Lobbyists, Government and You

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people...," Abraham Lincoln's statement from the Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863.

Washington DC is an island inhabited by the elected representatives of this fine country. Elected by their constituents these chosen few arrive in DC with the job of representing the people who voted for them.

Nestled into the framework of government, attached to the host like parasites, are the influencers of opinion and government policy; lobbyists. Their 'profession,' if you can call it that, is to pedal a medium of exchange for political consideration.

It is difficult to determine who is more guilty for allowing this to happen; the elected officials who (or whose party) play in this sand box or the lobbyists who toss the gilded carrots to the politicians to begin with, or we - the people - for letting it happen.

So, what is lobbying? Lobbying is the practice of influencing decisions made by government. What then is 'professional' lobbying? The practice of influencing decisions made by government; for money.

If trading cash for influence seems wrong, it is. Yet it is all in a days work for a DC lobbyist. Some, the more blatant, get caught and end up in prison like Jack Abramoff. There are many more who deserve a cell right next to him. It's so bad, so rife, so commonplace, that in 2004 it earned Congressional spending committees a new nickname: "The Favor Factory."

How do politicians and lobbyists get away with it?

Because they can is the simple answer. They have wrapped lobbying funds and the act of lobbying tightly in a layer of small print that protects them from the obvious charge that they are bartering influence for money. They use different names for it; hide behind constitutional rights; bend the letter of the law until breaking point.

Lobbyists are, in theory, protected by the constitution. They, like any private citizen, are entitled to approach a politician to ask for support for a bill or project of interest, to redress an issue of concern. No quibble there.

All American citizens have the right to pitch their elected officials; to drag their dog and pony show into the halls of Congress. They may have a specialist knowledge of the subject that they are pitching and need to share that with law makers. The right to petition government is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution and can be traced back further to the Magna Carta and Britain's Declaration of Rights of 1689 which declared the "right of the subjects to petition the king."

The objection is the matter of exchange - directly or indirectly - of cash or consideration for this influence whether it be a lunch or a multimillion donation to the politicians party or favorite cause. Once that threshold has been crossed lobbying is no longer the tool of redress of the common man, rather it has become the exclusive domain of the wealthy. Some lobbyists raise hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of political parties from their clients. They do this in expectation - as do their clients - of repayment in full.

A recent event which illustrates this issue nicely arose when Hillary Clinton was being considered for the position of Secretary of State.

Since leaving the Presidency, Hillary and her hubby Bill Clinton have earned over $100 million (See 1.below); not bad for a couple who left office up to their ears in millions of dollars of legal debt a scant eight years ago. In addition, Bill's charitable foundation - the Clinton Foundation - is awash in generous cash donations from a range of people and countries world-wide.

The obvious question has to be raised, and was. Did the donors gift him the money out of the goodness of their hearts or do they expect something in return, or were these payments made as a result of past favors? Or anticipated favors relying on his wife's largesse as a future United States President or as Secretary of State? Hmmm.

According to the New York Times on December 18th (see 2. below) "Some of her husband's biggest backers have much at stake in the policies that President-elect Barack Obama's incoming administration adopts toward their regions or business ventures." Hmmm (again).

In the higher echelons of private or public industry that would be a deal breaker right there. Yet she still got the job. It slid by because most elected officials are allegedly up to their elbows in this sweet sticky pie.

How do we rid ourselves of these breeches of public trust? Lets run through a few obvious solutions.

First, politicians should not be allowed to accept gifts - cash or in-kind - ever. No lunches, trips, golf outings, hookers, booze, shows, games, nights away, vacations, strippers, home improvements, no gifts of any kind. Any and all expenses incurred by a politician in the course of carrying out their duties should be audited by the Federal Government and reimbursed accordingly. No outside donations; not even a slice of pizza.

Next, all Congressional bills that include public spending should be transparent and open to public scrutiny prior to voting. No more earmarks, pork or behind closed door deals. Post them online.

Demand that elected officials take a vow of donation poverty. After their term is over, personal gifts, donations for their "foundations," should be pre-vetted by the Federal Government. No if ands or buts; no small print; no use of loopholes or gray interpretation of rules.

Finally, election financing should be monitored more closely by the Federal Government and the current rules on limited private donations further consolidated to track donors.

The penalty for non-compliance with these new rules? Threat of crucifixion has always been an effective deterrent, however, immediate removal from office would be sufficient.

From our end as 'the people' that Lincoln spoke about, we have to make a important decision; and soon. Either we allow the toilet traders of influence to continue their heinous activities or we don't. It's up to us.

The question is how; how do we implement change?

Perhaps 300 million emails to President Obama would get the message across. Here's how to reach him: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.

Done.

PS. If you want to keep an eye on what's happening in government spending check the Center for Responsive Politics (http://www.opensecrets.org), a lobbying watchdog group.

References:

1. BBC: Clintons' earnings exceed $100m - 04/05/08

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7331834.stm

2. New York Times: In Clinton List, a Veil Is Lifted on Foundation - 12/18/08

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/us/politics/w19clinton.html?_r=1