This is all true, but it misses a larger story, one that highlights just how difficult it will be for conservatives to really change the way government works.

If you ever visit Washington, D.C. you might discover it is a study in contrast. Go down to the National Mall, tour the Congress, walk past the White House, and the buildings all reflect a kind of simple, almost austere republican virtue. Nothing too fancy — nothing like Buckingham Palace or Versailles. Just sturdy yet impressive structures that reflect our belief that the people temporarily occupying those buildings are no better than anybody else.

Yet go a few blocks to the northwest and you will see row after row of drab, indistinct office buildings, all of which are pretty new. Who’s in there? Interest groups, for one. Consultants, too. And lobbyists — scores and scores of lobbyists.