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gressman's work as a lobbyist two decades ago for a Namibian uranium operation with ties to Iran, a GOP primary opponent and Democrats are portraying him as a Washington insider who should not get to succeed retiring Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
• Well before Flake was a leader in the campaign to eliminate the pet projects and grants that lawmakers add to spending bills, he was a registered foreign agent who represented Namibia and a uranium mine in the southern African nation that gained independence in 1990. Flake has since received $100,000 in contributions from mining interests and voted a number of times against penalties on Iran.
• In Washington's revolving-door climate, it's not unusual for lawmakers and lobbyists to switch back and forth.
• Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., for example, began his political career as a congres

sional aide, then lobbied on behalf of hospitals for a decade before winning election to the House in 2006. Several lawmakers have worked as lobbyists between service in Congress, including Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Dan Coats, R-Ind., and Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif.
• Flake says his lobbying past has never been a secret and that it was tied to his "love affair" with southern Africa, where as a young Mormon he did missionary work. He says his focus was

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