Experts say it has been common practice in both Republican and Democratic administrations for policy makers to take lobbying jobs once they leave office, and many of the same companies seeking contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars for work in Iraq.

Once again, the experts are wrong. Starting in about 1996, "K Street," the nickname of the Washington lobbing groups, has become almost exclusively Republican. This was a pet projust of people like Grover Norquist, and that sector is virtually devoid of Democrats. This happened deliberately. The Republicans moved to control the main lobbying organizations, who then work with their Republican brethren in office to get their groups the goodies, strengthening their position with both cash and pork.

There is a line in Henry VI which reads "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." This was written because the lawyers would be the ones to stand in the way of a usurper (like my tagline), not as a condemnation of lawyers, but that they would defend the rule of law. The version I like is "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lobbyists." Right now all they are doing is lining pockets at a huge cost to every one of us.

Firms with Bush ties snag Katrina deals