Steve Scalise Lobbyist Fest This Tuesday
The two most basic rules for holding a New Orleans Jazz Fest ought to be that 1) The event is actually in New Orleans, and 2) The event is actually about jazz. U.S. Representative Steve Scalise’s New Orleans Jazz Fest scheduled for this Tuesday evening breaks both rules. It’s in Washington D.C., not New Orleans, and it’s about lobbyists handing money to Congressman Scalise, not listening to good music.
The event does have a special musical theme. In the invitation to the D.C. insider fundraising party, lobbyists from political action committees that pay Congressman Scalise $2500 are called “Saxophones”, while PAC representatives who only give Scalise $500 are left with the relatively clunky title of “Trombones”.
The “Saxophones” are told in their invitation that there are only eight $2500 “tickets” to Scalise’s presence available. That’s code for “pay us this amount of money, and you won’t have much competition for the Congressman’s attention”.
One lobbying group certainly will gain the notice of Steve Scalise as a result of Tuesday night’s fundraiser. That’s Strategic Health Care, a lobbying firm that did over 4 million dollars worth of business last year trying to convince members of the U.S. Congress to vote in accordance with the interests of its corporate clients. Congressman Scalise’s fundraiser is being held at a townhouse owned by Strategic Health Care, used for its lobbying operations.
The recent clients of Scalise’s host lobbyists include Blue Cross/Blue Shield, ProMedica Health System, Performant Corporation, and the Section 508 Coalition. How much do you want to bet that these lobbyists weren’t just interested in helping Scalise organize a great low-cost jazz concert?
