Taxpayers Fund Staffer To Carry K Street's Water

There are many troubling aspects to the recent profile in The Hill of Rep. Roy Blunt (R-K Street), but perhaps the most troubling part is the nonchalance with which The Hill refers to Blunt's staffer, Sam Geduldig, as Blunt's "liaison to K Street." 

Think about that for a minute.  The taxpayers are paying the salary of a congressional staffer whose job it is to make the life of lobbyists easier.  This is utterly shocking to anyone who hasn't totally acclimated to the ethical standards of a DeLay/Blunt Washington.

It is open and notorious in Washington that Geduldig sees K Street as an adjunct to Blunt's staff.  For example during the CAFTA effort, The Hill reports that Geduldig sent an email to K Street lobbyists on behalf of Blunt that said:

“The Republican leadership will not schedule CAFTA for a floor vote without significant bipartisan support,” Sam Geduldig, Blunt’s liaison to K Street, told the lobbyists in an e-mail sent last Tuesday. It was sent to remind staffers and GOP lawmakers about a meeting organized by Blunt and the House GOP conference to discuss CAFTA.

Geduldig concluded the e-mail with a request to “forward any Member intelligence to [him.]”

In fact, when Geduldig is not safely ensconced in his Capitol office servicing the needs of K Street lobbyists, he is out and about giving seminars to special interest lobbyists on how to better lobby the House leadership.

From the program of a recent "Women in Government Relations Seminar":

2:45–3:45 Lobbying the Congressional Leadership: Tips from Senior Staff
·  Anthony Reed, Legislative Director to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (invited)
·  Sam Geduldig, Senior Advisor to House Majority Whip Roy Blunt

But here's the most shocking part, Blunt and Geduldig do not even have the good sense to be embarrassed about his ties to K Street.  In fact, Geduldig acknowledges it on his bio.

Sam Geduldig
Senior Advisor to House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO)

Sam Geduldig serves as the Senior Advisor to House Majority Whip Roy Blunt. In this role, he advises the Whip on financial services policy issues, directs the whip coalition efforts to build support for all aspects of the Republican leadership agenda, and acts as the liaison to the Washington Business Community and other outside organizations. Prior to joining the Whip Office in 2003, Sam served as Coalitions Director for the House Committee on Financial Services, chaired by Rep. Michael G. Oxley, for the 107th Congress (2001-2002). From 1997 through 2001, he was the Political Director for Congressman John Boehner and served as the Executive Director of Rep. Boehner's political action committee (PAC). Sam also worked as a
Research Assistant at Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican polling and survey research firm and as a Press Assistant on Sen. Bob Dole's Presidential campaign. Sam is a graduate of the Ohio State University with a B.S. in Political Science.

In 2003, the Washington Post reported that Geduldig told representatives of the mutual fund industry that Oxley's probe of their industry was tied to their employment of a Democratic lobbyist.

One incident that sparked the lobbyists' concern occurred on Dec. 10, at a Christmas party at a downtown restaurant. According to industry sources, Foster and Geduldig attended the party, and Geduldig told a group of lobbyists there that Oxley's probe of the mutual fund industry was linked to Domenick's employment at the mutual fund trade group.

Even amidst this scandal, Blunt couldn't hire Geduldig away from Oxley fast enough.

Given that degree of ethical tone deafness, it should come as no surprise that Geduldig joined Roy Blunt in making contributions to Tom DeLay's legal defense fund.