On Monday the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette asked Rick Santorum about the ethical implications of his role as leader of the K Street Project, in which he has worked with such paragons of virtue as Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff. Here's how the Post-Gazette describes his response:
But Mr. Santorum said yesterday that his regular meetings with the lobbying groups are part of his leadership role as the Senate's third-ranking Republican. He described the meetings as a way to inform influential groups who can filter the Republican message out to clients to help achieve Republicans' goals.
While job candidates are discussed, Mr. Santorum said, "there is no pressure to put Republicans in those roles, period -- no pressure. ... I absolutely abhor that."
"The K Street project is purely to make sure we have qualified applicants for positions that are in town," Mr. Santorum said. "From my perspective, it's a good government thing."
In case you are unfamiliar with the K Street Project or you
need your memory refreshed, here's how the
Washington Monthly described the Project and Rick's involvement in it:
...But there's one confirmation hearing you won't hear much about. It's convened every Tuesday morning by Rick Santorum, the junior senator from Pennsylvania, in the privacy of a Capitol Hill conference room, for a handpicked group of two dozen or so Republican lobbyists. Occasionally, one or two other senators or a representative from the White House will attend. Democrats are not invited, and neither is the press.
"The chief purpose of these gatherings is to discuss jobs--specifically, the top one or two positions at the biggest and most important industry trade associations and corporate offices centered around Washington's K Street, a canyon of nondescript office buildings a few blocks north of the White House that is to influence-peddling what Wall Street is to finance. In the past, those people were about as likely to be Democrats as Republicans, a practice that ensured K Street firms would have clout no matter which party was in power. But beginning with the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, and accelerating in 2001, when George W. Bush became president, the GOP has made a determined effort to undermine the bipartisan complexion of K Street. And Santorum's Tuesday meetings are a crucial part of that effort. Every week, the lobbyists present pass around a list of the jobs available and discuss whom to support. Santorum's responsibility is to make sure each one is filled by a loyal Republican--a senator's chief of staff, for instance, or a top White House aide, or another lobbyist whose reliability has been demonstrated. After Santorum settles on a candidate, the lobbyists present make sure it is known whom the Republican leadership favors. "The underlying theme was [to] place Republicans in key positions on K Street. Everybody taking part was a Republican and understood that that was the purpose of what we were doing," says Rod Chandler, a retired congressman and lobbyist who has participated in the Santorum meetings. "It's been a very successful effort."
It seems to involve giving as much power as possible, in both the public and private sectors, to his Republican cronies.
He wants nothing more than to hold onto his Senate seat and the bully pulpit his has given him in Pennsylvania. I might respect the man if he truly believed and lived by the ethics he claims to hold so dear, but the sad truth is that he is mostly interested in being re-elected, no matter the cost.
He'll sell out his base of rabid right wing supporters if he thinks it'll help him defeat Bob Casey. In fact, he'd sell out anyone to keep his cozy and powerful position in DC!
And "good government?" He doesn't know the meaning of the words!
Piltdown Man