Don’t let the revolving door hit you on the way out

Knight-Ridder looks at the “Washington tradition” of departing members of Congress staying around town to take lucrative jobs lobbying their old buddies on the Hill, among other things. Our favorite: GOP Rep. Billy Tauzin of Louisiana, author of the tailor-made-for-industry prescription drug law Congress passed last year, who’s becoming the head of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America to the tune of a reported $2 million a year. “The rules say you can’t lobby your former colleagues for one year after you leave office,” Knight-Ridder reports. “Even so, 272 former members of Congress have registered as lobbyists since 1995, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.com.”