Two simple and serious questions.

[LeftyFingerPop]

In a Democratic society, why is lobbying legal?

Why is lobbying pressure allowed to over ride the will of the people as determined by polls?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

1. Don't they hide behind the First Amendment?

[LeftyFingerPop]

2. I don't know...

Hence my question.

On the surface, lobbying seems to turn a Democracy into some different form of government.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

8. I think that this is what they argued when they were fighting Obama's attempts to squash some of

them.

Here's an article:

""What disqualifies lobbyists from exercising their First Amendment rights?" said J. Keith Kennedy, a top lobbyist for the Washington firm Baker Donelson."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-03-27-obama-lobbyists_N.htm

[LuvNewcastle]

3. Because corporations are people

and money is speech.:eyes:

[LeftyFingerPop]

5. Well the thing is, it is not just corporations, it is special interest groups also...

who have the will and resources to apply political pressure.

This seems to negate any true democratic process.

[NJmaverick]

4. My feeling is the problem isn't the lobbyist. It's the cash that those lobbyist are allowed to

throw around.

[LeftyFingerPop]

10. I agree, if a lobbyist wants to plead a case to a politician, that is good because then...

anyone can lobby. No monetary resources are needed.

The fact that the common man/woman cannot lobby, in my mind, negates democratic process.

[DrDan]

6. why should it be illegal. They represent a specified faction.

What is wrong with that? We have unions representing certain groups. Congressional representives represent a specific faction of people.

[LeftyFingerPop]

11. Because of the money...

It is unfair unless everyone has the means to lobby.

[DrDan]

20. actually I hate the lobbyists - just wanted to play devil's advocate and

test the waters.

That money . . . and what it can buy. It is obscene . . . and so injurious to the U.S.

But I don't know how you can ever stop those in congress from being bought. Have we reached a point of no return - I often wonder.

[Dr. Strange]

21. Everyone does have the means to lobby.

What they don't have is the guarantee that their representative will listen to them as much as if they were handed some cash.

[Angry Dragon]

7. It has more to do with control of lobbying

When one group or individual is given preference then that is where you run into problems. Control the money and then you might be able to have a fairer government.

[LeftyFingerPop]

12. Agreed. n/t

[boston bean]

9. corporations are persons, ding a ling! nt

[elehhhhna]

13. b/c our Senators practice extreme capitalis i.e., "pay me or eff off."

[LeftyFingerPop]

14. And that is why lobbying, in its current form, should be illegal. n/t

[HopeHoops]

15. MONEY TALKS!

And Congress is full of money whores.

[LeftyFingerPop]

16. Exactly, and that is why we do not have anything that resembles a democracy. n/t

[lob1]

17. Lobbying isn't the problem. Money exchanging hands is the problem.

No one should be able to give a politician a nickel without going to jail. Elections should be paid by us, the people.

[sandnsea]

18. Non-profits have lobbyists too

If the Sierra Club and AARP can hire people to represent their members' interests in Congress, how can they say it's illegal for a for-profit company to do the same thing.

Even if we did away with lobbyists and PAC's, we would never be able to do away with the right of a CEO to speak to a Senator. The reason we have registered lobbyists in the first place is to try to keep track of these people; and the reason we have PACs is to give citizens an opportunity to use a strength in numbers strategy against business interests.

We need to reform the system, but we also need to look at our own interests while we do it.

[WT Fuheck]

19. The US is not a democratic society.

It is a capitalist oligarchy.

[Old Codger]

22. That is spelled

$democrat$, $republican$ and $lobbyi$t... they are all pronounced MONEY. It is really that simple...

[mdmc]

23. freedom of speech

[Stinky The Clown]

24. 1st Amendment and corporate personhood

[DefenseLawyer]

25. I don't blame the lobbyists

I blame the politicians that they buy. Lobbyists would have no power at all if no one listened to them.