.S. Central Command said.
The incident took place as negotiations involving the FBI were under way for the hostages' release, Fox said. Two pirates had boarded a U.S. Navy ship Monday for the negotiations, he said. He told reporters he had no information on details of the negotiations or whether a ransom had been offered.
Two pirates were found dead on board the Quest, he said. In the process of clearing the vessel, U.S. forces killed two others, one with a knife, Fox said. Thirteen others were captured and detained along with the other two already on board the U.S. Navy ship. Nineteen pirates were involved altogether, he said.
The Adams were from Marina del Rey, California, Fox said, and Macay and Riggle were from Seattle.
The 15 detained pirates were being held together on a U.S. warship, Fox said, and "we will go through the appropriate process to bring them to a judicial process and hold them accountable for their activities."
Somali government officials condemned the killing.
"The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia deeply regrets the deaths," a government statement said. "We condemn the actions of these and all pirates operating from our shores and we will ensure that the captured pirates are brought to justice."
In Washington, the Justice Department issued a brief comment, with department spokesman Dean Boyd saying the United States "is committed to working with our international partners to ensure that the perpectrators of this heinous crime are brought to justice."
A second Justice Department official said there are a number of options for trial of the pirates. Two leading options would be to try the men either in the Southern District of New York or in the Eastern District of Virginia because prosecutors in those districts have experience handling such cases, the official said.
In New York, Abduwali Abukhadir Muse pleaded guilty to the 2009 hijacking of the container ship Maersk Alabama and for taking the ship's captain hostage. Last week Muse was sentenced to almost 34 years in prison for his crimes. He was the only surviving pirate involved in the take-over of the Maersk.
In Norfolk, Virginia, five Somali pirates were convicted after a nine day trial in November of attacking a Navy vessel, the USS Nicholas, which they had mistaken for a merchant ship. A second case in Norfolk involves alleged pirates accused of firing at another Navy ship, the USS Ashland.
The federal judge in the Ashland case threw out the lead count of piracy, but prosecutors are appealing that decision. The attacks on the Nicholas and the Ashland occurred last April.
Another option would be to bring the case in California or Washington, the home states of the victims. The Justice official said it would be possible to try the suspected pirates in almost any judicial district the Justice Department might choose by simply flying the suspects to that location and making it the suspects' first point of entry in the United States.
Fox said authorities believe the pirates were trying to get the vessel and hostages to Somalia, or at least into Somali territory waters.
Fox said it was the deadliest pirate hijacking involving U.S. citizens that he could recall. There have been fewer than 10 fatalities associated with pirate activity in the region in the past few years, he said.
The Adams, Macay and Riggle had been traveling with yachts participating in the Blue Water Rally since their departure from Phuket, Thailand, rally organizers said Sunday on the event's website. The group, which organizes long-distance group cruises, said the Quest broke off on February 15 after leaving Mumbai, India, to take a different route.
A statement from Blue Water Rallies on Tuesday called the four "brave adventurers." "We at Blue Water Rallies are stunned and devastated by the news of the loss of four friends who have had their innocent lives taken away from them by the pirate menace which is plaguing the Indian Ocean," it said.
The Somalis also issued condolences. "I do express a deep condolence to the families," said Omar Jamal, first secretary of the Somali mission to the United Nations, in a statement.
U.S. President Barack Obama was notified early Tuesday of the deaths, White House spokesman Jay Carney said. Obama had a briefing on the situation over the weekend and authorized the use of force against the pirates in the event of an imminent threat to the Americans' safety, he said.
The United States "strongly condemns the murder of four U.S. citizens," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement, adding, "This deplorable act firmly underscores the need for continued international progress toward confronting the shared security challenge posed by piracy in the waters off the Horn of Africa."
