Post-Dispatch offers profile of Sinquefield

Retired billionaire Rex Sinquefield, whose efforts to spend whatever it takes to get what he wants have been chronicled often on this blog, is profiled in an article by Virginia Young in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Overall, since he returned to Missouri in 2006, Sinquefield's lobbying firm says he has spent $11.75 million on political contributions. A little more than half of the money went to issue-based campaigns rather than candidates.

The biggest chunk — $6.8 million — is funding the campaign to repeal the city earnings taxes in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, who received $5,001 last November, lauds Sinquefield for "putting big thoughts out there. All too often in government, people just come with the complaints, not alternative solutions."

The question I would pose to Sen. Lager is this- Would he and other legislators even listen to anyone, no matter how good that person's alternative solutions were, if the solutions were not accompanied by a sizable check?

I would say the quality of the ideas is a secondary concern.