GOP's 'Pledge' Written by Former Oil, Pharma Lobbyist

The new “Pledge to America” the GOP intends to unveil today, as a kind of sequel to the "Contract with America" of old, was written by a guy who was, until a few months ago, a lobbyist for insurance giant AIG, along with big oil and pharma companies. The draft copy of the pledge that Republicans sent to reporters lists Brian Wild as its “Author.” Wild currently works for John Boehner, but up until early this year he worked for the Nickles Group lobbying firm, where he and others were paid $740,000 to lobby for AIG, along with $1.3 million from Exxon Mobil and $625,000 from Pfizer, the Huffington Post reports.

Wild has also worked for Dick Cheney and Pat Toomey, and lobbied for the US Chamber of Commerce. But a spokesperson for the House GOP Legislative Initiatives dismissed the idea that Wild might have a conflict of interest. Wild, he said, had helped orchestrate “The Pledge” but had not authored its specific provisions, a task left up to members. “Brian’s job as much as anything has been to keep the trains running.”

For more on Boehner's lobbying ties, click here.
(More John Boehner stories.)