The Wolves of K Street

I read The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government by Brody Mullins and Luke Mullins for book club. The book description says, "In the 1970s, Washington’s center of power began to shift away from elected officials in big marble buildings to a handful of savvy, handsomely paid operators who didn’t answer to any fixed constituency. The cigar-chomping son of an influential congressman, an illustrious political fixer with a weakness for modern art, a Watergate-era dirty trickster, the city’s favorite cocktail party host—these were the sort of men who now ran Washington. Over four decades, they’d chart new ways to turn their clients’ cash into political leverage, abandoning favor-trading in smoke-filled rooms for increasingly sophisticated tactics, such as “shadow lobbying,” where underground campaigns sparked seemingly organic public outcries to pressure lawmakers into taking actions that would ultimately benefit corporate interests rather than ordinary citizens. With billions of dollars at play, these lobbying dynasties enshrined in Washington a pro-business consensus that would guide the country’s political leaders—Democrats and Republicans alike. A good lobbyist could ghostwrite a bill or even secretly kill a piece of legislation supported by the president, both houses of Congress, and a majority of Americans. Yet nothing lasts forever. Amid a populist backlash to the soaring inequality these influence peddlers helped usher in, DC’s pro-business alliance suddenly began to fray. And while the lobbying establishment would continue to invent new ways to influence Washington, the men who’d built K Street would soon find themselves under legal scrutiny, on the verge of financial collapse or worse. One would turn up dead behind the eighteenth green of an exclusive golf club, with a $1,500 bottle of wine at his feed and bullet in his head."

This was the third super long book this book club picked in a row (after Warmth of Other Suns and Middlemarch), so I wasn't sure what I'd think of this. But I was so engaged in the book from the start. I was fascinated by the story and appalled by how much money influences decision-making in DC. I was disgusted by the greed of the lobbyists highlighted in the book. The book is one that I was just thinking about all the time and recommending to my husband and father-in-law. It was really fun to discuss at book club, especially because the host invited a friend from church who is a top lobbyist in DC so she could share her experiences in that position (not being a greedy maniac like the ones in the book). It was super fascinating to hear about her job and the differences of how she approaches things. Overall I'll say I liked (not loved) the book because there were times I was less interested or lost track of people or whatnot, but it was a great read that really opened my eyes to a lot of things (and made me realize I can't trust pretty much anything related to politics).

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)