In Tunisia, where the earliest revolts energized the regional upheaval in January, the Washington Media Group, a public relations and communications firm, ended its $420,000 image-building contract with Tunis on Jan. 6, soon after reports emerged of violent government crackdowns on demonstrators.
“We basically decided on principle that we couldn’t work for a country that was using snipers on rooftops to pick off its citizens,” said Gregory L. Vistica, the firm’s president, who first announced the decision on Facebook.
Shall we all applaud this laudable and principled stand? Yes, we know that many don’t blush at snipers. I wonder how many lobbyists the Swedes pay to buff their image and prevent Congress from passing anti-Swedish resolutions. You want to talk about a dirty business? And that’s not even getting into outfits like the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, and like lobbying organizations. Or, how about less violent but no less damaging efforts like the Concerned Citizens for the Environment?
I don’t want to demonize lobbyists. It’s fine to band together and hire someone to represent your interests on Capitol Hill. But a lot of lobbyists really deserve the Mussolini treatment. Taking money from brutal dictators to gloss over their abuses and keep the subsidies flowing? Yeah, break out the piano wire. I’m looking at you, Lanny Davis. Don’t tell me that someone has to do it, because that’s bullshit.
