Thomas Edsall gives us some of the numbers and the clients — and observes that “no campaign has been so dominated by staffers and advisers who have worked on behalf of Philip Morris, one of the world’s leading tobacco conglomerates and a leading force in promoting cigarette smoking.” As Edsall explains, Thompson’s lobbying career really took off after Republicans took over the Senate in 1981, making Thompson’s friend and mentor Howard Baker the new Majority Leader. All told, Thompson has taken in about $1 million in lobbying fees.
Ana Marie Cox points out that $1 million is not really a lot in lobbying terms. But, she suggests, it still may be a bad idea to elect a lobbyist to the Presidency:
But it all is untoward, of course. Not the fees so much as the act of providing access for cash. As Edsall points out, “If Fred Thompson is elected president, he will be the first federally registered lobbyist to become Commander in Chief.” That he didn’t earn that much money from doing it only suggests he either didn’t need the money or wasn’t very good at the job.
Meanwhile, the AP picks up on the story, noting that Thompson’s clients included “a British reinsurance company that wanted to limit its liability from asbestos lawsuits,” and “the Tennessee Savings and Loan League, on whose behalf Thompson lobbied for a bill to deregulate the industry” (thus helping to enable one of the most massive, scandalous financial disasters in modern American history). The article also points out that Thompson’s history as a lobbyist belies his attempt to position himself as an “outsider” in the race.
It doesn’t mention that stupid red truck, though.
Something to say?
