Acknowledgments
I’m the type of person who begins a book by reading the author’s acknowl-
edgments. Perhaps I’m odd, but I believe that this provides me some
insight into the writer’s personality, inspirations, and motivations beyond
what I can glean from the content of the work. In reading these sections,
I’m often struck by how often they begin with some variant of the follow-
ing: “This book would not have been possible without the help of so many
people, including. . . .” Don’t misunderstand me; I didn’t know how else
these acknowledgments might start, and of course I understood that
many people assist authors in managing the writing process. I just never
really got what this meant in practice until I began Careers after Congress.
So it goes that I, too, must happily admit that I owe a debt to several indi-
viduals; without their support, I would not have been able to complete
this book.
I would be remiss if I didn’t first thank Jessica Gribble, my editor, who
saw the potential for this book long before I did. I also wish to thank sev-
eral friends and colleagues who contributed to this book in ways both
small and large. Glenn and Suzanne Parker, my mentors when I was a
graduate student at Purdue University and now my good friends, taught
me most of what I know about developing an idea, turning it into a work-
able research project, and carrying that project out from start to finish.
They also taught me a good deal about how to write. I owe an especially
large intellectual debt to Glenn Parker, who introduced me to last period
problems in legislatures and some of the ways in which special interests
might constrain them. He and I have discussed these ideas in earnest
over many months when I was at Purdue, and I will always appreciate his
friendly guidance. The book differs in many ways from where our conver-
sations first began, but the main ideas remain. Also influential in this
book’s development were Mark Petersen and Rachel Walker-Kulzik, two
