'The Other K Street'

Creamer sounded triumphant at the generally unflattering pictures of the congressmen that were used. "He's weird-looking," he said about one House member.

But when a certain California Republican appeared on the screen, smiling brightly into the camera, they all shook their heads.

"What can you do?" Woodhouse said with a shrug. "They had a hard time finding a bad picture of Mary Bono."

* * *

Congressional Republicans have been renowned -- and often criticized -- for harnessing the clout of special-interest groups and lobbyists to advance their agenda. Grover Norquist, president of the advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform, continues to host a weekly cheerleading session for conservatives from inside and outside government, known simply as "the Wednesday Meeting."

After the 2006 elections, left-leaning groups now conduct their own, similar meetings to advance the Democrats' cause. Held every other Tuesday, often at the headquarters of the AFL-CIO, it's called "the Tuesday Group," and the people who attend come from the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters, the American Association for Justice, several women's organizations and, of course, the folks who work at 1825 K Street.

Norquist is not impressed by his imitators. He notes that not a single major item on the Democrats' legislative agenda has become law. He also believes that the elation on the left -- as well as its unity -- will be short-lived. "When they run into a limit on government spending, they will fight each other for their part of the pie," Norquist said. "They'll slap each other silly."

But so far, they're sticking together. Woodhouse, Matzzie and other denizens of 1825 K spend part of each week on Capitol Hill meeting and coordinating with aides to the Democratic leaders. "We have a close relationship," Woodhouse said with pride. "It's an exciting period. President Bush and the Republicans are on the defensive and it's nice to be on offense for a change."

* * *

"Would banging on Domenici be helpful?" Woodhouse asked.

He was not kidding.

On the conference call were lobbyists for the Sierra Club and other environmental groups. They were strategizing with a pack of 1825ers about how best to promote a set of conservation measures opposed by the oil industry and Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.).

"We can do some discreet banging," Woodhouse said. "Our press operation is ready to support your efforts. And we have phones when phones make sense. If you need us, use us."

Hickey, who had come down from the fourth floor and taken a seat, changed the topic to a seminar he was planning.

"I want to enlist everybody," he said. The subject of the event: the failure of conservatism.

"It will go beyond indicting conservatives for their incompetence," said Hickey, who was wearing a white dress shirt and a purple tie. "Conservative failure grows out of conservative ideology; it grows out of what they stand for," he asserted. He offered a sound-bite-size description of his theory: The Big Con.

"Fantastic," Creamer said.

"Awesome," Woodhouse agreed.

"That's a theme we've been working on," Hickey said. "Now it's a project."