"Government of the people, by the people, for the people...," Abraham Lincoln's
vision from the Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863.
Washington DC is an island inhabited by the elected representatives of this fine
country. Elected by their constituents these chosen few arrive in DC with the
job of representing the people who voted for them.
Nestled into the framework of government, attached to the host like parasites,
are the influencers of opinion and government policy; lobbyists. Their
‘profession,’ if you can call it that, is to pedal a medium of exchange for
political consideration.
It is difficult to determine who is more guilty for allowing this to happen; the
elected officials who (or whose party) play in this sand box or the lobbyists
who toss the gilded carrots to the politicians to begin with, or we - the people
- for letting it happen.
So, what is lobbying? Lobbying is the practice of influencing decisions made by
government. What then is ‘professional’ lobbying? The practice of
influencing decisions made by government; for money.
If trading cash for influence seems wrong, it is. Yet it is all in a days work
for a DC lobbyist. Some, the more blatant, get caught and end up in prison like
Jack Abramoff. There are many more who deserve a cell right next to him. It’s so
bad, so rife, so commonplace, that in 2004 it earned Congressional spending
committees a new nickname: "The Favor Factory."
How do politicians and lobbyists get away with it?
Because they can is the simple answer. They have wrapped lobbying funds and the
act of lobbying tightly in a layer of small print that protects them from the
obvious charge that they are bartering influence for money. They use different
names for it; hide behind constitutional rights; bend the letter of the law
until breaking point.
Lobbyists are, in theory, protected by the constitution. They, like any private
citizen, are entitled to approach a politician to ask for support for a bill or
project of interest, to redress an issue of concern. No quibble there.
All American citizens have the right to pitch their elected officials; to drag
their dog and pony show into the halls of Congress. They may have a specialist
knowledge of the subject that they are pitching and need to share that with law
makers. The right to petition government is protected by the First Amendment of
the Constitution and can be traced back further to the Magna Carta and
Britain's Declaration of Rights of 1689 which declared the "right of the
subjects to petition the king."
The objection is the matter of exchange – directly or indirectly - of cash or
consideration for this influence whether it be a lunch or a multimillion
donation to the politicians party or favorite cause. Once that threshold has
been crossed lobbying is no longer the tool of redress of the common man, rather
it has become the exclusive domain of the wealthy. Some lobbyists raise hundreds
of millions of dollars on behalf of political parties from their clients. They
do this in expectation – as do their clients – of repayment in full.
A recent event which illustrates this issue nicely arose when Hillary Clinton
was being considered for the position of Secretary of State.
Since leaving the Presidency, Hillary and her hubby Bill Clinton have earned
over $100 million (See 1.below); not bad for a couple who left office up to
their ears in millions of dollars of legal debt a scant eight years ago. In
addition, Bill's charitable foundation - the Clinton Foundation - is awash in
generous cash donations from a range of people and countries world-wide.
The obvious question has to be raised, and was. Did the donors gift him the
money out of the goodness of their hearts or do they expect something in return,
or were these payments made as a result of past favors? Or anticipated favors
relying on his wife's largesse as a future United States President or as
Secretary of State? Hmmm.
According to the New York Times on December 18th (see 2. below)
"Some of her husband’s biggest backers have much at stake in the policies that
President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming administration adopts toward their
regions or business ventures." Hmmm (again).
In the higher echelons of private or public industry that would be a deal
breaker right there. Yet she still got the job. It slid by because most elected
officials are allegedly up to their elbows in this sweet sticky pie.
How do we rid ourselves of these breeches of public trust? Lets run through a
few obvious solutions.
First, politicians should not be allowed to accept gifts – cash or in-kind –
ever. No lunches, trips, golf outings, hookers, booze, shows, games, nights
away, vacations, strippers, home improvements, no gifts of any kind. Any and all
expenses incurred by a politician in the course of carrying out their duties
should be audited by the Federal Government and reimbursed accordingly. No
outside donations; not even a slice of pizza.
Next, all Congressional bills that include public spending should be transparent
and open to public scrutiny prior to voting. No more earmarks, pork or behind
closed door deals. Post them online.
Demand that elected officials take a vow of donation poverty. After their
term is over, personal gifts, donations for their “foundations,” should be
pre-vetted by the Federal Government. No if, ands or buts; no small print; no use
of loopholes or gray interpretation of rules.
Finally, election financing should be monitored more closely by the Federal
Government and the current rules on limited private donations further
consolidated to track donors.
The penalty for non-compliance with these new rules? Threat of crucifixion has
always been an effective deterrent, however, immediate removal from office would
be sufficient.
From our end as ‘the people’ that Lincoln spoke about, we have to make a
important decision; and soon. Either we allow the toilet traders of influence to
continue their heinous activities or we don’t. It's up to us.
The question is how; how do we implement change?
Perhaps 300 million emails to President Obama would get the message across.
Here's how to reach him:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.
Done.
PS.
If you want to keep an eye on what’s happening in government spending check the Center for Responsive Politics
(http://www.opensecrets.org) a
lobbying watchdog group.
References:
1. BBC:
Clintons' earnings exceed $100m - 04/05/08
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7331834.stm
2.
New York Times: In Clinton List, a Veil
Is Lifted on Foundation - 12/18/08
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/us/politics/w19clinton.html?_r=1
12809