A Lobbyist's Failed Defense

If the preposterous piece by Mr. Joel Jankowsky in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal had been published in any other newspaper, we'd guess it was a spoof. Mr. Jankowsky, a lobbyist and partner at Akin Gump, bemoans the limits being placed on lobbying activities, even though those limits remain weak and porous. "Talented women and men who registered themselves as lobbyists under the Lobbying Disclosure Act are being excluded from contributing their expertise at a critical time in our nation's history," writes Mr. Jankowsky.

Mr. Jankowsky rightly argues that big campaign contributors have far too much influence and access in the Administration, but does so through a contorted logic that completely whitewashes the role of lobbyists in the money-choked politics of Washington. Lobbyists may indeed be talented people of expertise, but they are part of a dysfunctional system that has turned policy over to the highest corporate bidder and that puts our economy and society in jeopardy. Lobbying needs far stronger constraints than the tiny but salutary steps being put into place.

Lobbyists for powerful corporations are crawling over every piece of pending legislation- from health care, to banking regulation, to climate change -- keeping a chokehold on deep reforms. Jankowsky says that lobbying is transparent. That's true in the trivial sense that lobbyists register and declare their earnings. Of course it's the activities behind closed doors and off the record that are killing our economy and confidence in the political system.

Special interests have already spent $2.5 billion dollars this year on 13,000 lobbyists like Mr. Jankowsky and his colleagues at the firm Akin Gump, with many contributing their expertise to gutting financial oversight of Wall Street, delaying control of greenhouse gas emissions, and preventing real controls on health insurance costs. (All data are drawn from http://www.opensecrets.org.) Akin Gump has lobbied in the past for AIG, the scandalous insurance company that has cost taxpayers more than $100 billion in direct bailouts. Akin Gump is a favorite lobbying firm for big oil, major health-sector companies, and financial firms that helped to lead us to catastrophe. Already in 2009, Akin Gump has collected more than $23 million in lobbying fees.

Mr. Jankowsky assures us that lobbying has little to do with "the influence of money on the policy-making process," since lobbyists are "professional advocates" who have not given any money to the President's campaign. He should know that lobbyists and campaign contributors have quite an overlap. Akin Gump employees have already contributed $469,000 in campaign funds in the 2009-10 election cycle, including $62,000 from Mr. Jankowsky himself. A lobbying firm like Akin Gump curries favor and standing through the campaign contributions of the firm's partners. It wins lobbying contracts in view of its political standing. Whether the campaign contributions are a direct pass-thru of the lobbying fees, or are independent of those fees, the result is similar: corporate money finds its way into the campaign coffers via the lobbying firms, and everybody - from the candidate to the lobbyist to the corporate interest - is pleased with the closed circle of money, camaraderie, and favored policy positions.

Lobbyists for major corporations win their influence in many other ways as well. Perhaps the most direct is that they are part of the well-heeled revolving door of Washington employment. Mr. Jankowsky himself went from being Legislative Assistant to House Speaker Carl Albert to his current employment at Akin Gump. There are dozens more examples in Akin Gump, which is just one among many major revolving doors in Washington. Indeed, influential lobbying firms have an endless stream of good jobs to offer the members and staff of Congress and the Executive branch after serving in the US Government.

American politics is suffocating on corporate money. Corporate lobbyists constitute a major conduit for the purchase of public policies. The wild excesses of lobbying and corporate power have contributed to our deepening crises in finance, health care, transport, the environment, and more. At the least Mr. Jankowsky could spare us the pontificating and stop rubbing our noses in the mess.

 

Follow Jeffrey Sachs on Twitter: www.twitter.com/earthinstitute

Comments

[Chris Gerrard]

Railing against the ill effects of the actions of lobbyists is becoming less and less satisfying. There is no defense left against the charge that the influence of lobbyists systemically confers benefits to those with the means to hire the lobbyists to influence the politicians.

The fundamental problem is that corporations are recognized as legal persons with the right to petition their government. This necessarily results in an environment benefiting corporations with the motives and resources to hire these expensive advocates to influence the politicians, drive the system to the endpoint where corporate interests trump those of real human people.

Corporations, in their essential nature as profit-seeking entities with the accumulated resources sufficient to sway government to their narrow self interest, are first class persons. Real human people are second class citizens lacking the resources to compete for the opportunity to influence our government.

Correcting this inequity will require stripping the right of personhood from corporations. The corporate right of personhood is granted by the political, legal, and social context, and can be removed by an act of Congress.

Let the law become the guardian of the rights of real human persons, protecting us from the corporate forces that elevate their interests above ours.

