The EPA, apparently not content to ignore its whistleblowers, trim its operations and watch passively as its teeth get pulled by congress seems to have found a new gig. Helping with political fund raising: From The Denver Post:

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency was the featured guest at an intimate Denver fundraiser attended by representatives of industries regulated by his agency.

Stan Dempsey, head of the Colorado Petroleum Association, said he went to the event purely for “personal reasons” that had nothing to do with his position.

“I went to support [congressional candidate] Rick O’Donnell. I’m always interested in any fundraising event,” he said.

Perlmutter [an O’Donnell’s political opponent] , however, said he was not satisfied with the explanations and demanded to see the list of all those invited, not just those who attended.

“The whole thing smells of revolving-door issues and access to regulators,” said campaign spokeswoman Danielle Radovich Piper. “They came for access to the administrator, not a fundraiser.”

Some of the attendees included reps from El Paso Natural Gas, Colorado Petroleum Association, and the Colorado Mining Association. Read the whole article for more stomach churning details.

This actually brings two things to mind. 1) The excellent biography of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro, particularly Means of Ascent where Johnson cultivates both monetary and political power by trading congressional and administrative favors with industry. And 2) it reminds me of the politics of the corrupt third-world, where even as scandals and inappropriate behavior abound, no one seems to have any capacity left for outrage.

This will be another blip on a radar of questionable and likely corrupt government practices that are carried out in the open and without any consequence. Today, Denver Post page 1; tomorrow, forgotten entirely.