Maybe I just have “corruption fatigue” or something, but when I read this article on Virginia Representative Tom Davis’ apparent efforts to give people all the government they can afford I think “yeah?” I’m so jaded about this kind of thing now that when I read the line “But the congressman said that Upson did not have “unique access” to his office” I mentally fill in “this is an amount of access available to anyone out there with cash!”
To be marginally less cynical, I do almost wonder why the Post devoted so many inches to this story. Time has written about the ‘revolving door’ here in Washington with regards to lobbyists and the access that friends and former co-workers get in government. SourceWatch has a big list of those kind of industry-to-government and vice versa situations, and while they’re focused on people and jobs in the last decade, I think you’d be hard-pressed not to find the same thing going back much farther. From friends and co-workers to spouse is a short jump, though one that a person more concerned about appearance of objectivity probably shouldn’t be making…
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
Well I used to say something in my profile about not quite being a “tinker, tailor, soldier, or spy” but Tom stole that for our about us page, so I guess I’ll have to find another way to express that I am a man of many interests.
Hmm, guess I just did.
My tastes run the gamut from sophomoric to Shakespeare and in my “professional” life I’ve sold things, served beer, written software, and carried heavy objects… sometimes at the same place. It’s that range of loves and activities that makes it so easy for me to love DC – we’ve got it all.