Once corporations do not have the right to petition the government the influence of corporate lobbying will be curtailed. Only when the right to petition the government is restricted to real human people will the government become truly of, by, and for the people.

[Billy Hell]

Like I said in response to Stanley Kutlers article today:

The US of A's system of government, at federal and state level, from the White House down to state Houses of Reps has to be the most corrupt on the planet.

With the campaign funding system it uses, not only the electoral system is manipulated but even the drafting of legislation by corporate interests is permitted ad then pressure applied to get it passed.

The people have no say in who gets to run for office, they exert little if any influence on the media which shapes opinions with it's biased "reporting", and once these officials are elected have no say over the direction an official will vote in or the contents of legislation.

This is not democracy by any stretch of the imagination.

[C Pollard]

It's not about the lobbyist's. It's about the corrupt politicians we keep sending back to Washington. Until we change them this will continue.

[elkabong]

It's a mistake to see it as a matter of personality when the problem is systemic. If they don't get re-elected, they go to work on K-Street.

[C Pollard]

There will always be money in politics, whether it's public or private. If they don't do what we elected them to do it will end if we quit sending them back.

[Carl Caroli]

Our legislators are like junkies hooked on heroin. They know it's bad but the can't stop. Tomorrow, they will get clean, but today, they need that fix. Lobbyists are like the junk dealers. They view themselves as businessmen providing a product there is a demand for. The smart ones don't actually use the junk, they just profit from it - to them it's a business - they justify there existence because, hey, if there weren't users they wouldn't have a job. They feel no remorse or responsibility for the results of their products. The cartels supplying the dealers are like our corporations. They know there will always be a user for their products and the more users, the better. They strive to make inroads into communities that have low saturation. They give it away to get users hooked. The massive amounts of money they make is used to facilitate its distribution by greasing all the right wheels. The bigger they are, the more legitimate they try to become, diversifying, infiltrating the government and influencing legislation, making it ever harder to break the cycle.
We need to break the cycle. The only way to do it is attack the problem on all fronts simultaneously. We need to put our legislators in rehab - no junk, period. We need shut down the dealers - get lobbyists out of Washington and away from legislators. And most of all we need to stop the cartels by keeping corporate money and leaders out of government.

[hollybork]

Carl, it is chilling how perfect your analogy is between junkies/dealers and politicians. Great post.

[elkabong]

EXACTLY!

Campaign finance is the disease - everything else, merely a symptom!

As a practical matter, it may be difficult Constitutionally to prohibit private money from entering a campaign. However, if they wanted to, they could take back some airtime on the (trillions of dollars worth of) public airwaves they give away for nothing. That would greatly reduce the amount of money one would need to run a successful campaign. The question is how to make them. The status-quo is a deadly, siren's call.

[Stevealmi]

How about we break the United States into 5 or 6 separate countries with their own tax systems. If you make the nut smaller, maybe the squirrels may not try so hard to get it. ( rats in this case)

[booker52]

It's called the selling of America. If we wait for those we elect to write the reforms on lobbing we wait forever. Why kill the golden goose that lines their pocket?? None that I can see. We may elect the officals, but our interests don't benefits their relection campaigns. Sad but true. What we need if we can get it is reform on how people are elected and how they are funded.

[saveal]

The highest corporate bidder "George Soros" is a means to and end, which is to but the American economy and society in jeopardy.


http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/barack_obama_and_the_strategy.html

[elkabong]

Funny, you never hear the "George Soros" paranoids mention Richard Mellon Scaife, Rupert Murdoch the Walton family and others like them on the right.

[Aneesia]

America under George Bush (Republicans) was sold out to business interests....I don't see much happening to change the status quo in Washington D.C. under Obama.
Maybe we should start using local currencies and developing local economies and screw Washington.

[PhilipTaylor]

EXACTLY THE POINT! Thanks as the Campaign Funding is the PROBLEM!

But The Elections show Americans are Smarter than the Lobbyists and SEE the INEQUALITY!

WALL STREET LOST BIG TIME TONIGHT! MAIN STREET/URBAN AMERICANS WON BIG TIME!

American People TRUMPED the BANKSTERS L00T!

All the G0LD on Wall Street can NOT BUY ENOUGH ADVERTISING TO SWAY VOTERS!

"BLOOMY and CORNSIGN" spent $371 MILLION = One BARELY W0N IN NY + ONE LOST!

L00T to Politicians is NO longer the ANSWER!

Lets AVOID THE SPIN and Try to LEARN from this DEFEAT and Correct Our Democratic Path!

