Lobbying

Righty: In a society dominated by left-wing media, we need the influence of lobbies in Congress to protect the interests of Christians, gun-owners, Israel, oil companies, unborn children and other groups whose rights would otherwise be trampled by the opposition.

Lefty: In a society dominated by the religious right, we need the influence of lobbies in Congress to protect the interests of women, gays, minorities, secularists, environmentalists, the Pro-Choice movement and other groups whose rights would otherwise be trampled by the opposition.

The New Moderate:

Lobbyists are little more than educated pimps working on behalf of special interest groups. I don’t know how they ever insinuated their way into the halls of Congress, but The New Moderate would like to show them the way out. If our elected representatives need to be educated in matters of policy, let them read Policy Review. Better yet, let them talk to their constituents.

Lobbies use money, promises, pressure and privilege to exert undue influence in the House and Senate. They essentially own most of our Congressional representatives, courtesy of thinly veiled bribes that fund re-election campaigns and pet projects. And they’re a self-perpetuating phenomenon, because each group makes its opposition group necessary. The reason we need an environmental lobby is, at least in part, because of the powerful oil lobby. If we eliminated the latter, we might not need the former.

The legislative branch of our government is supposed to be run by representatives of the people. Lobbies push the agendas of special interests, frequently at the expense of the public good. They’re a divisive, unsavory, illegitimate influence and should be banned. All of them. Period.

Summary: How did these professional influencers ingratiate themselves with our elected representatives? Toss them all out!