Coalition lobbies against AT&T/T-Mobile - Entergy hires Conrad Schatte - Boeing consolidates - FairSearch.org gets Corallo - The most appropriate sign on K Street Presented by Philip Morris International

EXCLUSIVE… NEW ANTI-AT&T/T-MOBILE MERGER COALITION FORMS: The plot thickens in the lobbying wars over AT&T and T-Mobile's proposed deal. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has registered to lobby for the newly formed Coalition for Mobile Competition. The group is being backed by Dish Network and other companies. BHFS’s Makan Delrahim tells PI that the coalition was set up so that the other companies — which are customers or vendors of AT&T and T-Mobile — don’t have to become public because they are “afraid of retaliation.”

“There are others who are funding this, but they are taking somewhat of a backseat role. They don’t have an active role in the leadership, but Dish Network does,” Delrahim said. “[The other companies] are obviously concerned enough about the market power that each of the companies have to not want to be public.”


BHFS’s Brooks Brunson and Alexander Dahl, both former senior judiciary committee staffers, are also registered to represent the coalition.

For more, check out Anna’s story on Pro: http://politico.pro/nv6g5I

SO NICE that it’s Friday, and we hope your weekend is filled with relaxation, vacation and — oh, who are we kidding? We’re all going to be glued to our cable network of choice, mouths agape for hours on end as results of the Iowa Straw Poll come in. If you’re that wonky, then you should put your wonk to work and email us your best tips and intel to [email protected] and [email protected]. Find us on Twitter at @ apalmerdc and @ davelevinthal.

And now, a hearty congratulations to the winner of our congressional vacation contest, which asked loyal PI readers to suggest a recess locale for the nation’s esteemed members of Congress.

Daniel Lippman of the McClatchy Washington Bureau suggested a particularly hot hotspot, writing: “For politicians, maybe they might think of going to the southeastern English town of Deal in Kent. While I know little about the town and have never been there, maybe if politicians visit Deal, it would get them in the mood for compromise to solve the nation's problems.”

For his effort, Daniel wins a genuine American flag beach towel, and we fully expect him to wear it to work at least through Labor Day.

PI would also be remiss — and a certain half might get cut out of the will — if we didn’t mention that Dave’s Mom, in an attempt to one-up his Dad, who entered last week’s contest, submitted an entry. Sandy Levinthal suggested Truth or Consequences, N.M., among others. But her ultimate vacation destination for Congress? Washington, D.C. Why? “Many of our elected officials are already relaxing there,” she jokes.

JUST IN: Entergy has hired Conrad Schatte, formerly lead adviser to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), as its federal government affairs director. Schatte is also a former legislative staffer for former Sens. John Warner (R-Va.) and George Allen (R-Va.). “Conrad’s extensive experience developing energy policy strengthens Entergy’s presence in Washington and our ability to communicate with elected officials in both parties on behalf of Entergy’s customers and shareholders,” said Daniel Turton, Entergy’s vice president of federal governmental affairs.

GOTTA HAVE FAITH — OR NOT: Turns out that a key player in Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s presidential announcement Saturday has an unlikely religious background — none at all. Filmmaker Michael Wilson, who produced a faith-filled video Perry will use at the announcement, is an atheist, which stands in stark contrast to Perry’s brand of devout and vocal Christianity. (See Dave’s story: http://politi.co/qt8EmY)

The intermingling of faith and politics is of particular interest to one D.C. lobby: Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which in recent years, has seen a surge in its lobbying activity, spending at least $400,000 a year, each year, since 2007. Prior to that year, it had never cracked the $400,000 mark. But it’s spending has trailed off this year — less than $120,000 spent through the year’s first six months.

Barry Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State’s executive director, tells PI the dip is more or less an anomaly, as lobbyist Aaron Schuham left the organization to work in the Department of Justice, causing spending to drop. “But now we’re back and fully staffed,” Lynn said. “Undoubtedly, we are in need of more resources, and we will spend more resources. There are legitimately three presidential candidates — Perry, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum — who believe God is telling them to run.”

BOEING CONSOLIDATES: K Streeters heading over to Boeing for client meetings will be headed to a new office complex in short order. The defense contractor is consolidating its Rosslyn and Crystal City offices whose leases run out in 2014 and building a new facility on Jefferson Davis Highway and 10th St. Boeing spokesman Dan Beck tells PI that about 500 employees will work out of the new space, including government operations, legislative affairs and communications personnel working in the defense and security space.

NOT ALWAYS LOW PRICES: Wal-Mart’s charitable wing announced Thursday that it’d donate $3 million to fund job training programs in D.C. for three years. That’d certainly buy a lot of bulk peanut butter, particle board furniture and Transformer action figures. But such a figure is chump change for Wal-Mart’s other notable D.C. function — lobbying.

