Special interests and evil lobbyists

Sometimes I'm surprised, though I shouldn't be, at how easily American voters are swayed into believing things that either aren't true or are grossly distorted. If you listen to candidates for political office talk for long enough you'll often hear them refer to lobbyists and/or special interests. Usually, the reference is a negative one like "my opponent is beholden to special interests." As a result special interests and those who advocate for them have become some sort of mythical bogeyman. Special interests=bad, lobbyists=bad. Of course I don't believe this is the case, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this at this moment. So let's take a look at so-called special interests and lobbyists and judge for ourselves whether they are generally good or bad or neither.

Let's start with special interests. What is a special interest? What makes them special? Simply put, a special interest is a group that would like to influence policy in a way that benefits the group. Nothing more. It's really important to understand that every law, every policy promulgated by government affects someone. So if a law is going to be passed that affects you, you sure as hell would like to be heard in the process.

As a result, special interests can run the gamut from citizen member organizations like AARP and the NRA to industry trade associations and labor unions. In essence, special interests are made up of PEOPLE. People like you and I. If you own stock in a corporation and that corporation is in a trade association, that association is more than likely trying to influence policy on behalf of its member corporations and thus their shareholders, meaning you.

What's really important to remember about special interests is that there is usually more than one special interest group involved in an issue. For example the oil companies might want to drill for oil in a part of the country that's currently off limits. They have a special interest in the issue. But so does the Sierra Club and other environmental groups. And this is where lobbyists come in.

A lobbyist is someone whose job it is to advocate on behalf of other people. They use relationships they have with policy makers to try to influence policies that affect their clients. There is nothing dishonorable about being a lobbyist. Well respected groups like AARP and CANF employ lobbyists all the time. Why? Well because a lobbyist is knowledgeable about the legislative process and already has relationships with the right people. It's like an actor hiring an agent. You need someone with connections to get the outcome that you desire.

So how do lobbyists get their connections and their influence? Obviously the media tends to focus on campaign contributions made by special interests and lobbyists and immediately see a quid pro quo there as if the special interest group had bought the legislator's vote. I suppose this does happen, but as I stated, often there are other special interests on the other side of the issue that are trying to get a legislator's vote. Sometimes you'll see that candidates take money from groups on both sides of an issue. For example a legislator may take money from trial lawyers but also from a medical association. On certain issues like malpractice lawsuit reform, these two sides are enemies.

But there are other ways lobbyists gain influence. One of the most important ways is by furnishing information. For example if you are a lobbyist for AARP you might submit a report to a legislator's staff about how Social Security benefits are not keeping up with the cost of inflation. This is information that the legislator or his staffers could not possibly get on their own and if they could it might take years to master the subject matter enough to figure it out. Special interests, because they are looking out for the interests of their membership, have this type of data at the tip of their fingers. And just because a lobbyist provides data doesn't mean that another representing the opposing side isn't presenting contradictory data. In a way the legislator then has to evaluate both sides, consider the opinions of his constituents and also the general ideology of his party and render a decision on how he will vote on a particular matter.

Lobbying firms usually represent a portfolio of clients and like any service based professionals live by their reputations. If a lobbyist gives a legislator bad information that lobbyist is going to lose credibility.

In short lobbyists are like attorneys. They advocate on behalf of their clients using any means at their disposal, conscious of the fact that their tactics will be scrutinized. Like attorneys their role is part of an adversarial process. They are going up against other lobbyists that represent the flip side of an issue. Ultimately, each vote winds up with a winning side and a losing side. The losing side will always have the argument that the winning side got their win in an underhanded manner and state that "lobbyists wrote that bill!" What they won't say is that if they had won, then lobbyists would have also written that bill.

Bottom line is that neither you nor I have the luxury of going to Washington to try to influence the legislative process on our behalf. That's why special interest groups and lobbyists are indispensable part of our representative democracy. Next time someone throws the words "special interests" and lobbyists around in a pejorative way, ask them if they own mutual funds. Those corporations whose shares they own are looking out for their interests as shareholders. Ask them if they belong to a labor union. Ask them if their employer is part of industry trade association. Chances are these people are part of special interests groups that have lobbyists working on their behalf without even knowing it. Even if they aren't connected in any way with a special interest, there are probably special interest groups out there working on issues they agree with. For example an animal lover may not be part of any group but there are groups out there working on behalf of animals.

It's time to learn about issues and do our due diligence as voters and stop blaming others for our ignorance. You can only hold your legislator accountable if you know both sides of the issue, how your legislator voted, and why? You may disagree with the legislator's position, but that doesn't mean he arrived at it because of underhanded lobbyists.

Posted by Henry Louis Gomez at February 25, 2008 02:49 PM

Comments

Posted by: PTG at February 25, 2008 03:12 PM

Posted by: Angel Rodriguez at February 25, 2008 03:32 PM

Posted by: Henry "Conductor" Gomez at February 25, 2008 03:45 PM

Posted by: Zhangliqun at February 25, 2008 05:03 PM