“Political conventions are billed as national election pep rallies, weeks of speeches and celebrations bringing together headliners to anoint the presidential nominees and broadcast into homes across America. But backstage, when the conventions were held in arenas with stages, was always lobbyist territory. The quadrennial gatherings may be the Super Bowl of lobbying. And this year, the absence of in-person conventions means the lobbyists have been effectively sidelined” NBC News reports.
“‘It’s one gigantic schmooze-fest,’ said Democratic former Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia, who works as a lobbyist after having served 24 years in Congress and has attended party conventions for more than three decades. ‘Lobbyists are going to save a lot of money, but they’re going to lose an opportunity to have influence and socialize and meet a lot of people that you would not otherwise.’ Like much of American life, Washington lobbying has been turned upside because of the coronavirus pandemic. And the conventions are no exception, leaving the influence industry to assess how it will operate when — and if — life returns to normal.”