During the first six months of this year alone, the company spent about $4 million on its federal lobbying efforts, petitioning the House, Senate and numerous executive branch agencies on a variety of issues, from free trade agreements and labor legislation to corporate taxation and generic drug matters.

The company is on pace to spend more money on lobbying this year than in any other before, federal records indicate. Between 2008 and 2010, Wal-Mart spent at least $6 million on federal lobbying each year.

SUPER FUNDRAISING: Still no official word from Rep. Xavier Becerra’s office on whether he’ll cancel the fundraiser that mutual fund trade group the Investment Company Institute is hosting and hyped Thursday by using his position on the panel to try and gin up interest in the event. Check out Anna’s story here: http://politi.co/poHipA

Becerra is hardly the only elite 12 member looking to fill his campaign coffer this fall. Rep. Jim Clyburn, another member of the panel, has a couple of recently scheduled Washington fundraisers, according to a copy of the DCCC fundraising list obtained by POLITICO.

Clyburn will be doing a health care breakfast at the Caucus Room on Sept. 13. Cost: $2,500 to host, $1,500 for PACs and $500 for individuals. The following day, he’s having another breakfast, this time for his leadership PAC, which ups the ante to $5,000 for PACs and $1,000 for individuals to attend.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE: A “for lease” sign on the side of the National Association of Letter Carriers building next to 101 Constitution had some on K Street speculating that the trade group may be feeling the hurt with all the turmoil that the United States Postal Services is going through.

Not the case, according to NALC property manager Nichole Devaney, who tells PI that a long-standing lease with GSA expired and there have typically been about 2½ floors traditionally not occupied by NALC. “This is routine whenever a lease expires and reflects no change to the building use or the NALC,” Devaney said.

FAIRSEARCH.ORG GETS CORALLO: PI colleague Kim Hart broke the news that Republican message man Mark Corallo is the spokesman for FairSearch.org, the coalition of businesses that has Google’s dominance in the search market in its crosshairs. He will continue to run Corallo Media Strategies. Check out Hart’s story here: http://politico.pro/oxyvoz (Subscription required)

MOST APPROPRIATE SIGN ON K STREET: A small, gold-colored plaque, on the inside of a standard door at McCormick & Schmick’s seafood restaurant on the 1600 block of K Street. It urges patrons to please “use the revolving door.”

PI ON AM: Dave on Thursday talked with newsman Scott Braddock of KRLD-AM 1080 in Dallas-Fort Worth about Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s fundraising prowess. Give a listen here: http://bit.ly/obFA3I

WEEKEND READING: The Campaign Legal Center is firing off a volley of letters demanding that the FEC and Department of Justice investigate “straw companies” making donations to politicians ( http://bit.ly/qop5YN) … Some academics are calling for the American Legislative Exchange Council to disclose its government influence activities, Jon Collins of the Minnesota Independent reports ( http://bit.ly/rr55rI) … Dozens of big-dollar campaign donors are backing multiple presidential candidates early in the campaign season, writes Kathleen Ronayne of the Center for Responsive Politics ( http://bit.ly/ob3zjv)

NOTABLE LOBBYIST DIES: Howard Paster, a well-known K Street presence who helped shepherd the North America Free Trade Agreement into existence, died Wednesday in Baltimore. His clients during a career that spanned four decades themselves spanned the political spectrum and included the National Rifle Association, Major League Baseball and the United Auto Workers. He also served as President Bill Clinton’s chief liaison to Congress. Paster was well-known for many downtown in his position as head of WPP's public relations and lobbying arm.

Emily Langer of the Washington Post writes Paster’s obituary ( http://wapo.st/ps5LnY)

FEDERAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE FILING:

Urban Issues of Chicago — Treasurer: Charles D. Levy

Concord 51 of New York City — Treasurer: Natalie Murphy

RECENT REGISTRATIONS: (Firm: Client)

Blank Rome Government Relations: Jenkins Hill Consulting

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck: Coalition for Mobile Wireless Competition

Capitol Resources: Cavalier Wireless

Carter Laws & Associates: John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation

Davis & Harman: SunRun, Inc.

Navigators Global: The BuildStrong Coalition

Russ Reid: Arizona Centers for Comprehensive Education and Life Skills; Mineral Community Hospital; Revolution Prep; Riverbank Power Corporation; Saint Anthony Hospital; Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center; West Virginia United Health System

Stewart Strategies & Solutions: Union Pacific

Follow us on Twitter Theodoric Meyer @theodoricmeyer