Corporate Corruption

It's touching, really, that Bushco is so concerned about corporate First Amendment rights. If only they could extend that concern to those for whom the First Amendment was actually written--the American people. (Funny, but I can't find the words "the right of big business to buy legislators shall not be infringed" anywhere in the Bill of Rights.)

Clients' Rewards Keep K Street Lobbyists Thriving

...the return on investment in lobbying is often so substantial that experts and insiders agree that Washington's influence industry will continue to thrive no matter how lawmakers decide to rein it in.

Congress is crafting restrictions on lobbyists this year after the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal. The initial revisions from both Republicans and Democrats would reduce the amount of travel and dining that lobbyists could cover for lawmakers and require more disclosure of their activities. Other proposals would decrease the number of narrowly targeted appropriations, called earmarks.

But the new House majority leader, John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), has said he preferred more disclosure without the travel and meal restrictions. And the legislation under discussion would not eliminate earmarks entirely.

No one on Capitol Hill is suggesting a ban on lobbying, a change that would run counter to the First Amendment to the Constitution.

As a result, "lobbying will continue to grow," said Stephen J. Wayne, a political scientist at Georgetown University. The principal reason, said James A. Thurber, a lobbying expert at American University, is that "the investment in lobbying is minimal compared to the outcomes."

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