http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32604-20...
Dole Played a Key Role in Recruiting Former Senator
By Christopher Lee Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A17
Former senator Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.), following a bipartisan path blazed by many prominent ex-members of Congress, has moved from Capitol Hill to K Street, joining Alston & Bird as a special adviser in the law firm's legislative and public policy group.
Daschle, 57, the former Democratic leader in the Senate, starts work today providing the Atlanta-based firm's corporate clients strategic advice on such issues as energy, health care, financial services, tax policy, trade and agriculture. He was recruited by another former Senate leader, Republican Robert J. Dole, 81, who joined the firm as a special counsel in 2003.
Neither Daschle nor his new employer would discuss how much he will be paid. Other influential former members of Congress have drawn annual compensation packages of as much as $1 million and higher after making such moves. Dole has been reported to earn $800,000 to $1 million annually, a range the Republican called "more or less" accurate in an interview Friday.
Daschle, whose record of taking on the Bush administration probably cost him support in South Dakota, was denied a fourth term in the Senate after Republican John Thune defeated him Nov. 2. Dole soon sought him out to offer condolences and plant the idea of working at Alston & Bird.
I wish we had public financing, so K street would go out of business. I really think this corrupts the party badly.
