Reason #34: Washington’s Money-Go-Round

These days, more and more lobbyists are former politicians. In 2005, Public Citizen found that over 40 percent of recently retired lawmakers went into lobbying. But even that high number is actually drastically low. It doesn’t include hundreds of “retired” office holders like ex-senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole, who is not officially registered as a lobbyist but still works for a major lobbying firm providing, “strategic advice to clients.”

These ex-pols turned professional mouthpieces barely change their daily routines when they switch careers. They walk the same halls, schmooze with the same people, and toil for the same special interests. They also continue to spin on Washington’s money-go-round, only now they’re on the giving instead of the receiving end. But just like when they were in office, they never spend their own money. Like other lobbyists, they grease politicians with cash from their corporate clients.

Ex-pols turned professional mouthpieces barely change their daily routines when they switch careers. They walk the same halls, schmooze with the same people, and toil for the same special interests.

But ex-politicians have another source of easy money to influence their old colleagues: many of them are sitting on mountains of campaign cash when they leave public service. Technically, campaign finance laws don’t allow politicians to spend the funds in their political accounts on themselves after they retire, but it’s perfectly legal for them to dole out big donations to other politicians still serving. And they spread all that free money around to the politicians who can help them and their lobbying clients the most.

Robert Torricelli resigned from the Senate in 2002 after he was accused of corruption. Naturally, he became a lobbyist. When he left office, he still had nearly $3 million sitting in his campaign accounts. People gave him that money for his reelection campaigns, but he’s used it as a slush fund for politicians who can help his lobbying career. In 2004, he gave tens of thousands of dollars to Senator Harry Reid and his political allies in Nevada. Over the next few years, he contacted Reid more than 20 times to help one of his biggest clients, the government of Taiwan.

Torricelli has also used his old campaign monies to help himself out. In 2006, he donated $10,000 to politicians in Trenton, New Jersey at the same time they were deciding whether to approve a development proposal he’d put forward. Not surprisingly, they gave the deal a thumbs up.

NEXT: Reason #35: Corporate Law Making