How does lobbying work?

April 19, 2004 9:45 AM

Lobbying -- I'm a political idiot. How exactly does lobbying work? Is it as simple as 'Big Corporations give Big Bucks to make sure they get what they want, politically?' Who does this money go to, exactly?

Any suggestions of sites/books to read on the subject are more than welcome.

posted by papercake to law & government (9 comments total)

Well you see the results of lobbying all the time in the press they will create studies and write press articles that end up being published as "news" but slant one way or another on a particular topic.

Or they create advertisement or public educational campaigns "paid for by.."

Lobbyists can create and run Trade Associations of which there are 10s of thousands (many HQ'd in the DC area) and put on conventions, magazines, etc..

They can also deal with legal issues such as mounting a legal campaign against or for a particular legislation.

You name it anything to promote a special interest.
posted by stbalbach at 10:12 AM on April 19, 2004

Don't forget the unbelievably pricey dinner parties, etc. for that special congressman you're wooing . . .
posted by Ryvar at 10:14 AM on April 19, 2004

One of the interesting phenomenons surrounding lobbying is the sheer number of retired Congresspeople who go on to become lobbyists themselves. This is called the "revolving door" effect and is seen a lot in the food industry [pdf]. So if you're a Congressperson getting wooed by lobbyists [who represent issues, goods, countries, all sorts of things] you not only have to consider the merit of their position and the amount of money they donate to your campaign or region [please read up on regulations concerning soft money versus hard money] but you also have to think that they might be in a good position to give you a job if you don't get re-elected. Congresspeople have many connections and this is a prime qualification for a lucrative lobbying job once you're no longer in Congress. The Center for Responsive Politics has a "search for a lobbyist" page that gives some more useful information about the system.
posted by jessamyn at 10:35 AM on April 19, 2004

I have a friend who works as a Washington lobbyist. She describes the job as going to congressional committee or subcommittee hearings and recording what every single speaker says about everything relevant to the organization on whos behalf she is lobbying. After that, research on the decision makers and their concerns is performed, enabling the lobbyist to effectively attempt to convince the person of the validity of the lobbying organization's position. Or so I understand.

The rules on accepting money are very strict, so little "bribery" or wining and dining takes place, at least as far as I've been told. But I'm sure there's lobbying like I've described, on behalf of non-profits or industry groups, and "lobbying" for big fat honkin' government contracts where all bets are off!
posted by loquax at 10:48 AM on April 19, 2004

It's nowhere near as simple as that, mostly.

That money goes either to election campaign funds or to political parties.*

But what happens is a lot more complex than money-buys-votes.

Consider a congresscritter from a district whose major employer is a large paper mill. The congressman gets donations from the paper industry, and from people who work in the paper industry. The congressman votes in ways that help the paper industry. Now, is the congressman voting that way because his vote is bought, or because he's voting the parochial interests of his district? It would be awfully hard to tell, neh?

An awful lot of lobbying looks like that -- congressman from North Carolina and Virginia supporting tobacco farmers and firms, and getting donations from them, etc -- and it would be very hard to make the valid inference that money buys votes.

Specifically, one thing you're very unlikely to see is a congressman voting in a way that's likely to piss off his constituents in more-or-less exchange for some campaign funds; it's cheaper and more effective just to not piss off your constituents. That, and members who do that tend to lose or leave one step ahead of the boot.

Money probably buys access, in the sense that donors are likely to get face time with a congressman. However, just about any constituent can get face time with a congressman too, if they're willing to bother going to a campaign event, or to make an appointment through staff. And congressman have a highly cultivated ability to take your money and then fuck you eight ways from Sunday.

A lot of lobbying takes the form of an interest group helping one or more factions in Congress make their case to the others -- come to us, Mr. Congressman, and we'll go ahead and lobby some of your colleagues (can you tell us which might be most receptive?), and we'll write up some statements about economic effects for you, and, hell, our lawyers will do the grunt-work of writing an initial version of the law. All we ask is that you let us help you (and maybe have a quiet chat alone).

Even laying aside all that, it's not clear which way causality flows. Do interest groups contribute and then weak ol' Congress rolls over and gives them what they want? Or are they aware of how intensely Congress could screw them if they really wanted to, and so donate to keep enough congresscritters from being pissed off at them?

*I'm not very fond of opensecrets because they use deceptive methods -- if an individual who works for the Department of State makes a contribution to Whoever, they count that contribution as *coming from* the Dept of State. Which is sufficiently factually incorrect to piss me off.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:05 PM on April 19, 2004

Is it as simple as 'Big Corporations give Big Bucks to make sure they get what they want, politically?'

No, if for no reason other than the fact that intensive lobying is conducted by labor unions, the ACLU, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and virtually every other major interest group -- liberal and conservative.

And no, if for no reason other than the fact that you, too, can technically engage in lobbying by picking up the phone, calling your elected representative, and trying to persuade him or her to take a particular position on an issue.
posted by pardonyou? at 12:27 PM on April 19, 2004

is the congressman voting that way because his vote is bought, or because he's voting the parochial interests of his district? It would be awfully hard to tell, neh?

Not when you consider that each large corporation (for the most part) gives large donations to both the democrat and republican national committees.
posted by Tlogmer at 3:14 PM on April 19, 2004

It's human nature to favor acquaintances over strangers, and to favor close friends over mere acquaintances. The basic purpose of lobbying is to take advantage of this tendency by establishing a personal relationship with a politician, thus leading him to "naturally" favor your group's interests over the interests of people who have not sent a lobbyist (such as the ordinary citizen). Outright bribery is usually not necessary, although that's not to say it's not sometimes practiced.
posted by kindall at 10:13 AM on April 20, 2004

Not when you consider that each large corporation (for the most part) gives large donations to both the democrat and republican national committees.

Is that in fact the case? Or, given ROU_X's criticism of opensecrets:

I'm not very fond of opensecrets because they use deceptive methods -- if an individual who works for the Department of State makes a contribution to Whoever, they count that contribution as *coming from* the Dept of State. Which is sufficiently factually incorrect to piss me off.

is it merely that some employees of X corporation give money to Democrats, and other employees of X give money to Republicans, and this is reported as corporation X giving money to Republicans and Democrats?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:01 AM on April 20, 2004