Where the right went rotten.

• Author: Weigel, David
• Position: Conversation with Matthew Continetti of Weekly Standard - Interview

In early 2005 Matthew Continetti, a staff writer at the conservative Weekly Standard, set out to write a book about the state of the Republican congressional majority a decade after the Gingrich revolution. Over the course of a year's research, it morphed into a story of intense, high-level corruption. The K Street Gang (Simon & Schuster) is a gruesome-but-true expose of Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, and other Republican scoundrels.

Q: How did the "K Street Gang" make the transition from small-government activism to--well, crime?

A: In some ways you can see their activities as the logical consequence of big government. Rather than effectively limiting government, conservatives came to power and government continued to expand.

Q: Especially since 2000.

A: Yes, exponentially under Bush. And one has to ask why that is. I think once people find themselves in power, they are very unwilling to give it up, and they want to look for ways in which big government, which they now control, can help them.

Q: What exactly is "K Street Conservatism"?

A: One of its tenets is the packaging of clientism in the rhetoric of conservatism. If you're a K Street conservative you'd take a client, define their goals, and repackage them in terms of Republican ideals. So for the Indian gaming tribe, Abramoff said the tribes were really opposed to taxes. Every good conservative is supposed to be opposed to taxes. With the Mariana Islands, Abramoff said...