Forces had been monitoring the Quest for three days, officials said. Four U.S. Navy warships were involved in the response force -- an aircraft carrier, a guided-missile cruiser and two guided-missile destroyers, according to the statement.
Fox said Tuesday authorities believe the 19 pirates came aboard the Quest after traveling on a "mother ship."
The "mother ship" trend -- pirates using another hijacked merchant vessel -- has appeared in the past few months, said Cyrus Mody, manager at the International Maritime Bureau in London. The mother ships provide pirates with "a lot more reach, a lot more capability to move out (farther) into the Indian Ocean," he said.
In addition, pirates can stay on board longer, have appropriate equipment and can demand the expertise of the ship's crew, he said. Previously, pirates typically hijacked a vessel and held it until a ransom was paid, he said.
The Adams were a passionate couple who spent most of their time since 2004 boating around the world, said Scott Stolnitz, who knew Scott Adam, a retired film executive, for nearly 40 years. The couple had a small boat at the Del Rey Yacht Club, where they would occasionally return to visit friends, family and handle business, he said.
But traveling the world on their yacht was where they really wanted to be, he said.
"They loved the experiences they were having with the people they were meeting and the places they were going," Stolnitz said. "We asked them once if they ever looked forward to living on land again, and they both, believe it or not, said no."
He earlier had said the Adams were conscious of pirate threats and were concerned about boating in the area.
One aspect of their travels, according to the couple's website, was "friendship evangelism -- that is, finding homes for thousands of Bibles, which have been donated through grants and gifts, as we travel from place to place." They also said their mission was to "allow the power of the Word to transform lives."
But, Stolnitz said, vigorous evangelism wasn't a major emphasis for the couple. "They use the Bible as an ice-breaker," he said.
Nina Crossland, Macay's niece, said she did not know if the Adams had any weapons aboard their yacht, nor did she know why they decided to break off from a sailing group that was traversing the dangerous waters of the Indian Ocean together.
"We don't know and now unfortunately we may never know," she asid.
Crossland said she was told that Macay was still alive when U.S. Navy SEALS arrived on board the Quest, but the sailors were not able to save her.
Asked earlier whether the U.S. forces were SEALS, Fox earlier said they were "U.S. special operations forces."
Piracy has flourished off Somalia, which has not had an effective government for two decades. While piracy in the Indian Ocean has taken place for years close to the Somali coast, "in 2008 we saw a very marked and rapid shift into the Gulf of Aden, where Somali pirates were attacking and hijacking vessels very, very regularly," said Mody of the International Maritime Bureau.
International navies combating piracy have been fairly successful in setting up a patrolled transit corridor through the Gulf of Aden, Mody and Fox said. But the pirates' activities then shifted into the southern Red Sea, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea area, Mody said.
In addition, there was "a very large increase" in pirate attacks between 2008 and 2009, although the increase did not continue into 2010, Mody said. He noted that in the first few months of 2010, virtually no pirate hijackings were reported. So far in 2011, "we have already seen more than 50 attacks carried out," he said. "From 2008, what we've seen is they have evolved ... and increased their capabilities."
International counterpiracy teams do what they can to control pirate activities in the region, he said, but "the area in which the Somali pirates are threatening is far too large for a concentrated naval effort like what is happening in the Gulf of Aden, so the navies are mostly relying on a lot of intelligence gathering and targeting vessels based on the intelligence."
The entire United States east of the Mississippi River could fit into the Somali basin, Fox said. "It's a vast, vast area." Currently, 34 warships patrol the region under 15 flags and work well together, he said, but "there's a lot of places where we are not."
In April 2009, pirates seized the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, leading to a standoff in the Indian Ocean. U.S. forces moved to rescue American Captain Richard Phillips after seeing a pirate aiming a weapon at his back, officials said at the time.
Three pirates were killed and one was arrested. The Somali man arrested was convicted of acts related to high-seas piracy, and a federal court in New York sentenced him last week to more than 30 years in prison.

