(FORTUNE Magazine) – Most of the time the connection between money and politics is subtle. Sometimes it's not. Take the case of Ron Kaufman, a former political director of the Bush White House who's now a lobbyist. In April he started a consulting firm that specializes in lobbying governors and state legislatures for clients like AT&T, Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly, and Harley-Davidson. In November he was named the lead fundraiser for the Republican Governors Association (RGA), one of the groups that many of his clients would like to cultivate. Even blase Washington can see a fox in the chicken coop. "We all know it's a tit-for-tat system," says Sheila Krumholz of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. But usually, she adds, "it's not quite this blatant."

Kaufman is a senior partner of Kaufman Nelson Pattee, the affiliate of the influential Dutko Group that promotes itself as a builder of "public/private partnerships with the nation's governors." Kaufman says he has persuaded governors to contact their members of Congress on behalf of his corporate clients and has counseled his corporate clients about which governors' organizations to join and at what levels.

As finance chairman of the RGA, Kaufman is in charge of soliciting contributions to help elect governors. By paying membership fees ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, major corporations and others become RGA members and get to attend governor forums around the country. The more expensive the membership, the more contact with governors the members receive. Kaufman's goal is to raise $10 million by matching interested donors and needy GOP governors.

But isn't all this a little too cozy? Not at all, Kaufman says: "What I do for my clients is completely outside the box of what I do for the RGA. We are careful to make sure there are no legal, ethical, or perception problems." North Dakota Governor Ed Shafer, the RGA's chair, also sees no conflict, since Kaufman is a volunteer and has long known the governors. Whew! No wonder campaign finance reform is a hot issue. Bill Bradley and John McCain, take note.

--Jeffrey H. Birnbaum