Back in the 1960s Flannery O'Conner wrote a short story: "Everything That Rises Must Converge." It had to do with generational insensitivity between a mother and son and between generations on the issue of race in society. In reading a recent piece by Tom Edsall ("The Lobbyist in the Gray Flannel Suit," New York Times, May 14, 2012) this title came to mind in a totally different context. The context is the lobbying maze in Washington and the convergence of dozens of noxious weeds in the garden of government into a handful of giant predator thorn bushes now devouring that garden.
Of the handful, the largest by far is WPP (originally Wire and Plastic Products: is there a metaphor here?) with headquarters in London, over 150,000 employees in 2,500 offices spread around 107 countries. It, together with one or two conglomerating competitors, represents a fourth branch of government, vacuuming up former senators and House members, and their spouses and families, key committee staffs, former senior administration officials of both parties and several administrations, and ambassadors, diplomats, and retired senior military officers.
WPP has swallowed giant public relations, advertising, and lobbying outfits such as Hill+Knowlton and Burson-Marsteller, along with literally dozens of smaller members of the highly lucrative special interest and influence manipulation world. Close behind WPP is the Orwellian-named Omnicom and another converger vaguely called Intergroup. According to Mr. Edsall, WPP had billings last year of $72.3 billion, larger than the budgets of quite a number of countries.
With a budget so astronomical, think how much good WPP can do in the campaign finance arena, especially since Citizens United. The possibilities are almost limitless. Why pay for a senator or congresswoman here or there when you can buy an entire committee? Think of the banks that can be bailed out, the range of elaborate weapons systems to be purchased, the protection from Congressional scrutiny that can be paid for, the economic policies that can be manipulated.
This business is no longer about votes up or down on particular measures that may emerge in Congress or policies made in the White House. This is about setting agendas, deciding what should, and should not, be brought up for hearings and legislation. We have gone way beyond mere vote buying now. The converging Influence World represents nothing less than an unofficial but enormously powerful Fourth Branch of Government.
To whom is this branch of government accountable? Who sets the agenda for its rising army of influence mechanics? How easily will it be not only to go from office to lucrative lobby, but even more importantly from lucrative lobby to office? Where are its loyalties if it is manipulating and influencing governments around the world? Other than as a trough of money of gigantic proportions, how does it view the government of the United States?
Keep in mind: America's Founders knew one thing. The republics of history all died when narrow interests overwhelmed the common good and the interests of the commonwealth.
O'Conner took her story title from a belief of the French Jesuit philosopher Teilhard de Chardin. Teilhard believed that all good would rise and that all that rose would eventually converge. We pray that he was right.
But in the realm of 21st century American politics the opposite is surely coming true.
Follow Gary Hart on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gary__hart
Eric T. Schneiderman: Protecting Democracy in the Wake of Citizens United
I agree with the article and I would suggest two things...
We are so deep into this problem now that the only way out is through widespread knowledge..... and consequent action.....by We the People. The very people we entrust with the power to legislate are now functionally corrupt, hence, its hard to realistically envision a solution coming from them.
Unfortunately, we're nowhere near that kind of universal understanding. Yes, voters are angry, but a lot of it is misplaced and misinformed. And, mistakenly, a lot of it tends to head towards the Presidency......simply because it's convenient, and, because of a misunderstanding of how government truly works.
As for the WPP's of the world, they are not the problem......they are merely symptoms of the problem. A political process that essentially requires politicians to solicit campaign funding, coupled with well funded special interests will always give rise to opportunists in the middle, ready to collect 15% as the middleman in a transaction of funds.
Get the money out of the political process....and the political subsidiaries of WPP and all the rest will become shadows of their former selves.
When every Mall looks the same, when we are buying goods/services that come from subsidiaries of just a few Giant Corps, when these mega corps are permitted to acquire businesses outside their core business then we are merely controlled by 'Corporation' ... one of the things our Founding Fathers didn't want .... Chartered Corporations controlling everything.
Lobbyists infest Washington like locusts in a cornfield. Robert Kaiser described the details of this self-serving system in his book:
"So Much Damn Money" Robert G. Kaiser
http://napoleonlive.info/what-you-think/get-the-money-out-of-politics/
22 years ago, a new political term was coined and introduced in a letter to the ANN ARBOR NEWS on MAY 4, 1990.
The term was ..................POLLoCRACY ie the POWER of the POLLS.
If you have noticed this PUBLIC OPINION political polling is trying again to INFLUENCE the elections by suddenly declaring that RMONEY is AHEAD of Obama.!!??
That is an obvious sign that POLLOCRATS (Pollsters with a political agenda ) are trying to ADVANCE Rmoney.
People should be AWARE and also BEWARE of the Poll numbers because they do influence the elections by BOOSTING the MORALE of one group and Depressing the other.
PLEASE PEOPLE ...........JUST GO OUT and VOTE for a DEMOCRATIC AMERICA
NOT a REPUBLICAN America.
OBAMA + DEM MAJORITY in NOV 2012
F&F'd.
~ Frantz Fanon
How UNPATRIOTIC these PLutocrats are !
GOOGLE :
`1- PLUTOCRACY 2- DemoCracy 3- POLLOCRACY
CRACY from Greek KRATOS meaning POWER RULE
so you have a choice in 2012 :
PLUTOCRACY (GOP) or DEMOCRACY ( Democratic Party )
Faved
OWS
OWS
OWS
OWS
OWS
EVEN if all you wrote here is correct.....your prescription is COUNTER Productive.
LET me tell you why.
In the Mid TERM election 2010.........all those 82+ NEW comers were BANKROLLED by the VERY PLUTOCRATS KOCH brother etc........of the TEAbagger movemnt.
SO if we were to listen to your UNwise advice we would be throwing out the 78 ??!! Marxist according to Rep ..WEST...AHA in order to replace them with the rest of the TEAbaggers waiting in the wing.
A CLEVER stategy is to PREPARE A BUNCH of BETTER ALTERNATIVE. since we are less than 6 months away from 2012 election, we better not throw them all out and COME OUT to DEFEAT the GOPTers.