Public Campaign Action Fund issued part two of its report on efforts by the insurance industry to kill health care reform with huge amounts of campaign giving and lobbying expenditures.

Public Campaign Action Fund has issued a press release today detailing the huge amount of campaign contributions and lobbying expenses being doled out by the HMO and insurance industries in their effort to kill health care reform.

With President-Elect Obama's strict rules for his transition team and administration staff, many Washington lobbyists are having a hard time figuring out how they'll make it into the administration. According to Roll Call, "Ever the creative lot, lobbyists facing tough restrictions on entering the Obama administration are eyeing inventive routes to getting on the inside — despite their K Street taint."

The Hill interviewed Democratic lobbyist Jack Quinn for today's issue and after prodding him on his contributions to Democratic presidential candidates they took his temperature on the latest lobbying restrictions and on what changes he might make to how campaigns are financed. His answers help show the real breadth of support for full public financing of campaigns.

There more fuel for the Trent Lott speculation fire. Rumors are circulating that when the Senator vacates his post he'll join former Democratic Senator Jon Breaux in forming something of a lobbying empire.

Breaux's been working at lobbying powerhouse Patton Boggs but now he's leaving to form his own firm. His pedigree for lobbying on behalf of big money interests is impeccable:

Erik Prince, chairman of Blackwater, played (and paid) the Washington game to win millions in government contracts and keep oversight on the lax side. He'll play the game again to keep them in the face of allegations over Blackwater's conduct in Iraq.

Here's what happens on Capitol Hill when you change the rules but not the game: a bunch of lobbyists and their legal advisors get together to hammer out a policy on tuna sandwiches. As new lobbying regulations go in to effect cutting into the lavish dinners and other events lobbyists had previously held to woo members of Congress, they're putting their heads together to find all the loopholes.

Ross Baker has a piece in defense of lobbying in USA Today which reaches aaaaaall the way back to James Madison and his concerns over the potential of one interest group to dominate another to the detriment of society. Baker's right that lobbying isn't in and of itself wrong -- in fact it's part of a healthy democracy -- but not all lobbying is created equal.

On Friday, President Bush signed into law the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (S. 1)--one of the most sweeping ethics and lobbying reform bills in decades. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said the bill was "the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate."

CongressDailyPM reported the following today: