The TPMMuckraker has a nifty map out, one that shows the home state of every member of what Justin Elliott and Zachary Roth call the “Shadow Congress.” As they explain in a companion article:
It’s not exactly breaking news that Washington is stuffed to the gills with lobbyists. One good government group recently tallied 8 lobbyists for every member of Congress during the health-care reform debate. But what doesn’t get as much attention is that, over the last few decades, a vast army of what might be called uber-lobbyists has taken shape in the capital, made up of retiring lawmakers eager to cash in on K Street after a lifetime of making do with public sector salaries.
We’ve compiled a close-to-comprehensive list of former members of Congress currently working on behalf of private interests in Washington’s influence-peddling industry. We count 172 of them — almost one-third the number of current members of Congress.
“Shadow Congress” is a pretty intense name, but, then again, maybe these people plan on kidnapping Batman and taking over Gotham City. Or just peddling their influence in a way that we tend to frown upon these days. You like frowning, right?
(Thanks, Columbia Journalism Review.)
Source: TPMMuckraker
Image by kevindooley, licensed under Creative Commons.
