Dem D.C. - GOP gov attorneys, lobbyists, PR folks, media w/o contacts, w/o future

Aside from the gov attorneys in agencies associated with the credit crisis, the outlook is bleak in a Dem D.C. for GOP lawyers, lobbyists, public relations experts, and media.  They simply lack the Dem contacts to be useful to future employers - or, better put, to be useful at all.

According to Peter Page in THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL [subscription required but can be picked up at Law.com], with the financial meltdown, there's demand in outside law firms for senior lawyers in Treasury and the SEC.  But even they will be hired with the understanding that they are expected to bring in business for the firm.  Other kinds of attorneys in the Bush Administration as well as other kinds of professional services folks and the conservative media will be up against an Arctic blast in seeking jobs or business for their own firms. 

In D.C. where access is everything, the Dems aren't going to be generous there.  Moreover, after eight years of GOP rule, few who made a good living through a conservative mindset have the contacts within D.C. or outside the beltway to get things done for clients.  In addition, their brand is tarnished along with the whole GOP positioning. Yeah, call it guilt by association.

What should conservatives do to continue to make a decent living or operate their professional services firms?  Here are some strategic thoughts:

• Create critical mass through third-party alliances with other outliers.  The numbers game is the oldest power play. This is exactly what the oil industry did during the Dem Carter Administration.  Already the Roman Catholic Church is exploring new platforms for influence.  For example, the RC Knights of Columbus donated a $1 million for a Yes vote on the California referendum to overturn the gay marriage ruling by the CA Supreme Court.  In Connecticut, the Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport published a compelling opinion-editorial against gay marriage which the SC there had also approved.

• Create new space or what W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne call "Blue Ocean Strategy."  Rather than taking on the Dems head-to-head, carve out a positioning that stands on its own.  This could be a fresh ideology about the American Dream, enoughness vs. hunger for more, full employment for senior citizens, and/or public-works national, state and local initiatives.  Regarding the latter, a useful read might be "American-Made: The enduring legacy of the WPA," by Nick Taylor.

• Anoint rising star Sarah Palin as the female Ronald Reagan.

• Rant about underdog status.  That's an American archetype that's always in fashion.

• Align with state attorneys general and other kinds of law enforcement to send the financial-markets miscreants to prison. This shows the GOP is on the right side of justice, ethics and a fair deal.

• Seed grassroots with conservative ideas.  This entails learning how to influential on social networks. A useful read is "Profiting from Social Networking" by Patrice-Anne Rutledge.  Until now digital has been a Dem game. Paul Volcker doesn't even know how to use e-mail.

• Come to praise the Dems, not bury them.

• Do extreme personal image make-over. No one should look like a Republican.

All this will take time, of course.  Meanwhile, expect to be broke, which is a very marketable commodity in life, the media, and in putting together a new story.