Everything you need to know about lobbyists

There is no part of our public policy establishment that is more demonized than THE LOBBYIST.  Nary a kind word is said about them and they are virtually always portrayed as evil, conniving, ruthless, heartless, greedy, dishonest, corrupt … well, you get the idea.  Just as Wall Street has become synonymous for banking, Madison Avenue for advertising and Broadway for theater, Washington’s K Street is the collective reference to lobbyists.

According to common lore, they influence our legislators against the interests of we the people.  They are deemed to have powers over our legislators at all levels of government that would may Zeus look like a wimp in comparison.  And the source of their power is money that puts lawmakers into indentured servitude.

This image of the lobbyist is contorted by left-leaning politicians, the news profession and the entertainment industry.  This terrible image of lobbyist applies only to those who are not on the side of the left-leaning politicians, the news profession and the entertainment industry.  The bull’s-eye in their target of wrath is the “corporate lobbyist” and organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA).

But, what about all those high-paid union lobbyists, the education associations and organizations like Planned Parenthood.  These are among the highest-funded lobbying operations in the country.  In an example of characteristic hypocrisy, the left spends billions of dollars on the very kind of lobbyists they eschew.  If you hang around Capitol Hill even for a short time, you will discover that there are lobbyists representing every view in our remarkably diverse nation – and that is a good thing.

The genius of our Constitution is that it puts the power of governance in the hands of the people.  It is our right and responsibility to elect our representatives and to let them know what we would like them to do.  That is why our First Amendment is so important.  It is why we can speak out against our government.  It is why we are free to assemble – and free to influence our public officials.  That all-important First Amendment states that we have the right “to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”  And remember that virtually all legislation is a redress of some perceived grievance – a correction to a problem.

Obviously, tens of millions of us cannot give our opinion to our city council member, state legislators and members of Congress – much less all those mayors, governors and lesser officials.  Individually, we have no opportunity to sit down with the President of the United States.

So, what must we do?  We have to make our opinion known collectively as an “interest group” through organizations composed of and supported by like-minded people – and let the leaders of those groups press our case with all those government officials.  And all those people who carry our water – so to speak — are called … lobbyists.

There are lobbyists on all sides of every issue.  Without them, my voice and yours would not be heard and considered in the hall of government.  Without lobbyists our Republic would not exist.  Lobbying is unique to a free people living in a Republic.  You can rest assured that authoritarian nations do not have a lot of lobbyists representing the views of the public.

Another lobbyist-related issue that gets a lot of attention is the money.   Critics of lobbying – corporate lobbying in most cases — mount a double-pronged attack on the money.  The first, is tied to campaign contributions – which are only indirectly related to lobbying.  The vast majority of campaign contributions come through political action committees that are forbidden to lobby.  And many organizations that provide information to public officials – all those foundations and think tanks you read about — are not allowed to give campaign contributions.  That is also true of advocacy (lobbying) groups.

The distinction is determined by the Internal Revenue Service.  An education-only group – designated as a 501(c)(3) – is tax exempt and can provide information to legislators, but not lobby.  An advocacy group – 501 (c)(4) – can lobby but does not enjoy tax exemption and cannot donate to campaigns. Political Action Committees (PACs) can donate, but not lobby.

What makes lobbys, such as the NRA, Planned Parenthood or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), so powerful is not as much the money as their grassroots support among voters.  This was noted by journalists Emma Green, writing in The Atlantic.  She wrote, “What gives groups like the NRA or AIPAC clout on Capitol Hill are the supporters who stand behind them, and their passion for the issues these groups champion.”

The second assault on the money deals with the amount of cash spent by lobbyists on our public servants – you know, those fancy dinners where drinks flow like the Mighty Mississippi, Super Bowl tickets for the VIP boxes, gifts and other perquisites (perqs or perks, as we commonly refer to them) designed to circumvent legal limitations.

The image of a high-rolling lobbyist spending lavishly on members of Congress is iconic in movies and television shows, but it is an exaggerated imagery. For sure, some of that goes on as a normal course of business, but for the most part lobbying is issue-based and requires a lot of research, statistics and persuasive communication.  There are a lot more meetings in congressional offices than there are dinners at the Mini Bar at José  Andres – where the average dinner goes for around $390.  But hey!  It includes a glass of wine.

There is a bit of a canard in terms of the money.  It is widely believed that the money buys the vote – that a legislator’s vote is purchased.  To the extent that may happen with an occasional corrupt lawmaker, it is very rare – and criminal.  Believe it or not, you cannot offer money to a legislator in return for a vote.  Furthermore, campaign money cannot legally be requested or offered on government property.

The money goes to candidates and legislators who ALREADY support the position of the lobbyists representing an interest group.  Did you ever see candidates who want to confiscate all guns get money from the NRA?  Of course not.  They get money from the anti-gun lobby.  Duh!

Campaign money may help candidates get elected based on their platform, but even that is overstated.  Incumbency is the primary reason politicians get re-elected – and where there is no incumbent, candidates with less resources often win.  Trump won the presidency spending a lot less money than the Clinton campaign.

Lobbying is not the bane of democracy, it is essential to the existence of a republic.  Lobbyists are the education arm of the legislature.  They bring information and statistics that are otherwise beyond a legislator’s ability to research on the Internet.  Lobbyists provide the facts and figures upon which legislators rely to make their decisions.

Lobbyists come with a point of view.  But you can bet that the legislator will be presented with facts and figures that are a counterpoint.  In many ways it is like a court-of-law in which the prosecution and defense present their best argument for the judge to decide.

The demonizing of lobbying and lobbyists is just another one of those mendacious left-wing narratives that is foisted on the public purely for political purposes. In singling out lobbyists who represent a more conservative viewpoint, the left – politicians and their media allies – are hypocritical, to say the least.  Those who condemn lobbyists the most rely on them regularly. They are downright hypocritical … un-American.

So, there ‘tis.

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