IN MY SHOES: What It’s Like To Be A Lobbyist
With “lobbyists” and “special interests” having become code words for “corruption” and “influence peddling,” former Washington, D.C. lobbyist Megan Carpentier debunks five myths people believe about lobbyists that can be summed up thusly: They are all rich, soulless corporate shills whose work on Capitol Hill is just a stepping stone to a cushy K Street job, and they serve no purpose other than to buy political influence for their clients with campaign contributions. Here, the highlights from her op-ed in The Washington Post:
[W]ith more than 30,000 registered lobbyists in Washington, not everyone can be rolling in dough or else who would do the grunt work? …
Most people who lobby focus on a specific set of issues about which they feel pretty strongly. …
Thousands of bills are introduced in Congress each year, hundreds will come up for consideration, and most of them generate very little constituent input. … Congressional staffers … try to weigh what different lobbyists with specific knowledge about that issue say. …
Knowing how Capitol Hill works and the people who work there isn't something you can pick up from a book or by reading the news, so working there is practically a prerequisite for lobbying. … people that [sic] end up as lobbyists … are passionate about politics. They don't put in time on the Hill because they hope it will someday lead to a more lucrative lobbying job. …
No lobbyists I know expect their political contributions to get them legislative support. There may be a vague hope that giving to a campaign might get them 15 minutes of face time with a staffer … Politicians treat donations as their due, rather than as a favor for which they asked.
In a separate editorial, the WaPo reminds us that lobbying is a constitutionally protected form of speech:
The presidential contest in recent days has degenerated into a competition between Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) over which one reviles lobbyists more and relies on them less. …
It's helpful to remember that the Constitution contemplates lobbyists; the First Amendment protects “the right … to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
The WaPo also spanks Obama for his highly nuanced positions and practices on lobbyists and special interests, such as making a false distinction between a lobbyist who volunteers for his campaign vs. a lobbyist who is on the McCain campaign’s payroll (though, they’re probably all gone as of this writing).
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