New RNC Chairman Says He'll Stay Away from Certain Types of Lobbying.

Byline: Steven Thomma

Jan. 19--AUSTIN, Texas -- Former Montana Gov. Mark Racicot assumed the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee on Friday, assuring GOP leaders that he will no longer do the kind of lobbying that he did for energy giant Enron before its collapse.

But Racicot refused to sever his ties with the Houston-based law firm Bracewell & Patterson, for whom he served as an Enron lobbyist last year. He will continue to be paid by the firm -- more than the $150,000 annual salary he otherwise would receive from the Republican Party if he left his job -- and will continue to do unspecified work for a group of clients he refused to identify.

Critics complain that Racicot's position as head of the Republican Party gives him such inside access to top government officials that he should not continue to represent powerful private clients lest he betray the public's interest in neutral government by instead possibly pressing the interests of his private patrons.

Racicot, 53, said he took the GOP post out of devotion to President Bush, and said the same loyalty would prevent him from doing anything unethical that would embarrass Bush. "I'm going to do nothing that in any way would even suggest something adverse to his best interest," he said.

A popular two-term governor, Racicot said he was taken aback by the questions and criticisms he faced when he was first picked by Bush to head the RNC and announced that he would continue to lobby public officials for private clients even while working as party chairman. "Where I come from, people aren't quite as suspicious of one another," he said.

Racicot said he lobbied Congress for Enron on two pieces of legislation to restructure the electricity industry. One sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, passed the House, Racicot said. The other, written by Sen. Jeff Bingamon, D-N.M., did not come to a vote.