Current impressions of Mike Capuano?

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

I'm curious what folks' impressions are of Mike Capuano. His apparent straight talk has always appealed to me as has his position on the war. His little Brazil "junket" a few years ago and his rather lame justification for it gave me pause, as does his apparent position/resistance to legislative ethics reform. His comments in yesterday's NYTimes made me wonder if I have the full picture.

“We laid down a marker and said we want to change the way business is done in Washington,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and a main sponsor of the rule requiring disclosure of “bundling” by lobbyists. “Now we need to follow through and take the next step of passing a strong lobbying reform bill.”

[...]

Others say they do not see the point of doing more. “I didn’t make any of those campaign promises,” said Representative Michael E. Capuano, a Massachusetts Democrat who questions the bundling disclosure proposal and also opposed the extension of the so-called “revolving door” ban on lobbying by former members.

“I made a career change 20 years ago to be a full-time elected official,” Mr. Capuano said, explaining his position. “I am no longer qualified to be a tax attorney. It is like saying to people, ‘Please, come into public service, give it your all, and when you are done you are completely unqualified for anything else.’ ”
--NYTimes http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/washington/23lobby.html

So Mike wants to retain ethically questionable lobbying practices so that he has something to fall back on? I guess this is the realpolitik but I had a somewhat different impression of Capuano's priorities. I am no political maven so perhaps someone here can fill out the picture of where Capuano is coming from.

Comments

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

I would disagree. He/they have great influence through their special access to former colleagues along with exploiting whatever deal-making relationships they may have developed with those colleagues while in office (+ money + gifts + junkets).

From Public Citizen:

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1999

“The revolving door is spinning faster than ever,” said Frank Clemente, director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division. “When nearly half the lawmakers in Congress use their position to move into a job that pays so handsomely, it’s time to change the system.”

In light of the findings, Public Citizen recommends the following reforms:

* Extend the former members’ cooling-off period (the time during which they are not allowed to lobby) to two years and include the supervision of lobbyists as a prohibited activity.
* Require members of Congress to disclose their employment negotiations while they are in office if they pose a conflict of interest, similar to the requirement for the executive branch.
* Repeal the privileges that give former members of Congress special access to former colleagues (access to the House and Senate floor and to members-only gymnasiums and restaurants) if they register to lobby.
* Prohibit registered lobbyists from making, soliciting or arranging campaign contributions to elected officials in the branches of government they lobby (Congress, the executive branch or both).