[w00dy]

I'm sure this topic has been raised before, but I searched and couldn't find anything.

I'm confused. How does this:

Lobbying (also Lobby) is money with the intention of influencing decisions made by legislators and officials in the government.

Not equate to this:

Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift given that alters the behavior of the recipient.

I was thinking about this the other day. These things are indistinguishable to me. In Thailand they execute corrupt politicians. Can we please start lynching lobbyists? I can't think of a greater source of derailment from the public interest.

 

[ohio]

Freedom of speech trumps your objection, and practically speaking it is useful to democracy for groups of people to be identify and support financially representatives that speak for them.

What you should really be upset about it that private citizen contributions are capped (which is fine) and corporate contributions are not capped (when they be illegal, let alone just capped). That is where the real danger of corruption and threat to our traditional representative republic come from.

 

[Silver]

They aren't bribes-if they were bribes, they'd be so much more expensive. Lobbying is cheap.

You want bribes? Just look at a guy like Orsazg. Sure, I know he's got multiple families to support, and that multi-million dollar salary he pulls down from Citi, an institution that wouldn't have been alive if it wasn't for his help, must make life a little more comfortable.

 

[Pesqueeb]

They are the same thing.

 

[$tinkle]

http://www.lifenews.com/2010/12/17/nat-6942/

at least lobbying isn't done w/ taxpayer money

 

[Silver]

Nice source.

You could have done something classy and linked to a used piece of bloody HIV-infested toilet paper, but no...

 

[w00dy]

The campaign contributions thing is just as bad. Candidates in big races have to sell their souls just to get into office. No wonder politics is such a bunch of crooks. I know unrealistic idealism is useless, but I would commend even a local municipality which instituted a system banning paid advertisements.

 

[$tinkle]

a few yrs back the freakonomics fellas claimed that campaign bucks had very little influence over elections, and while true, were curiously not curious about how those candidates first got propped up

exhibit A: sarah palin

 

[Pesqueeb]

http://www.lifenews.com/2010/12/17/nat-6942/

What, was the Westboro Baptist site down? No slant there at all.

 

[$tinkle]

those silly gas-mask wearing krauts are at it again:

A new kind of journalism: Climate activists have begun directing millions in funding into training programs for environmental journalists, with the goal of encouraging what's known as "advocacy journalism." This type of reporting is "pretty much dead in Europe," says Markus Lehmkuhl, a media expert at Berlin's Free University. British science journalist Alexander Kirby warns that journalists who remain neutral on the issue could endanger the cause of climate protection, but many of his colleagues refuse to take sides. The Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung, for example, fears that the line between science journalism and advertising could become blurred. Owen Gaffney, director of communications at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, advises that, rather than leaving reporting about climate change to the media, scientists should establish their own media outlets, preferably online. "We have more credibility than journalists and we need to take advantage of that," Gaffney says.

as long as it's done by proxy, all is well.

how do you translate 'journolist' into aleman?

 

[sanjuro]

There are lots of rules controlling lobbyists. For example, lobbyists are not supposed to serve any meal that can't be eaten with just a toothpick: http://dcist.com/2007/02/following_the_t.php

And yes, lobbyists get around these rules all the time, particularly when it comes to hiring politicians after their terms are up.

But lobbyists ultimately buy their way to get the ear of politicians. They might be swayed, but you couldn't lobby Boxer to support the NRA or Bachmann to help the teachers union.

Corruption is buying a vote, through and through. Politics have nothing to do with it.

 

[$tinkle]

Lawmakers start cashing in on health care 'reform'

The congressman is merely the latest lucky winner in the Great Health Care Cash-out, a tawdry spectacle that further sullies Washington's lobbying culture, and also demolishes President Obama's insistent claims that his health care push was a battle against the special interests. In truth, the bill's subsidies and mandates are a boondoggle for the powerful drug industry and were received warmly by hospitals and the doctors lobby.

Congressmen rarely return to their home districts after leaving office, and with Pomeroy there was never a doubt he was headed to K Street. One of the biggest benefactors -- and beneficiaries -- of Pomeroy's congressional career was the life insurance industry, and sure enough, the American Council of Life Insurers twice (in 2003 and in early 2010) considered hiring Pomeroy as president, according to reports by the Associated Press and Roll Call.

One reason Pomeroy was considering retirement in his recent term was the health care debate. He knew the measure would be a loser in North Dakota, and a yea vote could sink him. Sure enough, his opponent, Rick Berg, hammered him for twice backing Obamacare. While Pomeroy knew Dakotans wouldn't like his vote, he also knew that it would play well with powerful special interests. Responding to Berg, a Pomeroy ad name-checked the lobbies backing him: AARP, the North Dakota Hospital Association, the American Nurses Association, and the North Dakota Public Health Association. Which constituency was he appealing to?

Pomeroy's No. 3 source of funds in the campaign was the American Medical Association. America's Health Insurance Plans -- the lobby for health insurers -- gave the maximum $10,000 to Pomeroy, most of that coming after his vote for the health care bill. The political action committees for Aetna, AstraZeneca, Sanofi-Aventis and WellPoint all funded Pomeroy's run.

Pomeroy will still get checks from these companies, but rather than deposit them in his campaign coffers, he'll deposit them in his personal bank account. Alston & Bird's health care clients include the American Hospital Association, Aetna and HealthSouth.

Ethics law prohibits Pomeroy from lobbying the House for two years, but he can get started by lobbying the Senate and executive-branch agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services. You can imagine the phone call, "Secretary Sebelius, we haven't spoken since you asked me to support your health care bill, but I was hoping you had time to hear Merck's perspective on the bill's implementation."

plus ca change you can believe in