Lobbying

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• Lobbying exists everywhere; it is not an American thing nor is it exclusively a political thing.

  I had this discussion with a lobbyist some time ago who clarified it for me. This is what I took away from that:

  Politicians, especially federal ones, need to have massively large scope. It is impossible for them to be experts or even knowledgable in everything.

  Lobbyists are responsible for educating politicans on issues that are important for the businesses they represent and persuading them to pass legislation that is favorable to them. That's it; that's the job.

  If doing four years of policy debate taught me anything, it's (a) there's always a way to spin something in your favor, and (b) someone will always disagree with you, but there's almost always a way to meet in the middle.

  If you're reading this, you've probably lobbied for something in your life. A big and costly redesign at home that your partner isn't bought into. An expensive purchase. Moving somewhere. Changing your appearance. If you had to campaign for something that you wanted and was important to you, then congrats, you were your own lobbyist!

  (If you're thinking "this sounds kind of like sales," well, it is! Replace "legislation" with "cash" and you're pretty much there.)

  Lobbying is also not necessarily bribery. Donating to PACs is not the only form of lobbying, though this unfortunately does happen and I wish more was done to close those loopholes.

  Companies that do business internationally have some kind of state-sponsored bribery factored into their budgets. Think "getting stopped by police on the way to a customer and they are about to accuse you of something ridiculous unless you give them USD $20 to change their mind" kind of affairs. Now _that's_ bribery.

  by nunez
• I am amazed at how many people in here are ready to defend lobbying.

  Are you prepared to go as far as to say that lobbying is necessary for good government?

  by vconnor
• This is very lazy slopulism, but I'll take a stab at defending lobbying. Lobbying is a way for relevant stakeholders to make their issues known. Are there problems with lobbying? Absolutely, but it's not bribery.
  by matteoraso
• Lobbying is hardly uniquely (US) american, right? At least in Europe, we have our fair share and I'm sure it exists in Africa and Asia as well.
  by emaro
• I am a non-American from Poland and have no trouble understanding lobbying along with the distinction between lobbying and outright bribery or more systemic corruption.

  Also, a lot of lobbying happens without money changing hands. Politicians need professional bodies and local communites for a variety of reasons. From staging campaign stops through having experts to maintain a semblance of merit all the way to filling goverment positions and actually exercising power once they win elections. Thus these various groups gain influence.

  by blfr
• While the courts have allowed the influence of money in politics to go much too far, I doubt that the idea of rich people and businesses using their wealth to influence politicians is all that alien to non-Americans.

  Also, bribery isn't really "super illegal" in America. Cases like McDonnell vs. US make it so that as long as you don't go "Thank you for the bag of money, which I hereby accept in exchange for granting you, in my official capacity, that government contract you wanted, which you would not have gotten otherwise," you're pretty much in the clear.

  by hypersoar
• (IANALobbyist but I do work for a lobbying firm)

  Lobbying is how businesses talk to government. And I get that that sounds nasty—and sometimes it is nasty—-but it’s necessary.

  Most of us work for businesses and when a rule comes out that legitimately threatens your business, you want to be able to tell the government in realtime.

  Remember the rule change to the amortization of software expenses, which inadvertently would have killed thousands of software companies? Well, a big push from businesses got the rule amended and eventually removed, which is better for everyone. That’s lobbying.

  Many businesses and local governments hire people who specialize in that work due to the sheer volume (America has a lot of layers of government).

  I understand why the profession has such a bad reputation. When we think of a “lobbyist” we think of Big Tobacco or Big Tax Prep Software…companies who are trying to preserve their position by paying off the right people. But for every one of those, there are a hundred companies trying to make sure the law doesn’t screw then over and a hundred local communities trying to convince their state capitol to fund their schools and parks and bridges.

  ===

  Edit: there’s a dangerous assumption that lawmakers are corrupt and in it for the money. If we allow that assumption, we discourage the best people from choosing civil service because they think the only way to make it is to accept backroom deals. We have robust ethics laws, and we should expect everyone to follow them.

  by iambateman
• I know this post is mainly about money in politics, but lobbying does go a lot farther than campaign contributions. Many lobbying groups are arranged around certain political groups, like environmentalism (Sierra Club), civil liberties (ACLU), or gun rights (NRA).

  "Lobbying" is a generic term for influencing a politician, and it existed well before Citizens United. Hell, corporate influence in politics also existed long before Citizens United, too.

  by cmdli