Pros And Cons Of The Revolving Door

A way that lobbyists use their power is by taking legislators out for drinks or nice

Dating back many decades, it appears that lobbying and politics have always gone hand and hand on any political stage. Lobbying has always had a strong presence in the legislation system. Lobbying is the process of offering campaign contributions, bribes, or information to policymakers for the purpose of achieving favorable policy outcomes. Conventional wisdom suggests that lobbying is the preferred mean for exerting political influence in rich countries and corruption in poor countries. The legislation is meant to benefit society and ensure that citizens are having their voices heard, instead of hindering them in favour of the multi-national corporations. Lobbying has a negative influence on legislations in both developed and developing

Today, career politicians are constantly looking for what will aid them in getting reelected. They become more loyal to their campaign fund contributers than to the people whom they represent. This increases the likelihood of having corrupted politicians in office, as they use the government as a vehicle to further their own career (Kurfirst, 1996, p. 123, 129). George Will, a well-known political journalist, was quoted as saying “[The] worst feature of professionalism in politics is that it obliterates the proper distance between the representatives and the represented” (Kurfirst, 1996, p. 125). Even James Madison agreed that legislators were meant to represent the people, not hold office as a career. In The Federalist No. 57 (1788), he wrote, “From this change of men must proceed a change of opinions; and from a change of opinions, a change of measures.” The lack of new faces in Congress today symbolizes that the American legislative branch is straying from its intended purpose.

Foreign governments often gain influence within Congress by hiring former members of Congress as lobbyists.

Also, how could we protect one aspect of the current system that we have in place so we never have all freshman Senators and Representatives in office. The danger would potentially lead to them possibly be persuaded into corruption by outside influences.

Since the creation of the United States government, political lobbying has played a large role in influencing the creation and modification of laws. The act of lobbying is to solicit or try to influence the votes of members of a legislative body (Dictionary.com). There has always been controversy surrounding the political lobbying system, due to the potential of corruption through bribery. Two important pieces of legislation became laws as a result of this controversy. The Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946 and the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 were created to prevent potential abuse within the political lobbying system.

Many controversial topics have surfaced recently, but one that tends to fly under the radar is lobbying. Lobbying is defined as a group of persons who work or conduct a campaign to influence members of a legislature to vote according to a group’s special interests (“Lobby”). Although average citizens are not fully aware of the issue, it is quite contentious in politics. For those who are against it, they believe that restrictions should be placed on lobbying because it distorts democracy. Lobbyists use money and cost-effective strategies to sway the opinions of lawmakers. Others see lobbyists as effective, political tour guides who help pass legislation. An analysis of the lobbying process reveals the outcomes are often

This means they will likely raise money in any way possible to increase their chances of winning. This leads many members of Congress to give less consideration to the needs of low-income individuals when developing legislation. Since these low-income individuals do not have the means to give large amounts of money to re-election campaigns, their views are often ignored. Many members of Congress endorse legislation that would benefit their largest donors. This leads to a Congress that is not a true representative of the broad interests across the United States (Flavin 2015).

One of the advantages that incumbents enjoy in congressional elections is due to “Pork barrel politics” this term is used when congressmen and senators focus government funds into their home

Corruption has no place in our government, period. The American people have a right to hold their elected officials to high ethical standards, and when their elected officials fail to meet such standards, the people have a responsibility to hold them accountable. In addition to standing for election every two years, Congress has ethics committee procedures it can utilize to censure or otherwise reprimand members who violate the rules. Members of Congress have to abide by the same laws as everyone else, and when laws are broken, they should be held accountable.

Golden discusses many different problems of the legislative branch. One of the first things he talks about is the four defects, and the three effects of the defects. He refers to this as the 4-3. The first defect he talks about is the money flood. This is arguably one of the biggest defects of the legislature. While the three other defects only affect the House of Representatives or the Senate, the money flood affects all 535 members (Golden 2015). Most of the money raised by these members is paid by special interests groups, and all the money they receive is legal. In 2012 the money the House and Senate raised was more than $1.8 billion, and special interest groups accounted for $400 million of that (Golden 2015). This is scary because it means that politicians have to spend more of their time negotiating with small amounts of people who are able to give large sums of money, rather than most of the American public who can only afford to donate small amounts of money. This is alarming because it implicates them

Allowing these "career politicians" to remain their whole lives in Congress give them too much

Lobbyists have been around for many years and can be very convincing characters whenever they want to make a change that will favor them. They are undeniably the powers that are behind a great deal

Wayne, Lasser, Miller and others tend to agree that lobbyists and PACs have a great amount of influence over congress members because they may have direct connections and give campaign contributions. Recently, the airlines industry convinced congress to pass a $15 billion aid package it needs in order to survive. “The airlines had plenty of resources to draw on: 27 in-houses lobbyists, augmented by lobbyists from 42 Washington firms, including former White House aides and transportation secretaries, as well as the airlines own chief executives and corporate board members, whom all are well known in the halls of congress”(Wayne, NYT, 10/01/01. Lasser, American Politics, 1999. Miller, The American Prospect, 10/23/00. Geiger, Washington Post, 11/4-10/91.)

The main focus or goal that Congress Men possess is that of being reelected. Something they realize that is important is their own self-interests and following them. Now we all know that people have their own feelings when it comes to the topic of abortion or foreign aid. But congressmen know that and they realize they are going to make friends and enemies at the same time. The men who are the Congressional setting have experience, and prior knowledge of being within this so called “seat”. Meaning most congressional men would like to be reelected while some others do not. That is why it is our job to thin out, and select those who will continue to benefit Congress and rid out the others who are just