It`s time to stop all lobbyists

[slater71]

Something has to be done and the time is right now.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Hear, hear.

[Jawja]

2. As I do agree with you

wholeheartedly, it won't happen. The SCOTUS will rule they have the right to buy - I mean influence - Congress with their "free speech" dollars.

[Atman]

3. The repubs call lobbying "free" speech

Therefore, it should be required by law to be actually FREE, with no cash attached, no remuneration of any kind. "People" should have access to Congress. Unfortunately, "people" has come to mean "them with boatloads of cash" and actual people are no longer even allowed anywhere close to congress due to the Patriot Act.

They want to cry "free" speech, take of the price tags.

[izzie]

4. Well as it is done right now. We are all sort of lobbyists

We send the guy there to do things for us. I do think they have really gone to far. When is Congress working any how? When I first got c-span '94 the house was always working as I used to paint and have the TV on in the back ground. It was fun to hear the house. Like a show on wit. Now you are lucky to get them on c-span and if they are in c-span must have then on. I guess they are at lunch or on nice trips.

[FloridaPat]

5. I agree completely.

[cascadiance]

6. We therefore need national "clean elections" campaign financing...

Even the Bill Gates and Steve Forbes of the world won't be allowed to spend their own money on campaigns if they choose "clean elections" public financing, if they use the rules in place in Arizona, Maine, and now Connecticut.

Special interests would then have to lobby more on merits of what they are asking for and how much it REALLY meets the needs of the citizenry, rather than bartering for political favors to help candidates with campaign financing.

[Double T]

7. Ban the bastards that promote corruption and bribery........

the influence peddling in congress has got to come to an end!!!!!

[roger72645]

8. Absolutely...............

I never thought I'd ever advocate this, but a good first step would be federally funded elections with contributions from any other source prohibited. At least the playing field would be level.

The lobbyists would have a lot harder job of influence peddling if they were removed from the election process.

[DanCa]

9. Uhm does that include those that lobby for our side as well?

Or just the lobbying groups we disagree with? I think that a blanket lobbying ban is a bad idea instead we should be enforcing the anti corruption rules.

[bryant69]

11. Good question.

I mean it's one thing to say Standard Oil shouldn't have access, but what about the NAACP?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[cascadiance]

12. The key is to take away the NEED for campaign financing money

If candidates that wanted to run realistic, viable, and no strings attached campaigns had a means to do so from sources that are not coming with a "price tag" like it is now (aka public financing as a solution), that is the key. It's not to say that there wouldn't be some lobbying, and potentially even some financial support if done in certain ways, but if you take away the "exchanging favors" mentality that exists now almost as a requirement for those who run for politics that aren't wealthy like Bill Gates or Steve Forbes, that would get rid of a lot of the problems associated with corruption I think. The key is to make politicians that care the ability to not HAVE to solicit non-public campaign financing as the only realistic means for getting elected.

[DanCa]

13. Well when I do lobbying all I know is that I never got paid for it.

Well except for the occasional refund on plane fare and a break on housing. Every other expense comes out of it comes out of my own pocket. Oh Dick Durbin did give his donkey pin off his lapel when i started to have really bad Parkinson's flares but I assumed it was just a gift shop pin and nothing fancy. I am not degradding the gesture though and I think it was awfully nice of him to do it.

[x50600]

15. No.

You only ban those that should be illegal to lobby for! Like the oil companies, NRA, Tobbaco companies, and other horrible * subsidiarys.

[onenote]

10. lobbying needs to be cleaned up, but I'm not sure what it means to "stop"

"all lobbyists". For example, should environmental groups that opposed ANWR be "stopped"? Who is going to get the info to sympathetic members of Congress so they can muster the best arguments? Who is going to help staff write technically complex regulatory provisions in legislation? While there are some Hill staffers that are specialists, most members of COngress and their staffs are generalists. Without any lobbying, the power of committee chairs, and more frighteningly, their staffers, would increase, since there would be little that any other member could do to rebut them.

The problem isn't with lobbying per se. Its with the funding of campaigns. When lobbyists become fundraisers rather than advocates for the substantive positions of their clients, that's when the problems arise.

onenote

[SoCalDem]

14. Easy, Peasy!

Re-regulate the airwaves, and mandate that a special politicqal channel be created, where candidates for nationally held offices house/senate/pres, can get equal time to enlighten us on their policy stances.

debates at least 4 of them..would be on Cspan with high school debate coach as moderator(chosen at random)..

2 townhall style "debates" with audience chosen randomly.

Lobbying of any kind is grounds for immediate removal from office and felony charges for official and lobbyist.


term limits (2) consecutive in either body of congress..change lenghth of service too..senate 4 years..house 4 years....(after 8 yrs in house, they would either have to sit out a term or run for senate)..new blood and fluidity is a good thing :)

[wiggs]

16. Agree. Lobbyists are why we don't have a true opposition party. nt