Wonkette [3], for those of you who don't read it, is a proudly low-brow and juvenile blog that focuses on the more salacious escapades of our representatives in Washington. For those of us who have to deal with the over-starched, self-important Washington crowd (Congresspedia [4] headquarters is just off the K street lobbying corridor), it often provides a dose of needed levity.

Occasionally, Wonkette does break away from its trademark 6th grade level humor and provides a gem that gives real insight into how this town actually works. Today it ran another installment in its "Ask a Lobbyist" [5] series, in which an anonymous member of the unofficial fourth branch of the federal government answers questions submitted by readers. In response to a question about whether lobbying firms that have been hiring Republicans for a decade will be left in the lurch if Democrats capture both chambers of Congress next month, the lobbyist responds:

The vast majority of lobbyists aren't contract lobbyists working one-off amendments to appropriations bill for a couple of hundred grand. We're working for associations, nonprofits or corporations on multiple issues and we have compromises to develop and one-issue bills that we need to get a majority of Congress members to support or defeat. We can't rely on one Congress Member because he's only got one vote, and he's got money to raise and the occasional constituent who's paying attention. Plus, frankly, we don't work for a party — we work for our employer. And our bosses have egos as big as (if not bigger than) any Congress person — and many of them are K Street Project boobs — so they aren't exactly going to take kindly to being told who to hire or who to fire by Ms. Pelosi. And how is Pelosi or any of her minions going to talk a (likely Republican) CEO into hiring Dems to get more business-friendly results from a Democratic Congress?... So, really, I don't expect much to change in terms of lobbyists' affiliations. The Dems can't really run around screaming "Corruption!" in a crowded House and then immediately turn around and start their own K Street Project to threaten CEOs and elevate their own Abramoff. It took a whole 6 years for the Republican Revolution to degenerate into a lobbyist-screening program. I give the Dems until 2009.

(Link [6]—caution, following the link will expose you to the usual naughty language at Wonkette.)

I suppose her answer might make some cynical, or make the cynical hopeful (for at least 3 years), but it also reveals the tremendous role that lobbyists play in the legislative process. If the Democrats do retake Congress, we'll be keeping an eye on them to see if another K Street Project [7] does indeed take shape. Current Democratic whip and likely House Majority Leader [8] candidate Steny Hoyer [9] (D-Md.), after all, is notorious for his close relationships with the Fourth Branch, as Zach Roth shows in his intriguing profile of Hoyer [10] in this month's Washington Monthly.

Other interesting "Ask a Lobbyist" installments (again, warning: adult language):

• Plying congressional staffers with gifts and compliments is a standard business model for lobbyists. [11]
• Making $5,000 contributions (the limit for leadership PACs) is "semi-mandatory" for lobbyists. [12]
• In the wake of the Abramoff scandal, meals and junkets have lost favor to good old-fashioned campaign contributions as the lobbying currency of choice. [13]