Interesting discussion, and it sounds like an interesting book. I'm a former lobbyist (both corporate and public interest lobbying) and a former congressional committee staffer. Having experienced both sides of the table, so to speak, I don't believe that current system serves the country well. That's the easy observation to make; the hard part is figuring out how to change the system for the better.
I wish I had a good and easy solution for how to do that, but I don't. The deep reliance on lobbyist/PAC money needs to be overhauled. But that will never happen as long as elected policy-makers rely so heavily on this money. I hope their book addresses this.
Important to say: there's a very negative public perception of lobbying. Some of that is justified, but not all lobbyists and not all lobbying efforts are bad or unethical. Some stories become well-known because they are what the media wants to report on. The Evan Morris story is tragic and awful, but it's not typical.
There's still an important role for people with knowledge of how Washington works to help citizens who want to change government policy. A lobbyist can help a nonprofit biomedical research institute make an case to lawmakers to fund research on a cure for a crippling disease, and a lobbyist can help them navigate FDA approval. There are many examples that don't fit the stereotype of corporate lobbying.
As mentioned in the piece, the right to petition the government to address grievances is in the Constitution. In my opinion, the important thing is to make the system more transparent and less reliant on lobbyist campaign money so that the public interest is better served. There needs to be a more level playing field for the information that flows to Congress.
"Real power in Washington had shifted from the government to corporate America" and that is why more than a million Americans have died from the opioid crisis! As Sen. Klobuchar said there are three Big-Pharma lobbyist for every lawmaker So they get rich while we die.
Well sure who is stopping them? Because now that Red and Blue have become religions for voters politicians jobs are so safe they just grab all the green. And is the medias' silence tied to the fact that every other cable news advertisement is for medication? For example how many millions is Oh Oh Oh Ozempic pulling in from the rich while people with type 2 diabetes face shortages?
Madam (if I may be so presumptuous) we are absolutely on the same page here. I’m simply pointing out the disingenuous nature of the good Senator’s comments as she herself is taking her kickback as well.
100% the Senator said it on CNN loud and proud and then took the money. Our "healthcare" system is an obsession. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug and prices for drugs in the US in 2022 were nearly three times as high as the average in 33 other countries. That is all lobbying.
This article is precisely why I pay for a subscription to So What: an interview and information I can’t find elsewhere. Keep up the good work, Chris!
And what do you think about the special election in Ohio yesterday? Jay Kuo has an interesting analysis today that you may want to read, and I’d be interested in whether you agree or not with his opinions about special elections vs polls….
As a lobbyist myself, I think the distinction missing here is the difference between the corporate lobbyists and their large budgets to conduct astro-turf campaigns, as well as the ability to liberally salt the political process with bags of money. Most lobbyists are not corporate titans. Our jobs are to learn the operations and needs of our clients, which are often technical and highly specific in nature, and then to translate those concerns in a way that is both meaningful and understandable to policy makers. Conversely, we look at policy proposals, and try to identify ways that might impact our clients, and then translate that into a way they will understand, and then devise a plan to mitigate any harm. We also look at upcoming legislative initiatives and identify opportunities to improve some aspect to the benefit of our clients. A lot of our work is strategic planning, and translating business to government, and government to business -- be that in the non-profit, or for-profit sectors. While a lot of my clients are incredibly smart in their areas, they have a pretty limited knowledge of the jurisdiction of congressional committees, which Members are important leaders on various issues, and the intricacies of the process involved in actually passing legislation to law. They have even less understanding of the opacity that is the federal rulemaking process at the agencies.
All of that is to say that plenty of us lobbyists rely on a lot of expertise, and very little on handing out cash. We tend to be the ones that work for clients that are non-profits, such as higher education, hospital systems, local governments, or any number of public interest entities. Even when it comes to for-profit businesses, most lobbyists are not working for clients that are the size of Chase bank, etc. We work for a single company with a narrow interest, and that has no capacity or intention of investing thousands of dollars into fundraising to buy their way into or out of an issue.
Having said all of that -- if you want to fix a good portion of the problem, get the money out of politics, or at least make it fully transparent. The other solution is to bring back local newspapers and reporting, and have people actually pay attention to it, rather than watching the latest reality TV show. I will not hold my breath for either.
Thanks for the post Chris. I as well have added the book to my tower of book wants. I worked for a large Defense Contractor and had to work with our corporate lobbyists giving them background and talking points. Our corporate lawyers and lobbyists were some of the most highly paid employees outside of the C-Ring.
Interesting discussion, and it sounds like an interesting book. I'm a former lobbyist (both corporate and public interest lobbying) and a former congressional committee staffer. Having experienced both sides of the table, so to speak, I don't believe that current system serves the country well. That's the easy observation to make; the hard part is figuring out how to change the system for the better.
