According to wikipedia, Iron triangle is a phrase typically used by American political scientists to describe what are deemed to be cozy relationships in U.S. politics between the legislature, government bureaucracies, and constituencies; which ultimately result in very tight policy-making circles. The term is frequently used in discussions having to do with "agency capture" - the co-option of government agencies by special interests.
Used in a related manner, "The Iron Triangle: Inside the Secret World of the Carlyle Group" is a a book by Dan Briody which according to amazon.com
"..aspires to tell the ultimate tale of private interests trampling on public trust. Carlyle is the Washington buyout firm that has made the most of its unusual political connections to complete some rarified deals. As the author warns in his preface, "the scandal here is not what's illegal but what's legal."
There are several groups like the infamous Carlyle Group, among them Austin Ventures. Much in the same way that Harris Miller's ITAA represents members of the information technology industry, The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) is a trade association that represents the U.S. venture capital industry. It is a member-based organization, which consists of venture capital firms that manage pools of risk equity capital designated to be invested in high growth companies.
The Chairman of NVCA is Robert E. Grady of Carlyle Venture Partners. He joined the NVCA board of directors in 2002 and served on their Capital Formation, Membership and Government Affairs committees. Mr. Grady previously served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to President George H.W. Bush and as Executive Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
NVCA has a PAC known as VenturePAC. Contributions made to VenturePAC are made by individuals affiliated with NVCA. In 2004, VenturePAC took in $1,072,949 and disbursed $959,707 to legislators.
That's how the iron triangles are constructed. And a quick web search shows that Harris Miller, ITAA lobbyist, is deeply embedded within such an iron triangle. With his campaign, he aspires to reposition himself within that triangle at the legislative vertex.
Or perhaps not.
And ordinary citizens? To what position is the (fortunately not so very) humble laborer consigned in Harris Miller's vision of the world?
Think iron ore. That's right. Iron ore.
From the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts site
A 1997 survey by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and Virginia Tech showed that 10% of positions in core IT occupations--programmers, systems analysts and computer engineers and scientists--were unfilled, leaving about three vacancies per company on average. ITAA President Harris Miller likens the shortage of skilled workers to "running out of iron ore in the middle of the second industrial revolution."
In 1999, the American Academy of School Administrators, and many other organizations, quoted Miller, "This is like running out of iron ore in the middle of the Industrial Revolution."
George and Harris
Every program eventually becomes rococo, and then rubble. -- Alan Perlis
On May 11, 2005, George Allen (R-VA) chaired the hearing of the European affairs subcommittee of the Senate foreign relations committee on the subject of "United States-European Union Regulatory Cooperation on Emerging Technologies."
Senator Allen considers himself to be a technology expert and was kind enough to share this pearl of wisdom with the group: "Today commerce in the United States has changed, and there is an increasing role for the movement of ideas and goods through packets of light."
Allen began his (219 word) glowing introduction of Miller by saying, "We have two panels, and Harris Miller gets a panel of his own."
Of course, Miller immediately returned the love. Is this or is this not just a little rococco?
Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. We in the IT community are very fortunate to have you holding this hearing today. Certainly your knowledge of IT issues is unrivaled in the U.S. Senate, both from your tenure as governor of my home state of Virginia, which is one of the leading IT states in this country, and of course your service here in the Senate where you've been a constant leader on all these IT issues. So I commend you for holding this hearing on this important topic.
The full transcript is available, but in keeping with our heavy metal theme, here's a fragment of Miller's commentary:
We need to take advantage of our great educational systems and make sure that we turn out enough people to fuel the basic information technology revolution. People are the iron ore of this revolution. If we don't have skilled people we cannot continue to be on the battlefield.
Whose revolution would that be? And where do we the people fit into this vision?
Here's just a little more from that transcript, and granted it's extracted from more substantive discussion.
SEN. ALLEN: ... I think this is the -- one of the most absolutely essential challenges facing this country and our ability to compete and succeed in the future, and as you -- I forgot what you called it, the gold mine or --MR. MILLER: The iron ore.
SEN. ALLEN: The iron ore. Well, I don't care, I call humans anything. Diamonds.
(Laughter.)
Neither one of these guys has incorporated the iron ore jokes into their stump speeches yet. But enough already. Enough of these less than lustrous bits of iron pyrite aspiring to and actually holding public office.
Miller kissing up to Allen is an example of why we should not have Miller as our Senate candidate; he will say whatever it takes to get what he wants. In this case, to beat his old friend and self-proclaimed 'technology expert', he has to appear to disavow his past while he continues to live it, and ask us to believe that if he were the candidate, a friend of his, who is to be his opponent, in now suddenly a horrible person. I can hear the Allen campaign clapping with glee everytime it seems Harris is starting to pander to the values he thinks he needs to win. The truth would be much more refreshing for a change, Mr. Miller.
Sounds much too cozy for me.