In the GOP's civil war, K Street beat the Tea Party on Tuesday in the battle of Wisconsin, as Tommy Thompson edged out two conservative opponents in the Republican primary for the state's open Senate seat.
Thompson was the favorite of Beltway GOP leaders, and his campaign was funded in great part by K Street lobbying firms, Beltway-based business PACs and his own wealth, earned as a lobbyist and director of firms dependent on government for profit.
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Thompson's private-sector career was also about helping big-business clients and supporting big government. As President George W. Bush's secretary of health and human services, Thompson helped the Medicare prescription-drug entitlement across the finish line. Then, after leaving HHS, he monetized that experience, going to work for companies benefiting from this expansion of government.
Thompson right away became chairman of the board of government contractor Logistics Health Inc. ("a partner to the United States Government," in the company's words), whose clients included HHS's Centers for Disease Control.
