Lobbyist

[Russian]

Why are lobbyist activates (AKA: motivation for corruption) authorized in US government? Isn’t it couther productive of the ideology ‘people by the people’ ?

[GtoRA2]

I wonder when the first lobbyist showed up?


Prolly the start of the decline in US politics.

[midnight Target]

Why do you assume that lobbying equals corruption?

[Chairboy]

If you get rid of lobbyists, you'd need to forbid citizens from writing letters to their politicians as well.

Little susie writes "Please sir, the chemical waste being dumped in my backyard has given me cancer, please revise the statutes so that hazardous dumping is not allowed in residential neighborhoods", and the letter is destroyed because it is a form of lobbying.

Careful when you wield that sword, it's big, and you might cut more than you wish.

[Skuzzy]

Russian, is there a chance you are confusing lobbyists with special interests groups?

[GtoRA2]

There is a big difference between little suzy and  lobyist MS pays to wine and dine congressmen to get their pet tax break passed.


(I am talking out my bellybutton here BTW, I dont know much about lobyist other then they sound like a bad idea)

[Russian]

Originally posted by Skuzzy
Russian, is there a chance you are confusing lobbyists with special interests groups?

I view them as a same thing… are they not?

[Russian]

Originally posted by Chairboy
If you get rid of lobbyists, you'd need to forbid citizens from writing letters to their politicians as well.

Little susie writes "Please sir, the chemical waste being dumped in my backyard has given me cancer, please revise the statutes so that hazardous dumping is not allowed in residential neighborhoods", and the letter is destroyed because it is a form of lobbying.

Careful when you wield that sword, it's big, and you might cut more than you wish.

Last time I checked little Suzy can call EPA(or alike) and then plant will be paying ~15,000$ a day...  Also this is not same as contributing large amounts of money to change a vote.

[midnight Target]

Originally posted by GtoRA2
I wonder when the first lobbyist showed up?


Prolly the start of the decline in US politics.

True story..I know cause I stayed in this hotel last time I was in DC.

Lobbyists were the people who always tried to talk to President Grant while he was having his cigar and whiskey in the lobby of the Willard Hotel. Grant started calling them Lobbyists.

[Skuzzy]

There are lobbyists for special interest groups (SPIGS), and there are lobbyists for other things as well.

SPIGS are a plague upon humanity for sure.

[GtoRA2]

Originally posted by midnight Target
True story..I know cause I stayed in this hotel last time I was in DC.

Lobbyists were the people who always tried to talk to President Grant while he was having his cigar and whiskey in the lobby of the Willard Hotel. Grant started calling them Lobbyists.

Thats pretty interesting. Thanks MT.

[john9001]

MADD is a special interest group.

[midnight Target]

Originally posted by Skuzzy
There are lobbyists for special interest groups (SPIGS), and there are lobbyists for other things as well.

SPIGS are a plague upon humanity for sure.

Seems to me that the definition of a SPIG is kinda based on who is doing the defining.

[Dead Man Flying]

Not all interest groups are bad, and not all special interests are bad.  I think if you were to compile a list of lobbying organizations by state, most people would be surprised to see the associations and organizations listed there.  Political scientists have also found contradictory evidence of their effectiveness.

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Russian
I view them as a same thing… are they not?

The latter is a subset of the former.