Obituary: David Cohen

David Cohen, a pioneering Washington lobbyist and the former co-owner with his late wife, Carla Cohen, and Barbara Meade of Politics & Prose, died on Sunday, November 29, at the age of 79 of a heart attack.

Cohen, whom the New York Times described as “a self-styled Washington white-hat lobbyist,” worked for four decades at Common Cause, the Advocacy Institute, and other nonprofits. As president of Common Cause, he “successfully fought for post-Watergate laws on ethics, campaign financing, and public disclosure,” the Times said, adding that his other notable achievements included helping to galvanize resistance to the Vietnam war, to defeat financing for the MX multiple warhead missile system, and to thwart the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Robert H. Bork.

In announcing the news of Cohen’s death to the staff of Politics & Prose, current owners Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine said, “David shared Carla’s passion for books, authors, and lively literary and political discussions, and was also a model of humility, civility, and integrity. He devoted his career to promoting the common good as a leading advocate and strategist on many of the major social justice and political reform issues of his time, including civil rights, the Vietnam War, anti-poverty programs, nuclear arms control, trade unionism, political campaign reforms, and government accountability…. His contributions are recognized in biographies and histories of the period. One reference book on U.S. political parties and elections described David as being ‘widely regarded as his generation’s leading public interest congressional lobbyist and mentor of lobbyists,’ with ‘an established reputation for balanced judgment, scrupulous dealing, unrelenting patience and a gift for forming legislative coalitions.’”

But to the staff members at Politics & Prose, “David was a ‘total mensch,’” or in the words of Mark Laframboise, the store’s chief book buyer, a “wise village elder,” they wrote.

“In the years since the [store’s] sale, he remained a helpful and reassuring presence in the store, often introducing authors and always available to offer his counsel to us. Along with his many friends, fans, and admirers at P&P and throughout the Washington community, we will miss him greatly,” ended Graham and Muscatine.

David Cohen is survived by his son Aaron Cohen (Nina del Rio), daughter Eve Cohen (Richard Stanley), and grandchildren Ry and Georgia Cohen.

A memorial service for David Cohen was held on Tuesday, December 1, at Tifereth Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C.