The Scoop

Thomas B. Edsall, Sarah Cohen and James V. Grimaldi of the Washington Post have a two-part series on the top fundraisers for President Bush’s campaign, known as Pioneers and Rangers. “Of the 246 fundraisers identified by The Post as Pioneers in the 2000 campaign, 104 — or slightly more than 40 percent — ended up in a job or an appointment. A study by The Washington Post, partly using information compiled by Texans for Public Justice, which is planning to release a separate study of the Pioneers this week, found that 23 Pioneers were named as ambassadors and three were named to the Cabinet: Donald L. Evans at the Commerce Department, Elaine L. Chao at Labor and Tom Ridge at Homeland Security. At least 37 Pioneers were named to postelection transition teams, which helped place political appointees into key regulatory positions affecting industry.” About a fifth of the 2000 Pioneers work as lobbyists, and about half are top corporate executives. The paper posted a graphic depicting the “spheres of influence” around Bush’s candidacy. The second story examines Richard T. Farmer, CEO of Cintas and a top giver to GOP candidates and committees, and the laundry industry’s role in a regulatory action that saved it millions.