0bama made at least SIX appearances for these two candidates!

Americans REJECTED DEMOCRATIC NEGLECT OF MAIN STREET/URBAN AMERICANS!

Americans REJECTED DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT OF WALL STREET Welfare!

Funny how supporting Wall Street and Ignoring Main Street can B1T you in the ASSETS!

$23,700,000,000,000 to Wall Street - The CR00KS causing the CRISIS! TH1EVES!
$00,050,000,000,000 to Main Street - The V1CT1MS of this CRISIS!

That is $474 to Wall Street for every $1 to Main Street! Americans are MAD as HECK!
[Thanks to FED Reserve=Bernanke + Paulson + Githner/Summers!]

0bama must NOW move beyond Geithner/Summers and Emanue1!

Plouffe is a PERFECT Replacement for Emanue1! L1Z WARREN a perfect replacement for Geithner!

Anyone is better than Summers! Even Volcker is Better!
__________ __________ _________

Americans have SPOKEN! We are NOT going to take the R1CH D0M1NATING US!

AMERICANS will SPEAK LOUDER in 2010 if MAIN STREET/URBAN AMERICANS are M1STREATED and IGNORED!

[PhilipTaylor]

This is a "Coffee out the NOSE" statement by a Lobbyist from your article:

"Talented women and men who registered themselves as lobbyists under the Lobbying Disclosure Act are being excluded from contributing their expertise at a critical time in our nation's history."

If contributing = Writing the BILL or Finalizing the Bill then like the argument on Wall Street that Regulations and Income Limits hurt Innovations then LETS DO WITHOUT their contributions and innovations.

Here are some Wall Street Innovations we can do without:

Wall Street Innovation = Smart allocation of capital? Like it did 10+ years ago? N0!
Wall Street Innovation = THEFT of VALUE from the REAL ECONOMY? Yes!
Wall Street Innovation = PhD’s huddled over computers developing Nanosecond THEFT Tools
Wall Street Innovation = Massive Hidden FEES in Derivatives Skimmed into Employee Pockets
Wall Street Innovation = Selling High Risk obligation bearing delusional “AAA” SAFE rating?
Wall Street Innovation = Hidden paragraph explains Professionals don’t need to be overseen!
Wall Street Innovation = Senator an agency to protect consumers jeopardizes safety+soundness
Wall Street Innovation = F!ght taxing securities transactions = “disastrous” for entrepreneurs!

[john456]

Most of the posts on this blog believe that a lobby buys the legislators. Lobbies do contribute somewhat toa legislator's campaign, but it is the threat of "gangingup" on an uncooperative legislator that is a lobby's biggest stick. As a hypothetical example, suppose Ben Nelson of Nebraska were to support the Health Care Public Option. Consequently, in the next election significant amounts of money would be spent defeating him. I believe that it is that stick that keeps most of the "Blue Dogs" in swing states "in line." This threat also allows smaller amounts of money to be required to "influence" legislation. Divide with fear. As an actual example objectively look what happened to Cynthia McKinney's congressional district when she opposed AIPAC. Most lobbys act similarly and know that no national group will comes to the aid of the embattled legislator.

[jollyelle]

exactly

[dclobbyist]

Why is there no blame placed on the legislators who accept these so called "bribes"? There would be no harm if someone didn't take what was being offered.

[hollybork]

Good point. I still don't understand why a legislator taking a "contribution" from a business interest as a quid pro quo to vote for legislation benefitting that interest is not an illegal and indictable felony.

[bccmeteorites]

The only way to bring a semblance of fairness and equity into the system is accept the fact this conduct is bribery and extortion and start the prosecutions. There is no other way if we intend to keep this fake political system in place.

[Macready]

well saidbocmeteorites

[unionave]

The best approach to ridding Washington of most of the lobbyist is have all laws that directly affect the public voted on by the public . If health care was pushed through by referendum we'd all have a very Liberal health care . Even better than the members of our government . We'd expand the V.A. health care system to all Americans making Medicare , Medicaid , and all corporate health insurance obsolete . The system we presently have is a sham designed for the profit of the Washington insiders and their friends . If free trade agreements were approved by the public there wouldn't be any . We'd make laws that prohibited members of our federal government from accepting money or gifts of any kind from nations we give money to . This would get rid of the foreign lobbyist that operate the merry go round of the U.S. gives the money and our government members get their cut . We have allowed the gaggle in Washington to control out lives now it is time to do our own controlling of our lives .

[LushLife72]

Right on point. Amoral corporatism is killing our country. And lobbyists and their legislative lackeys, are the "front guard" to this national (and global) heist.