Where Do “Lobbyists” Come From?
Since our founding editor has intimate knowledge of the inside of both the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. (above) and his fair share of hot female lobbyists (ba-doom-ching) – we figured he was the perfect person to ask this very important question.
Simply put: Where do “lobbyists” come from?
“Well, they usually come from the State House,” Sic explained, “then they come into the bar, then they come out to my car, and finally – he-he-he – they come in my hotel room. Get it?”
Reminded that he is married and that his wife carries his “equipment” around in her purse (presumably deep within its smallest compartment), Sic changed his tune.
“Uhhhhh … I don’t know … I think Ulysses Grant named them or something,” he said.
Bzzzzzzzzt. Wrong.
Of course, Sic’s not alone in thinking that – it’s one of Washington D.C.’s most popular myths.
From the website We Love DC:
Apparently President Grant would frequent the Willard Hotel to enjoy brandy and a cigar, and while he was there, he’d be hounded by petitioners asking for legislative favors or jobs. It is said that President Grant coined the term by referring to the petitioners as “those damn lobbyists.” The legend has been forwarded by the Washington Post, The Hill, the American Society of News Editors, and, of course, the PR director of the Willard Hotel.
It’s a fun story to tell tourists, and it makes the Willard Hotel even more of a landmark, but the legend is just not true. Sure, President Grant visited the Willard Hotel and enjoyed his brandy and a cigar, but he did not coin the term ‘lobbyist’.
The verb ‘to lobby’ first appeared in print in the United States in the 1830’s, at least thirty years before Ulysses S. Grant came to Washington. The term is believed to have originated in British Parliament, and referred to the lobbies outside the chambers where wheeling and dealing took place. “Lobbyist” was in common usage in Britain in the 1840’s.
In fact, according to Jesse Sheidlower, editor-at-large for the Oxford English Dictionary, (quoted in this NPR interview) the term dates as far back as the 1640’s – which would make it almost as old as a few of Sic’s more “regal” conquests.
And yes, there’s a line from Friday about berries that we’re thinking of …
Comments
By Ben on June 16th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Lobbyists have been around since the 1640’s – and there is still no cure for them? No way to exterminate them from the face of the planet??
By Toyota Kawaski on June 17th, 2009 at 8:46 am
More like the roach motel and hot male lobbyists for sick
By confused on June 17th, 2009 at 11:19 am
there’s a “cure” for lobbyists: voting. 100% informed voter participation makes it impossible for lobbyists to have any influence whatsoever.
and of course, it’s simplistic to lump all lobbyists together and use it as a pejorative term. plenty of lobbyists are just the mouthpiece for groups of citizens who can’t make the trip to the state/federal government themselves.