Lobbyists: Love them, hate them, deal with them

I'll be the first to admit that I really despise the tactics of Washington lobbyists in general. Money has corrupted the federal government right down to the core. Most lobbying groups wave money in the face of politicians, hoping they'll bite like a fish to a hook. And the vast majority of them do.
To say that our elected leaders are bought and paid for would be an understatement. They are wined, dined, and lavished upon by the lobbyists whose only purpose is to secure support for their cause and/or guarantee a vote on a bill. It is about scratching backs and kissing backsides. Lobbyists do the latter as well as politicians do kissing babies.
But, seriously, what should be done about all this schmoozing? Indeed, what can be done, if anything? I mean, after all, there are a lot of corrupt interest groups who selfishly pursue their own agendas in Washington, D.C. That’s common knowledge, and it frosts us to no end.
But the answer is not regulation, no matter what the McCains and Feingolds have to say about it. What legislation of lobbying really amounts to is the suppression of free speech, which is the people’s right to speak and be heard by their government. It is about Congress not passing laws that abridge our freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances, which, by the way, is a clause in Article I of the Constitution.
What this means is that lobbies like the National Rifle Association could be prevented from being heard in the halls of Congress. The NRA, which is the foremost advocate of Second Amendment rights in the country, could be silenced. And if we don’t have a group like the NRA standing up for us in Washington, D.C., reminding our lawmakers of the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, then what is to stop the government from making changes to the Constitution altogether?
What I am talking about is censorship. As much as I do not like many of the special interest groups and lobbyists prowling around my representative’s office, they have that right by virtue of the U.S. Constitution. Their form of “speech” is money, and we may not like that. But the fact is that people like you and me give money to these groups to advocate for them.
The surest way to get a politician to act on your behalf is to promise your vote, in much the same way he or she makes promises to get your vote. And the way to do that in Washington, D.C., is through lobbyists and interest groups. This is especially true between elections, when politicians are less likely to take the time to listen to individual grievances.
Lobbyists promise to secure voters for the politician by the next election in exchange for legislative action on behalf of their constituents. They are a voice for people seeking a redress of grievances. Without lobbyists, Congress could essentially ignore the many different grievances people have.
Well, isn’t that what our elected representatives are for, to advocate on our behalf? Yes, in theory. But as large and complex as the federal government has become—a gargantuan public corporation, of sorts—budget matters, bills and committees seem to take up a great deal of legislators’ time. If we let them alone, then they would be more than happy not to legislate, but to rule.
Two examples of where our voices were heard through lobbies: Illegal immigration and the Fairness Doctrine.
If it hadn’t been for lobbyists and interest groups opposing illegal immigration, then the infamous Amnesty Bill of 2007 would have become law, granting legal status to millions of people who are living in our country illegally. Wait a minute, you say: Didn’t the amnesty bill get voted down because legislators were flooded with calls from their constituents? Yes, absolutely. But who alerted the people to the dangers of this bill and inspired millions of us to jam the Congressional phone lines? Lobbyists and interest groups, including conservative talk radio, internet bloggers and more.
Talk radio and conservative think-tanks helped to shoot down the proposed Fairness Doctrine before it could be presented before Congress in bill form.
Love them or hate them, lobbyists and lobbying groups serve a purpose to our republican democracy. They act as a voice for people on issues that might not otherwise be heard by our elected representatives. They represent us in person when we are unable to travel to Washington, D.C., ourselves. And, honestly, how many of us can realistically do that every time an issue comes up on which we want our voices heard? This happens every day, and the lobbyists are there every day, advocating for their issues and their constituents.
So, you see, lobbyists and interest groups have their place, even if we don’t like them.