As of February 15, pirates were holding 33 vessels and 712 hostages, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

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Huckabee ready to test his message

Washington (CNN) - Former Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said he's using his upcoming book tour to gauge if his message resonates with voters before making a decision on whether or not to make a run for the White House in 2012.

"A Simple Government" hits book shelves Tuesday and describes his philosophy for the national debt, national security, international relations and family values. On a conference call with reporters Monday, he said his 41-city tour will also help him decide if "there is both financial and organizational support that warrants walking away from what I'm doing and getting back into the fray again."

Huckabee, who lost the GOP nomination in 2008 currently hosts a show on Fox News and anchors a radio program. Although he said he enjoyed campaigning in the last election, he did not enjoy the mechanics of running a national operation.
"I love to campaign, it's one of the things that I have enjoyed the most. That is the part that's most appealing to me about getting back in is that I truly enjoy the day-to-day rhythm of a campaign, as insane as that may sound to most people who aren't inflicted with this disease," Huckabee said. "But you know the thought of sitting on a telephone in some office… and just cold calling people I don't know and begging them for money, that's not my forte."
The tour also lets him avoid the news cycle that he said allows "punditry to kind of set the schedule."
"It kind of gives me an opportunity to take that message to the people rather than to wait to be one of 12 people on a debate stage getting four minutes worth of questions," Huckabee said.
But he declined to throw his support behind someone else in the current 2012 field, saying a run for president isn't one where "you just look around and see who else is on the field."
He doled out positive words for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour who are both weighing presidential bids, but ultimately said "I'm not going to make a decision based on who else is in or who's not in."

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Farrell: In Middle East, Mottos and Armies Are Key

"Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope." That's the motto of the Muslim Brotherhood. It, or they, insist that Islam is the only source of legislation and that non-Muslims and women cannot become heads of state.

To believe a democratic outcome is a fait accompli in North Africa is failing to understand the Muslim Brotherhood's purpose. They may not have the influence they wish right now, but they are there, and patient.

A recent poll by the Washington Institute for Near East policy found that Muslim Brotherhood leaders received barely 1% of Egyptians support for the Presidency. Only 7% of those that responded believed that "the Mubarak regime is not Islamic enough."

This, says an article in the Wall Street Journal last Friday, February 16 by Maajid Nawaz (executor director of Quilliam, a counterextremism think tank in England) suggests the Muslim Brotherhood is likely to win seats in the Egyptian Parliament if an election were to be held, but unlikely to gain control.

But in the same edition of the Journal, Ms. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former member of the Dutch Parliament, warned that it should be remembered that al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas (and others) are offshoots of the Brotherhood.

She feels the Brotherhood has a hidden agenda and that the West should push for more time in drafting a new Egyptian constitution. Such a constitution, she says, "should introduce checks and balances, eliminate the one-party system and guarantee the protection of human rights." It should also safeguard against the imposition of Shariah law.

The above mentioned Mr. Nawaz, who was once held as a prisoner of conscience in Egypt, takes heart in the bold secular youth movements that had so much to do with Mubarak's downfall. The Egyptian Movement for Change, and the April 6th Youth were more influential that the allegedly most organized movement in Egypt, the Brotherhood. The Economist Magazine editorialized in a recent issue that '"fear of the Muslim Brotherhood is...overdone."

If a new government included the Brotherhood it would be harder on Israel and easier on Hamas, but the Brothers are a varied bunch and "wouldn't risk another war" with Israel. Some would argue for rescinding the peace treaty with Israel. But estimates of their popularity peak at about 20% depending on who is counting and they would probably bide their time. But remember their motto and what that implies.

The U.S. would be wise to remember the bitter truth written by playwright Bertolt Brecht, 1898-1956, an avowed Marxist, who said "First grub, then ethics." He was right. Food comes first and for the half of Egypt's population that lives on less than $2 a day, the next meal is more important than the next election. This represents an opportunity for the US that would be nice to take advantage off if we weren't broke as a nation.

And aid/assistance can't be distributed from the state down. Free enterprise and job creation has to come from the bottom up. Dan Henninger had a fascinating op-ed piece in the Journal recently.

Waiting in the wings is Saudi Arabia. Fabulously wealthy as a nation, the divide between haves and have nots is staggering. 40% of Saudis live in poverty and 70% can't afford homes says Karen Elliott House, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for her coverage of the Middle East.

In Egypt, pre-revolution, the percentage of the working population employed by the state was 35%. Large public sectors are almost universally smothering and inefficient. In Jordan, nearly 50% of the workforce is employed by the state and Yemen, Tunisia, and Algeria are in between those two.

