Advocates, government reps, whatever.
To continue my thoughts on Abramoff tarnishing the reputation of "lobbyists" (well, let's be honest--further tarnishing):
Jan Witold Baran defends the profession in the Post today. Thanks, Jan! The problem is not "lobbying" in the most basic sense.* It's money. Take the money out of the equation and you take out the receptions, the lunches, the campaign contributions, and, alas, the late night drinks. But believe me: Washington would run a lot less effectively (if that's possible) without lobbyists. Why?
Well, first of all, your great-aunt Elma would have to come to Washington and talk with her congressman's office about Medicare prescription drug benefits, instead of sending in her annual check to a non-profit advocacy group with professionals who'll do that for her.
Secondly, Hill staff are hard-working and skilled, but they can't do it all. They absolutely rely on advocacy groups to do much of their footwork--conducting research and providing information. Of course, staff must then sort through all of the information coming from different sides of the debate and decide the best course of action for their bosses. But that's their job.
And this is where the money and access issue comes in. Who do staff and members listen to? There's plenty of research out there to indicate that campaign contributions from lobbyists do influence who gets in the door and who gets listened to. In a perfect fantasy fairy world, that wouldn't factor in.
*Mr. Baran explains this well: "The framers of the Constitution recognized that citizens must be free to make appeals to those who govern and who make policies, laws and regulations that affect the citizenry. Obviously, most citizens are not physically located at the seat of government, may not know how government works, and are busy doing things other than lobbying. For those reasons, when they need help in making their petitions, they retain representatives who can more effectively seek redress on their behalf. In other words, ordinary folks need representatives to talk to their representatives."
Jan Witold Baran defends the profession in the Post today. Thanks, Jan! The problem is not "lobbying" in the most basic sense.* It's money. Take the money out of the equation and you take out the receptions, the lunches, the campaign contributions, and, alas, the late night drinks. But believe me: Washington would run a lot less effectively (if that's possible) without lobbyists. Why?
Well, first of all, your great-aunt Elma would have to come to Washington and talk with her congressman's office about Medicare prescription drug benefits, instead of sending in her annual check to a non-profit advocacy group with professionals who'll do that for her.
Secondly, Hill staff are hard-working and skilled, but they can't do it all. They absolutely rely on advocacy groups to do much of their footwork--conducting research and providing information. Of course, staff must then sort through all of the information coming from different sides of the debate and decide the best course of action for their bosses. But that's their job.
And this is where the money and access issue comes in. Who do staff and members listen to? There's plenty of research out there to indicate that campaign contributions from lobbyists do influence who gets in the door and who gets listened to. In a perfect fantasy fairy world, that wouldn't factor in.
*Mr. Baran explains this well: "The framers of the Constitution recognized that citizens must be free to make appeals to those who govern and who make policies, laws and regulations that affect the citizenry. Obviously, most citizens are not physically located at the seat of government, may not know how government works, and are busy doing things other than lobbying. For those reasons, when they need help in making their petitions, they retain representatives who can more effectively seek redress on their behalf. In other words, ordinary folks need representatives to talk to their representatives."
posted by Waage on Sunday, January 08, 2006
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