Santorum As Typical DC Opportunist

Bloomberg reports that former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum , has come a long way from from being one of the poorer members of the U.S. Senate to earning $1.3 million between January 2010 and August 2011. How did he do it? Mostly by providing access, after he lost his Senate seat.Here's Bloomberg:

Santorum’s financial rise was powered by consulting contracts with fuel producer Consol Energy Inc, faith advocacy group Clapham Group and American Continental Group, a Washington consultancy, as well as media engagements.

“If he’s claiming he’s not an insider, this is the thing that insiders do -- after public office they cash in,” said Kent Cooper, a campaign finance expert and former Federal Elections Commission assistant staff director.

Outside of his employment contracts, Santorum’s greatest financial gain came from $395,414 in director fees and stock options he listed in a recent financial disclosure.The fees and options came from King of Prussia-based Universal Health Services Inc., a publicly traded health-care management company that was sued in 2010 by the federal government for alleged Medicaid fraud.

When Santorum left office after the 2006 defeat, he was earning a $165,200 congressional salary with $32,245 in outside income from book royalties.His assets, primarily investment funds, were valued at between $20,000 and $125,000. “For the Senate, once you get below a couple million, you’re one of the less wealthy,” said Cooper.After leaving office, Santorum signed on with a number of outside companies and organizations, bringing in $1.3 million from January 2010 through Aug. 2 of last year, according to disclosure forms. His home in the Washington Virginia suburbs has four bedrooms, five bathrooms and sits on five acres of land.

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