With the Iraq war raging on and on and on, it's no surprise that Army recruiters can't meet their monthly quotas. Apparently, potential recruits are catching on that the "Army of One" slogan really means "One Body Per Bag."
Maybe the recruiters should set up shop on DC's K Street, known as "lobbyists' boulevard." According to today's WaPo, lobbying has become one of the great growth industries "in an otherwise fitful economy."
The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since 2000 to more than 34,750 while the amount that lobbyists charge their new clients has increased by as much as 100 percent. Only a few other businesses have enjoyed greater prosperity in an otherwise fitful economy.
Surely lobbyists benefiting from war and contracts with defense and security firms would be more than willing to give something back to their country that's making them so rich.
More.
How rich?
Lobbying firms can't hire people fast enough. Starting salaries have risen to about $300,000 a year for the best-connected aides eager to "move downtown" from Capitol Hill or the Bush administration.
Helping to fuel the lobbying boom, according to the story, is the growth of government under a GOP-controlled Congress and White House.
The Republicans in charge aren't just pro-business, they are also pro-government. Federal outlays increased nearly 30 percent from 2000 to 2004, to $2.29 trillion. And despite the budget deficit, federal spending is set to increase again this year, especially in programs that are prime lobbying targets such as defense, homeland security and medical coverage.
Funny how the traditionally "small-government" GOP becomes "pro-government" when they control the gravy train. And Tom DeLay's "K Street Project" - which punishes lobby shops that don't hire from the GOP ranks - ensures that the gravy train will always stop at RNC headquarters.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, British Navy "press gangs" roamed the red-light districts in the Empire's cities for "recruits" to fill the crews of their warships. Maybe the Army should adapt this practice and send a press gang to K Street, DC's true red-light district, populated with pimps and whores of war.