I wish I had a good and easy solution for how to do that, but I don't. The deep reliance on lobbyist/PAC money needs to be overhauled. But that will never happen as long as elected policy-makers rely so heavily on this money. I hope their book addresses this.
Important to say: there's a very negative public perception of lobbying. Some of that is justified, but not all lobbyists and not all lobbying efforts are bad or unethical. Some stories become well-known because they are what the media wants to report on. The Evan Morris story is tragic and awful, but it's not typical.
There's still an important role for people with knowledge of how Washington works to help citizens who want to change government policy. A lobbyist can help a nonprofit biomedical research institute make an case to lawmakers to fund research on a cure for a crippling disease, and a lobbyist can help them navigate FDA approval. There are many examples that don't fit the stereotype of corporate lobbying.
As mentioned in the piece, the right to petition the government to address grievances is in the Constitution. In my opinion, the important thing is to make the system more transparent and less reliant on lobbyist campaign money so that the public interest is better served. There needs to be a more level playing field for the information that flows to Congress.
"Real power in Washington had shifted from the government to corporate America" and that is why more than a million Americans have died from the opioid crisis! As Sen. Klobuchar said there are three Big-Pharma lobbyist for every lawmaker So they get rich while we die.
And yet she herself took $117,150 from big pharma.
https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/amy-klobuchar/industries?cid=N00027500&cycle=2024
Well sure who is stopping them? Because now that Red and Blue have become religions for voters politicians jobs are so safe they just grab all the green. And is the medias' silence tied to the fact that every other cable news advertisement is for medication? For example how many millions is Oh Oh Oh Ozempic pulling in from the rich while people with type 2 diabetes face shortages?
Madam (if I may be so presumptuous) we are absolutely on the same page here. I’m simply pointing out the disingenuous nature of the good Senator’s comments as she herself is taking her kickback as well.
100% the Senator said it on CNN loud and proud and then took the money. Our "healthcare" system is an obsession. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug and prices for drugs in the US in 2022 were nearly three times as high as the average in 33 other countries. That is all lobbying.
Yup. An untold story living in plain sight.
This article is precisely why I pay for a subscription to So What: an interview and information I can’t find elsewhere. Keep up the good work, Chris!
And what do you think about the special election in Ohio yesterday? Jay Kuo has an interesting analysis today that you may want to read, and I’d be interested in whether you agree or not with his opinions about special elections vs polls….
Terrifying...
This was really insightful, thank you. Adding this book to my queue.
I’m going to read this book. Very interesting and troubling area that I realize now I’ve misunderstood. Thanks for sparking my interest.
As a lobbyist myself, I think the distinction missing here is the difference between the corporate lobbyists and their large budgets to conduct astro-turf campaigns, as well as the ability to liberally salt the political process with bags of money. Most lobbyists are not corporate titans. Our jobs are to learn the operations and needs of our clients, which are often technical and highly specific in nature, and then to translate those concerns in a way that is both meaningful and understandable to policy makers. Conversely, we look at policy proposals, and try to identify ways that might impact our clients, and then translate that into a way they will understand, and then devise a plan to mitigate any harm. We also look at upcoming legislative initiatives and identify opportunities to improve some aspect to the benefit of our clients. A lot of our work is strategic planning, and translating business to government, and government to business -- be that in the non-profit, or for-profit sectors. While a lot of my clients are incredibly smart in their areas, they have a pretty limited knowledge of the jurisdiction of congressional committees, which Members are important leaders on various issues, and the intricacies of the process involved in actually passing legislation to law. They have even less understanding of the opacity that is the federal rulemaking process at the agencies.
All of that is to say that plenty of us lobbyists rely on a lot of expertise, and very little on handing out cash. We tend to be the ones that work for clients that are non-profits, such as higher education, hospital systems, local governments, or any number of public interest entities. Even when it comes to for-profit businesses, most lobbyists are not working for clients that are the size of Chase bank, etc. We work for a single company with a narrow interest, and that has no capacity or intention of investing thousands of dollars into fundraising to buy their way into or out of an issue.
Having said all of that -- if you want to fix a good portion of the problem, get the money out of politics, or at least make it fully transparent. The other solution is to bring back local newspapers and reporting, and have people actually pay attention to it, rather than watching the latest reality TV show. I will not hold my breath for either.
Thanks for the post Chris. I as well have added the book to my tower of book wants. I worked for a large Defense Contractor and had to work with our corporate lobbyists giving them background and talking points. Our corporate lawyers and lobbyists were some of the most highly paid employees outside of the C-Ring.
Another reason to be depressed...............