By now, you may have seen that the White House has updated the stimulus lobbying rules to expand the communications ban to all parties, not just registered lobbyists, and has instituted a more focused approach to the ban on communications. You can read about it at the White House’s blog or in John Wonderlich’s post from Friday.

Michael Stern wrote about whether the stimulus lobbying rules will now apply to lawmakers as well as lobbyists and others attempting to influence to stimulus spending and grant awarding process.

The Washington Examiner denounced the new rules as an attack on political speech in an Editorial.

The American League of Lobbyists praised the updates to the rules in a statement from President David Wenhold.

The Open House Project Google Group hosts an interesting conversation between Michael Stern, Gary Bass, and Mark Tapscott about the new rules.