Tim Rupli is a well-paid DC lobbyist whose #1 client is the “Community Financial Services Association” – payday lenders. They paid him a cool million dollars in 2012. He was also hired by Rep. Heath Shuler to resurrect the Blue Dog caucus in the 2012 cycle. Since 1997, Tim Rupli and his wife, Linda, have given Rep. Mike Ross $ 22, 270 and Sen. Mark Pryor $ 20, 000. The figures are based on research the Center for Responsive Politics did for the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette. Rupli, a former DeLay staff member, is listed annually by various Washington publications as one of Capitol Hill’s most formidable lobbyists. Rupli formed Timothy R. Rupli and Associates. He had worked for the Federalist Group, a largely Republican shop whose managing director is James J. Baker, a longtime lobbyist for the National Rifle Association. Rupli is also known for his work for United to Secure America, a group that argues for strict immigration controls as a matter of national security.