A raft of Asian countries have less than 15% of the population working in the public sector, and they have vibrant economies. Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand have less than 15% of the workforce employed by the state. In China it is 8.3%; Singapore is 3%; and also below 15% are Columbia, Peru, and Chile, "three of South America's strongest economies." Mr. Henninger figures a low number doesn't guarantee strong growth, "but a high number probably kills it."

Waiting in the wings is Saudi Arabia. Fabulously wealthy as a nation, the divide between haves and have nots is staggering. 40% of Saudis live in poverty and 70% can't afford homes says Karen Elliott House, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for her coverage of the Middle East. Further, 90% of all employees are imported non-Saudis. This nation could blow up!

Those newly emergent (hopefully) democratic governments might not want to look too closely at the US. Public sector costs have helped push New York, California, New Jersey, and Illinois to the financial brink. And Wisconsin is a wonderful example of how messy democracy can be. The newly elected governor of Wisconsin has done exactly what he said he would do during the campaign, and the legislature is ready to pass the package.

RELATED LINKS

Current DateTime: 07:59:41 22 Feb 2011
LinksList Documentid: 41722658

• Gaddafi Vows to Fight on, Die a Martyr
• Saudi Oil Minister to CNBC: We Will Protect Supply

So skipping town makes all the sense in the world for the opposition. Just like taking your ball and going home if you don't get your way. I am perplexed and troubled myself about repealing collective bargaining rights, but that's what courts are for.

The essential point is we can't afford things and we have to cut. Read David Brooks in Tuesday's New York Times. Like his colleague, Tom Friedman, a national asset, Brooks summarizes the solution when he says "Make Everybody Hurt."

But hurt in the financial sense. Hurting in the Middle Eastern sense means being shot. Watch the armies. If, as in Egypt, they refuse to fire on the people, the leader is toast. If the army slaughters its fellow citizens by the hundreds, as in Libya, the dictator will probably prevail. Turning the military is key.

CNBC Guest Blogs: Great People-Great Ideas

_______________________________________

Vincent Farrell, Jr. is chief investment officer at Soleil Securities Group and a regular contributor to CNBC. 

© 2011 CNBC.com

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Westboro Baptist Church Squares Off With Anonymous Hackers; No One Wins

The havoc-causing internet collective known as Anonymous -- most notable for their attacks on Scientology and more recently, in support of WikiLeaks and rebellion in the Middle East -- briefly considered Westboro Baptist Church (of "God Hates Fags" fame) as their next target. But it barely lasted the weekend, with threats traded, bluffs called and ultimately, no one coming out on top except the passive observer.
The Church, not really a church at all, is known as the army of the intolerable Fred Phelps of Topeka, Kansas, a man who leads his mindless minions to picket funerals across the country while holding bright, bigoted signs, thereby winning media attention.
Anonymous, then, messed up in the first place by giving Phelps and friends even more eyeballs thanks to an open letter announcing war, unless Westboro ceased its activities:

TO THE CONGREGANTS OF WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH: We, the collective super-consciousness known as ANONYMOUS - the Voice of Free Speech & the Advocate of the People - have long heard you issue your venomous statements of hatred, and we have witnessed your flagrant and absurd displays of inimitable bigotry and intolerant fanaticism. We have always regarded you and your ilk as an assembly of graceless sociopaths and maniacal chauvinists & religious zealots, however benign, who act out for the sake of attention & in the name of religion.
...
ANONYMOUS cannot abide this behavior any longer. The time for us to be idle spectators in your inhumane treatment of fellow Man has reached its apex, and we shall now be moved to action. Thus, we give you a warning: Cease & desist your protest campaign in the year 2011, return to your homes in Kansas, & close your public Web sites.
...
The warning has been given. What happens from here shall be determined by you.

