Topic: Social Lobby

A leaked proposal from the lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford to the American Bankers Association outlines a $850,000 plan to counter the Occupy Wall Street movement. The strategy includes "sophisticated monitoring" of social media to identify extreme language and develop "actionable intelligence." The hosts mock the high cost for what they describe as basic Twitter trend analysis and PowerPoint reporting.

A new book on 19th-century lobbyist Sam Ward prompts a discussion on the decline of social interaction in Washington D.C. The hosts argue that strict 1995 and 2007 lobbying disclosure rules, which banned free meals for members of Congress, have increased political contentiousness. They suggest that the loss of the "social lobby" and the "three martini lunch" has prevented lawmakers from building the personal relationships necessary for effective governance.