The Hill reports that Grover Norquist, head of American for Tax Reform and a close friend of Jack Abramoff, wants to trademark the term “K Street Project” and is defending the project from critics.

Conservative activist Grover Norquist is seeking a trademark on “K Street Project,” saying Democrats and Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) have wrongfully acquired the term to describe unethical practices that have nothing to do with his organization.

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Norquist’s trademark application could take up to a year and a half to be processed.

 

“Some people say Kleenex when they mean tissue,” Norquist said. “We will jealously guard the real phrasing the way Kleenex and Coca-Cola do. We will sue anyone who says it wrong and make lots of money.”

Norquist founded the K Street Project to pressure lobbying firms into hiring Republican lobbyists. The project was launched after the Republican revolution of 1994 and then accelerated after George W. Bush was elected President in 2000. Reps. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Dick Armey (R-TX) worked closely with Norquist on the House side while Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) ran the project’s Tuesday meetings where lists of job openings were passed around and the lobbyists and political operatives who attended would discuss which Republicans should fill the jobs.