Today's must-read comes from the estimable Tom Edsall of The Washington Post, it's packed with both interesting stats and good history of why things are the way they are (at least in DC).
One particularly interesting fact is that since 1998, lobbyists have served as treasurer on the personal or leadership PACs of 79 lawmakers, according to the Center for Public Integrity. (Other neat factoids from the Center, where I used to toil many moons ago: More than 2,200 former federal officials have become lobbyists, as well as 250 former members of Congress and agency heads.)
How did we get here?
The pivotal point in Washington's changing culture, according to lobbyists and congressional ethics analysts, came in 1995, shortly after Newt Gingrich and his "Republican Revolutionaries" roared to power in the 1994 midterm elections. Tom DeLay, the new majority whip, and his allies began the "K Street Project" -- the pressuring of trade associations and lobbying firms to hire Republican, and to contribute to Republican campaigns if they wanted access to key leaders and committee chairmen in the House.
"We're just following the old adage of punish your enemies and reward your friends. We don't like to deal with people who are trying to kill the revolution. We know who they are," DeLay told The Washington Post.
Of course in fairness to the Rs, DeLay and company were trailblazers, but they were only extending the path of their forebears:
In 1981, then-Rep. Tony Coelho (Calif.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, began to "marry" businesses seeking legislation with Democratic lobbyists, especially former staffers. The maneuver gave the businesses better access and turned many into contributors to the DCCC.
That same year, the Republican firm Black, Manafort and Stone became the first in which partners served both as political consultants to candidates for federal office and lobbyists on behalf of corporations and trade associations.
Finally, Edsall notes that: "Stanford political scientist David Brady said that in terms of overt corruption, this era does not compare to the gilded age of "robber barons" in the 19th century."
Well I certainly feel better.