Westboro supposedly responded by daring Anonymous to do something. "BRING IT!" their response letter on Saturday read. Plus, via Gawker:

A puddle of pimple-faced nerds organized under the cowardly banner of "Anonymous" claim they plan to hack Westboro's Websites... Bad miscalculation, girls! Let us tell you how this will go: rebels will build a full head of steam based on false hope; the media will predictably do much breathless anticipating while giving another tsunami of coverage to Westboro's message; God will defeat your council; your efforts will fail.

The following day, a group of Anonymous members, who realized the futility of attacking Westboro, mostly considering the attention it would bring the hate group, wrote a letter going back on their promises to attack to the Church. The partly unintelligible response-to-the-response letter shows the fragmented nature of Anonymous, or just how sloppy the operation can be. The takeaway? Going after Westboro isn't worth it. Or in their words:

In closing, let us assure you: We are not BAWWWING sissies, nor are we afraid of your false god; we're just really busy. Stay tuned, and we'll come back to play another day. We promise. To the Media: Just because it was posted on AnonNews doesn't mean every single Anon is in agreement, in fact in this case it doesn't even mean a single Anon is in agreement. Next time, if you could give us a few minutes to put all our paperwork in order, we'll be sure to let you know what we're up to. (LOL)
To Anonymous: It's a trap. They've got their ports wide open to harvest IPs to sue. Don't DDoS, and boycott Operation Westboro. If you really want to continue messing with them, just send them a few male prostitutes and faxes of goatse. Nothing more.

In all, anti-climactic and masturbatory on both sides, and yet, totally amusing in its own right.
[jcoscarelli@villagevoice.com / @joecoscarelli]

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History of Lobbying in the United States

The history of lobbying in the United States actually has different versions. Lobbying was said to originate when members of Parliament and colleagues gathered themselves in the hallways or lobbies of House of Parliament before and after parliamentary debates. Another popular version is that the term “lobbying” began during the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant between 1869 and 1877, when Grant was not permitted by his wife to smoke inside the White House. He instead went to the nearby Willard Hotel and enjoyed his cigars at the hotel’s lobby. After being frequently seen there, politicians and those who wanted political favors began to approach him and initiate discussions at these times when he was in high spirits. Due to this, Grant started using the term to describe the political wheelers and dealers who resorted to capitalize on times when Grant was in the lobby of the hotel.
Contrary to these stories, lobbying dates back to the earliest records of Congress. In the 1700s, the Virginia veterans of the Continental army employed William Hull to lobby for additional payment for their services during the war. In 1795, a Philadelphia newspaper illustrated how lobbyists waited outside the Congress Hall to give a hint or advice to a member of Congress. In 1798, Senator Samuel Livermore of New Hampshire propositioned that a huge group of Philadelphia citizens be admitted to the Senate floor so that citizens can present a petition to support the administration’s policies toward France. Senator Humphrey Marshall of Kentucky carried out an objection and a resolution was passed regarding the prohibition of individuals or delegations from presenting petitions in such a way at some point.
During this period, individuals who wished to sway the decision-making of politicians used entertainment to persuade them. A Senator from Pennsylvania expressed in his diary that merchants from New York use “treats, dinners, and attention” to have a tariff bill passage delayed.
In the early 1850s, Samuel Colt, the owner of a prominent gun manufacturing company, wanted the passage of a bill to lengthen his patent for seven years. It was reported that in order to achieve an affirmative result, Colt had his agents set generous entertainments for indecisive senators. It was also noted that his agents gave pistols to certain members of the legislature.
During the 1870s, lobbyists such as William E. Chandler received large retainers from numerous railroad companies that sought government assistance. Tom Scott, the president of the largest corporation at that time, the Pennsylvania Road, was believed to have hired two hundred lobbyists for the congressional session. The most illustrious lobbyist was Sam Ward, generally known as the “King of the Lobby;” he was initially employed by the Treasury Secretary to restore order and stability to the country’s post-Civil War finances. Ward was known to provide the best food, wines, and entertainment. By the 1900s, lobbying expanded its extent beyond commercial and financial interests and lobbying strategies also started to transform. In 1946, the Lobbying Act of 1946 regulated that lobbyists must register themselves; in 1995, the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 was passed to tighten provisions of the previous law.
Open Secrets profile of lobbying in the United States.
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