May 21, 2008 3:06PM

Fannie Mae’s Rent‐​Seeking Empire Expands

By David Boaz

Jeffrey Birnbaum, who covers lobbyists for the Washington Post, reports:

Lorraine A. Voles, until recently communications director for the congressional office of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), has joined Fannie Mae as a senior vice president.The move is a reunion of sorts. Voles, who was communications director to Al Gore when he was vice president, worked previously at the public relations firm Porter Novelli. There, her boss was Charles V. Greener, who is now Voles's boss at Fannie Mae.Greener had been the mortgage finance giant's senior vice president in charge of communications and is now chief of staff to Fannie Mae chief executive Daniel H. Mudd. Voles is taking his old job. Before he joined Porter Novelli, Greener was a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

That's right: A former mouthpiece for Clinton and Gore is working quite happily for a former GOP spokesman -- for a second time. Only in Washington.

One big happy family here in the Imperial City. Those who are paid to fight the red-blue wars, fight. Those who are paid to lobby both sides against the taxpayers, lobby. And as the McCain campaign is demonstrating, the most effective players can switch roles on a moment's notice.

It's relevant to note that Ms. Voles and Mr. Greener are now working for Fannie Mae, one of the most skilled rent-seekers in Washington and a pioneer in hiring top players from both parties. As a Cato study noted a few years ago, "The special governmental links that apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac yield little that is socially beneficial, while creating significant potential social costs." And as an earlier Cato study (by financial analyst Vern McKinley, now a candidate for Congress) noted, "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preserve their privileged status through a multi-million-dollar lobbying effort that includes massive 'soft money' campaign contributions and the payment of exorbitant salaries to politically connected executives and lobbyists." Ten years later, that's still the bottom line.