Tom Ridge [1], on the Thursday, June 9 edition of the Colbert Report [2], claimed he is "not a lobbyist." A quick glance at his resume shows that nothing could be further from the truth.
Ridge, now 65 years-old, has worn multiple hats throughout his extensive political career. Among them: first ever head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [3] under the Bush Administration from 2003-2005, former Governor of Pennsylvania from 1995-2001, and former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from from 1983-1995.
Upon leaving the DHS in 2005, Ridge commenced his career as a lobbyist, opening a lobby shop known as Ridge Global [4], located in Washington, D.C, an entity he still currently heads. Beyond this stint, though, Ridge is also a paid "consultant" [5] (a.k.a. lobbyist) for the Marcellus Shale Coaltion [6]. This Coalition is a "trade association" [7] in disguise, for in reality it is a gas industry-funded lobbying organization [8].
That aside, one must look no further than the Pennsylvania Department of State's lobbyist registry [9] for the real smoking gun evidence. (See attached lobbying disclosure for Tom Ridge.)
The registry shows that the Coalition has 11 lobbyists registered to advocate for fracking [10] in the Marcellus Shale [11] region, and in Pennsylvania in particular, among those listed include Coalition Executive Director Kathryn Klaber [12] and Tom Ridge. The registry also shows that their paychecks come from none other than Ridge Global.
Open Secrets [13], a project of the Center for Responsive Politics, shows that since 2010, the Marcellus Shale Coalition has recieved $90,000 from Ridge Global [14]. Open Secrets also shows that Ridge is currently a paid lobbyist [15] for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce [16], chairing their National Security Task Force [17]. Furthermore, he is the current recipient of a $900,000 a year paycheck [18] from the Marcellus Shale Coalition.
And yet, though the evidence against his claim is quite damning, Ridge had the chutzpah to begin his June 9, 2011 interview [19] on the Colbert Report with a bang, claiming he is "not a lobbyist." [20]
Not a lobbyist? Under what definition, exactly?
As it turns out, Ridge has previously been scolded by the Justice Department for failing to properly register as a lobbyist [21]. Perhaps Mr. Ridge needs to review the definition of 'lobbyist.' Here is the Washington Post's definition [22], for instance: "A person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest."
Mr. Ridge's work on behalf of the gas industry clearly qualifies as lobbying under any reasonable review.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Tom Ridge PA Lobbying Disclosure.pdf [23] | 7.31 MB |