Crony of agriculture chief now a Monsanto lobbyist
Timothy P. Carney
Washington Examiner, December 2 2009
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Crony-of-agriculture-chief-now-a-
Monsanto-lobbyist-8612856-78264977.html
Jerry Crawford, an Iowa lawyer and lobbyist with deep ties to Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack, recently registered as the Washington representative
for Monsanto, a biotechnology and agrichemical giant that embodies the
"special interests" President Obama planned to drive from the temple of
federal government.
The Des Moines Register calls Crawford a "well-connected, high-profile Des
Moines lawyer" and "Democratic power broker."
Examine his record, and you see what the paper means. Crawford was once
chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party. He was the Iowa chairman for the
presidential campaigns of Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry.
In 2008, he was Hillary Clinton's Midwest campaign chairman.
Of greater significance today, he is also a "longtime Vilsack friend and
adviser," a "Vilsack ally," a "top Vilsack insider," and "a guru for and a
big friend of Gov. Tom Vilsack," according to the Register.
In 1998, Crawford got in near the ground floor of Vilsack's rise in
politics, putting his reputation and wealth behind the long shot gubernatorial
candidate. Crawford hosted at least one fundraiser for Vilsack that year,
which netted $23,000.
Questions arose early in Vilsack's tenure about conflicts regarding
Crawford's work as a lobbyist and his closeness to Vilsack. A 1999 Register
article reported that Vilsack, before firing members of the gambling commission
disliked by the casinos, had raised $17,000 from gambling interests. "Most
of the $17,000 Vilsack received came from Jerry Crawford, a lawyer for the
Iowa Greyhound Association," the article reported.
At play here is not likely a quid pro quo or bribery, but just a close
friendship: Crawford donates to his friend's campaign, and Vilsack takes his
friend's calls on state issues. But this chumminess is exactly how special
interest politics works. And the chumminess runs deep.
In 2001, as Vilsack ran for re-election, Crawford was Vilsack's top
individual donor, giving him $31,000. When Vilsack traveled the Midwest stumping
for Kerry in 2004, Crawford was one of Gov. Vilsack's two travel mates,
according to CNN.
So, Sen. Kerry, Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary Vilsack are all
tight with Crawford. And Vilsack and Hillary Clinton, Crawford told me, are
"good friends, and have been for a long, long time."
Although Obama was Crawford's third choice in 2008 (after Vilsack and then
Clinton), Crawford still ponied up a $10,000 check for the Obama Victory
Fund last August. This contribution didn't violate Obama's no-lobbyist-cash
pledge because Crawford was lobbying only state government (with Monsanto
as a client), not the federal government.
But now Crawford has registered to represent Monsanto in Washington on
"Competition/antitrust issues within the agricultural industry; environmental
laws, regulations and policies related to the agricultural industry,"
according to a Nov. 10 filing. Monsanto is a multinational corporation most
famous for its genetically modified seeds and for its herbicide Roundup. The
company is also a leading member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization,
which in 2001 named Vilsack governor of the year.
This situation -- the agriculture secretary's top fundraiser, top donor
and longtime confidant serving as a Monsanto lobbyist -- would seem to create
an awkward situation for the Obama administration given the president's
pledges to crush lobbyist influence. Crawford tells me he hasn't met with
anyone yet on Monsanto's behalf. I called and e-mailed Vilsack's office Monday
asking if he would meet with Crawford in the future if Crawford requested
a meeting. By Tuesday evening, Vilsack's office hadn't responded.
Monsanto's lobbying army already has made an incursion into the Obama
administration. The top food safety adviser at the Department of Health and
Human Services is Michael Taylor, Monsanto's former vice president for
government affairs. As I reported in my column on Friday, Obama has nominated Isi
Siddiqui to be his agriculture trade representative; Siddiqui is the vice
president for regulatory affairs and a former lobbyist at CropLife America,
which is a pro-pesticide lobbying coalition of which Monsanto is a
prominent member.
Monsanto, lying at the intersection of agriculture and biotechnology, is
deeply dependent on government favor. The company stands to benefit from the
House's global warming bill, which subsidizes biofuels and gives carbon
credits to farmers who control weeds with herbicides rather than tilling the
ground. Also, the company constantly fights to ward off new regulations on
pesticides and genetically modified food.
Monsanto is a poster boy for special interests and is a favorite target of
the environmental Left. With Secretary Vilsack's fundraiser, donor and
confidant carrying its flag, Monsanto figures to have even more clout in
Washington.
Timothy P. Carney, The Examiner's lobbying editor, can be reached at
[log in to unmask] He writes an op-ed column that appears on
Friday.
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