As he lobbies Washington, Comcast VP says he?s not a lobbyist

Last week, Speed Matters reported that Comcast has raised its lobbying outlays by a factor of 23 over 2001, making it the second-biggest single-company lobby registered.

But, according to a recent story in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Comcast’s best-known public figure is a super-lobbyist who isn’t registered. That’s because the company’s executive vice president, David Cohen, simply denies he’s a lobbyist. And as he cozies up to administration and congressional figures, he simply evades the spirit and letter of U.S. lobbying law.

Comcast claims that the hard-charging Cohen doesn’t use 20 percent of his time lobbying, but it’s hard to see what else to call his 18 hour days in Washington. As The Inquirer says:

“But by not registering as a lobbyist, Cohen doesn't face limits on travel with lawmakers and doesn't have to file reports on his contributions to campaigns or lawmakers' pet foundations (though the campaign donations are made public through the Federal Election Commission). The longtime Democrat is also free from Obama's restrictions on appointing ex-lobbyists.”

The paper quotes Kathy Kiely of the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, who says that lobbying has gone underground. The rules, she said, “are just riddled with loopholes that enable people to avoid registering as lobbyists but still engage in what, to most people, would look like lobbying,”

Whatever Cohen and Comcast call him, influential Washington paper The Hill called him “head Comcast lobbyist.” He not only spends money, he collects it. The Hill said he’s “... a Democratic bundler who raised $1.44 million for the president’s reelection campaign in 2011 and 2012, and $2.22 million since 2007, according to internal documents obtained by the New York Times.”

Although a longtime Democrat, Cohen’s not averse to raising money for select Republicans. Comcast is based in Philadelphia, and Cohen is supporting the right-wing Pennsylvania governor, Republican Tom Corbett. According to The Inquirer, Cohen “and his wife, Rhonda, held a small fund-raiser at their Mount Airy home for Corbett that drew about 30 people, mainly Republicans, but also a few Democrats, and raised about $200,000.”

Snarky tech columnist Karl Bode summed it up:

“Cohen is almost certainly logging sixty-hour-plus work weeks pushing for Comcast's attempted takeover of Time Warner Cable but worry not – the majority of that time is actually spent making copies, providing moral support to sad cable install technicians, and baking delicious cupcakes.”

If David Cohen is lobbying for Comcast, he should register. If he’s not, then he should stop pestering officials to approve the company’s mergers.

Nobody loves Comcast, but its lobbyists don’t mind (Speed Matters, Mar. 4, 2014)

David L. Cohen quite influential without being a "lobbyist" (Philly.com, Mar. 4, 2014)

Comcast, Time Warner execs have been big Obama supporters (The Hill, Feb. 14, 2014)

Democrat David L. Cohen to back GOP’s Corbett (Philly.com, Feb. 19, 2014)

Comcast's Biggest Lobbyist Dodges Lobbying Rules By Pretending He's Usually Not Lobbying (Tech Dirt, Mar. 4, 2014)