He strains to keep up although, in reality, there is no keeping up. In truth, the peashooter is bigger than it looks, supplemented by massive media coverage that tends to work in the underdog's favor, along with the implicit threat of an anti-utility ballot initiative. If you squeeze the balloon over here, it's going to pop out over there. That's kind of scary. Providing essential information, with the right spin, is an art of the lobbyist accomplished by a variety of means.
Lobbyists testify at hearings.
They meet privately with lawmakers and staff. They identify swing votes and broker deals with other interest groups. They hold impromptu news conferences. Arriving at work one recent morning in an office building overlooking downtown Sacramento, Goldberg found 87 e-mails related to energy issues. There are a bunch of big issues . . .