November/December 2008 / Features
Two Views of Lobbying
The role of lobbyists in politics, particularly in campaigns, was a major issue in the election until the financial services meltdown. In this point-counterpoint, a Capitol Hill lobbyist and a well-known Texas-based populist take very different views of the lobbyist’s role.
Jim Hightower notes that there are 65 lobbyists for every member of Congress. “Lincoln’s ideal of a ‘government of, by, and for the people,’” he says, “is obscured and perverted by this swarm of influence peddlers in corporate harness.”
He lists some of the many former Congress members who are now lobbying, and calls Congress a training ground to develop lobbyists.
Nicholas Allard of the Washington firm Patton Boggs defends the profession. He argues that lobbyists are guides and interpreters for those who petition the government on complex issues.
Lobbyists, Allard says, enhance the voices of a multitude of interests, public and private.
He notes that the Supreme Court has consistently held that efforts to curtail lobbying raise First Amendment concerns, and that the right to petition does include the right to hire a lobbyist.
“The simple fortunate truth is that our government can not be bought,” says Allard.
“Anyone who says that our government cannot be bought is either kidding themselves or trying to kid you and me,” says Hightower.
