CORRUPTION IN POLITICS IS NOT NEW, ALL LOBBYISTS BUY INFLUENCE

 

 

 

David M. Bresnahan
January 6, 2006
NewsWithViews.com

Corruption in politics is nothing new, and revelations about influence peddling by Jack Abramoff should not surprise anyone.

Politicians cannot seem to get rid of money tied to Jack Abramoff fast enough. So far at least 36 have returned campaign donations that came from Abramoff or groups tied to him.

Although it is the Republicans getting the most attention in the press, at least 13 of those who are giving money back are Democrats, including Hillary Rodham Clinton -- (D) New York.

My point? There are good and bad politicians in both parties.

The problem is simple to understand -- lobbyists. But fixing the problem is difficult because lobbyists control the politicians and have what politicians want -- money. Every time campaign reform becomes and issue the politicians just simply change the rules about the way lobbyists can give them money.

What they need to do is to get rid of lobbyists and their money all together, but that will never happen.

The job of a lobbyist is to gain access to government officials and elected leaders, and then influence those people. They do this by providing what elected leaders need and want -- money and things of value. It takes massive amounts of money to get elected, and lobbyists are the greatest resource.

Abramoff's job was to buy influence. He was not unique. He was doing what lobbyists do. There is a fine line that lobbyists are not supposed to cross, and he crossed it bringing down his empire and perhaps the empires of some elected officials as well.

Politicians are scrambling to figure out how much money they received from Abramoff so they can quickly give it back, as if that some how clears them of any wrong-doing. What they should be doing is getting rid of all the lobbyists and all their money, but they will never do that.

A politician cannot survive without special interest money, unless all politicians are forced to survive without that money. There needs to be a level playing field. One noble politician cannot usually succeed by refusing to associate with lobbyists, and refusing to take their money.

Lobbyists can use their money to help a politician win, and then help to keep that politician in office if the politician gives the lobbyist what he wants. Ignore them, or even fight against them and the politician's days in office are numbered. Lobbyists can use their money to defeat a politician just as easily as they can use it to keep that politician in office. The lobbyists control what is going on in Washington, and anyone who says different is either a liar or sadly mistaken.

There is only one solution. The lobbyists and all their money must go. The only lobbyists should be the individual people representing their own issues and concerns. The only money should come from those same people.

Unfortunately, that is an idealistic point of view, and in the real world of U.S. politics such a drastic move is unlikely. Why? Because the lobbyists control Washington and would never let the people they control actually eliminate them.

Abramoff taught the other lobbyists and the politicians only one lesson -- don't get caught.

© 2006 David M. Bresnahan - All Rights Reserved