The Dirty Secret of Modern Politics

[August1991]

The dirty secret of American politics is that, for most politicians, getting elected is just not that important. What matters is post-election employment. It’s all about staying in the elite political class, which means being respected in a dense network of corporate-funded think tanks, high-powered law firms, banks, defense contractors, prestigious universities, and corporations. If you run a campaign based on populist themes, that’s a threat to your post-election employment prospects. This is why rising Democratic star and Newark Mayor Corey Booker reacted so strongly against criticism of private equity – he’s looking out for a potential client after his political career is over, or perhaps, during interludes between offices. Running as a vague populist is manageable, as long as you’re lying to voters. If you actually go after powerful interests while in office, then you better win, because if you don’t, you’ll have basically nowhere to go.

Naked Capitalism

This article argues (rightly, I think) that politicians, while in office, think about their life after politics. The article then suggests (wrongly, I think) that politicians have an incentive to avoid upsetting wealthy, financial interests if they want their retirement to be profitable.

That reasoning would certainly apply to, say, Mike Harris in Ontario or Peter Lougheed in Alberta. Or how about Brian Mulroney who wound up taking envelopes of cash? But what of Pierre-Marc Johnson in Quebec, or Stephen Lewis? Mario Dumont is now a radio host.

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There is a naive belief that (some) politicians act for the "public good" and somehow ignore their own self-interest. That strikes me as very wrong-headed.

Surely all politicians, particularly as they grow closer to leaving political life, think about their public image and how it will affect their retirement prospects.