K Street Cafe

Ethical Quandary for Social Sites (The New York Times)
Social media companies are in a difficult position: how do they accommodate the growing use for political purposes while appearing neutral, but also maintain the practices and policies that made these services popular in the first place?

#Quakebook: Crowdsourced Japan Charity Book (The Atlantic)
One blogger has taken a unique approach to raise money for the Japan Red Cross by launching a solo effort to collect prose, photos and illustrations into a self-published book, dubbed #Quakebook.

The American League of Lobbyists (ALL) unveiled a new video about the truth about the lobbying profession as part of our ongoing education campaign about the role lobbyists play in shaping good public policy.

“Lobbying: Your Constitutional Right,” explains what constitutes lobbying and why it is essential to the democratic process. There are two-minute and six-minute versions of the video.

A lobbyist’s role is to communicate about issues vital to all Americans. The American League of Lobbyists promotes good government through transparency, accountability and integrity. This is kind of the School House Rock version of the lobbying process and we hope that it will be used as a good introduction to ethical and accountable lobbying.

Four ALL members outline why lobbying is essential — Dave Wenhold, former Rep. James Walsh (R-NY), Patricia Adkins (non-profit) and Pamela Whitted (association).

The videos will be used on the ALL website (www.alldc.org), social media outlets, in classrooms and presentations given by ALL members.

Access to the video is available via YouTube:
SHORT:

The online grassroots community has wisely begun a discussion of ethics lately. A February forum at George Washington University was a solid kick-off to the dialogue. An ethical examination would be a healthy exercise when one considers the strategies, tactics and motives surrounding the upcoming Supreme Court nomination battle to fill the seat of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

The recent opening on the Supreme Court, and the anticipated grassroots battle over the nominee, raise an ethical question for grassroots organizers. Groups on both the left and right see a Supreme Court nomination battle as an opportunity to rally troops, raise funds and bolster their causes. However, many political observers have suggested that President Obama will probably nominate a non-controversial candidate, seeking to avoid a bloody and partisan nomination fight so close to the 2010 mid-term elections.

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From Stephanie Vance, Advocacy Guru:

I want to let you know about an important upcoming event that may have the potential to change how you conduct citizen-based advocacy campaigns. On Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 from 8:30am to 12:30pm, George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management will be hosting a forum on the ethics of grassroots. In light of recent advocacy-related events, including the sending of fake “grassroots” letters to Capitol Hill, angry citizens yelling at members of Congress during town hall meetings, and policy persuasion campaigns based on inaccurate or misleading information, this forum will address the question “is it time to consider an ethical code of conduct for grassroots advocacy practitioners?” As one of the organizers of the event, I can tell you that we want and need your opinions on this topic. You can view a draft code of ethics at the registration site, which is www.gspm.org/ethics. Attendees will have an opportunity to review the proposed code and share their views before, during and after the forum — as long as you do it nicely with no yelling .

Among the sponsors are ASAE, the Public Affairs Council, Women in Government Relations, the American Association of Political Consultants, the Congressional Management Foundation and a host of others. Speakers include Dave Wenhold of the American League of Lobbyists, Brooks Jackson of factcheck.org and Frank Sesno of the GW School of Media and Public Affairs. In addition to an interesting topic discussion, this event will offer government relations practitioners the opportunity to network with others in the field and get up to speed on the latest developments in the field of grassroots.

Anyone involved in the practice of grassroots advocacy should plan to attend this event. It is free and open to the public and will be held at the Jack Morton Auditorium at 805 21st Street NW in Washington, DC. Again, there is more information at www.gspm.org/ethics.

We hope this will prove to be a groundbreaking conversation and we sincerely hope you’ll be a part of it.

Losing Face (The Economist)
The Economist examines the recent case of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic employees who were fired because of their rants and raves on social networking Web sites.

Obama Lays Out Rules for Ethics (The Hill)
President-elect Obama’s chief of transition, John Podesta, recently outlined the new guidelines for lobbyists involved in federal government work.