Besides preying on elected officials and crafting legislation that serves their industries’ interests, lobbyists think people are obscenely stupid. Witness the press release (titled Lobbyists are Citizens, Too) quoting Brian Pallasch (seen above between Jeffrey Dahmer and a great white shark) of the American League of Lobbyists. And I’ll break it down here:
Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have declared Washington lobbyists persona non grata as far as participation in the forthcoming campaigns. The leadership of the American League of Lobbyists (ALL) vehemently objects to this treatment.
Yes, I’m sure they do vehemently object that the special interests of lobbyists are being ignored. I’m sure higher standards exercised by politicians staggers the collective lobbying mind.
ALL reminds the candidates that all U.S. citizens are guaranteed the right to petition the government under the First Amendment to the Constitution.”
This one’s ballsy. U.S. citizens do not equal a for-profit corporation or the collective interests of those companies. The right to petition the government for a redress of grievances does not mean lobbyists get a privileged position at the elbows of presidential candidates nor does it mean lobbyists have a right to put candidates in their debt with campaign donations.
As a profession, lobbying is an easy target and a candidate automatically garners public support with each declaration,” said Brian Pallasch, League President.
Yes, Brian, the avoiding the appearance of impropriety is an attractive feature in a candidate. Real U.S. citizens would like to see things like justice established, promoting the general welfare, and insuring domestic tranquility. Things that lobbyists hate.
What I have trouble with is the hypocritical nature of these comments. Both candidates have worked with lobbyists, recognize the value of their input, received legal campaign contributions from lobbyists, and yet never hesitate to throw us to the wolves when it behooves them to do so,” continued Pallasch.
Since lobbyists are the wolves, it’s difficult to follow the metaphor. However, the point being made–the message being sent by the candidates (and McCain is having a hell of time finding all the lobbyist leeches in his campaign) is that lobbyists are no longer special.
In addition to guaranteeing free speech, the First Amendment to the Constitution states unequivocally the right of the people “to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” It does not specify whether such petitions must be brought by individual citizens or representatives on their behalf – hence, lobbyists.
Lobbyists for health insurance companies do not represent U.S. citizens. Lobbyists represent the interest of industry and not individual citizens. Lobbyists are part of the reason health insurance companies now make medical decisions for patients instead of doctors doing it. Lobbyists can STFU and then go to hell.
The general public has the misperception about the role that lobbyists play in the democratic process,” said Pallasch. “Most citizens don’t realize the number of benefits they enjoy because of lobbyists – the deductibility of home mortgage interest, federal loans for college students, clean-up of the environment, and this list goes on,” he added.
Lobbyists are also the reason oil companies are legally secured a profit. Lobbyists have helped the consolidation of media. Lobbyists vie for telecoms seeking to subvert the rule of law, and the list goes on. These interests are not the interests of U.S. citizens.
Lobbying is an essential part of the American democratic process; it is one of the major ways that politicians are held accountable to the people. Lobbyists represent all points of view on the major issues confronting the country and the Congress – environment, labor, the elderly, teachers, veterans as well as businesses, to name just a few.
And funny, the environment, labor, the elderly, teachers, and veterans generally get a raw deal while big business get monstrous corporate welfare funded by taxpayers.
The ALL Board of Directors reaffirms its position that candidates should not get a free pass on disingenuous lobbyist-bashing as a campaign tactic. “It portrays to the American people an inaccurate and regrettable picture of what happens in Washington,” concluded Pallasch. “For that reason, we request that the candidates refrain from maligning an entire profession in order to further their political ambitions.”
Lobbyists have made their own reputations. It’s recognized by citizens and the candidates. Lobbyists are uninvited.
Filed under: Business, Campaign 2008, Government, Lying GOP, Media, News Headlines, Politics, Sophistry, news | Tagged: Lobby, Lobbying, Lobbyists
There’s a diagnosis for people as deluded as Pallasch, dementia.
“environment, labor, the elderly, teachers, and veterans generally get a raw deal” You do realize that all of these groups have lobbyists and all have PACs that give millions of dollars to candidates just like the business groups. If you are going to tear into lobbyists make sure you get them all, not just one side.
In the information age in which we live, it is almost painful to see people as poorly informed as are Jan and mdking. Chances are that they and their interests are represented in Washington, and for that matter in state capitals all over the country, in some way. The role of the lobbyist is to bring to light specific information that lawmakers – and their mostly 20-something staffs – might not otherwise have on the legislation on which they are working. On behalf of our organizations, employees, and co-workers, we worry most about the “law of unintended consequences”. We provide inputs for all sides, and help feed the debate and compromise on laws that was designed into this democracy from its inception. The reaction to isolated instances of malfeasance – e.g., Abramoff – is akin to finding a crooked cop and setting out to disestablish the police force, or finding a poor doctor and seeking to hold the entire medical profession responsible. It’s about time that Jan and mdking and others wake up to the fact that they’re being “played” by the candidates and the leadership for political advantage, and not because there’s anything inherently wrong or nefarious about lobbying.
Hysterical that lobbyists prop up as their first argument that politicians have banned them from lobbying. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s just more sophistry. They have been banned from donating, and that’s it. Lobbyists cry foul because they want to be taken on the merits of their money rather than the merits of information. The candidates definitely made the right choice. What a bunch of cry babies.
Poor little lobbyists, no one said you can’t talk to candidates in the name of corporate interests, you just can’t give them money.
People are tired of lobbyists who write the legislation! That, folks, causes the public revulsion as much as the moneyed interests does. I posit that if there is a problem with lobbyists reputations; it is a lobbyist problem. Yes, many do good work, but many don’t…and they want slide behind the tailwinds of respectable ones. People are wising up. Instead of gnashing your teeth, lobbyists, about your reputation as predators in the public arena, do something to make it right.