LOBBYING

[Guest072311]

LOBBYING, LOBBYING, LOBBYING,...

[Longermonger]

Enjoy all of the Republican mudslinging ads this fall paid for by companies from other countries!

[Guest090920]

Originally Posted by Longermonger

Enjoy all of the Republican mudslinging ads this fall paid for by companies from other countries!

And be amused by all the ads for democrats paid for by labor unions, teachers unions, and other bleeding-heart liberal cause groups. It goes both ways, Longermonger, or have you been out of the country for 50 years?

[Longermonger]

AMERICAN labor unions, AMERICAN teachers' unions, and other AMERICAN liberal groups?
Do you think they'll have more money to spend than big business, big banks, big insurance companies, and big NON-AMERICAN interests?

Who makes more money, a teacher or a Wall Street banker? Who makes more money, an electrician or an insurance executive? Who makes more money, a plumber or a Saudi prince?

[Guest090920]

It is called capitalism. It's what has and will continue to make America great.

[Longermonger]

I thought democracy made America great, not capitalism. Other countries have capitalism and not democracy. Saudi Arabia for example. They're a kingdom with capitalism. Are they better than us? Is China? China has all kinds of capitalism. No...I'm pretty sure that DEMOCRACY is why America is superior.

[Guest072311]

....great to make a point, we all have opinions, but state opinion or justify by resources...be civil and polite?

[Guest090920]

Originally Posted by Longermonger

I thought democracy made America great, not capitalism. Other countries have capitalism and not democracy. Saudi Arabia for example. They're a kingdom with capitalism. Are they better than us? Is China? China has all kinds of capitalism. No...I'm pretty sure that DEMOCRACY is why America is superior.

So with career politicians in place padding their own re-election campaign war chests, and doing what is best for themselves and their special interest group buddies and not the country and citizens as a whole is a democracy?

[Guest052813-01]

Originally Posted by Longermonger

Enjoy all of the Republican mudslinging ads this fall paid for by companies from other countries!

The mudslinging goes both ways, LM. And scorpio is correct in saying that the labor unions, both civil and government, have long been known to use the dues of their members, often times without their permission, to produce advocacy ads during election season.

If you really want to know what makes this country great, it is the first amendment - the right of free speech and assembly. The right of anyone to shout at the top of his/her lungs what someone advocates. However, the first amendment does not say we have to listen to them.

[BigMikeinKC]

Shoot them all and let's start fresh. ( Damn, now I'm on the Secret Services list.)

Here's a link to the top corporate and special interset groups:

http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?order=A

And here you can find local/state lobby groups:

http://www.followthemoney.org/

Foreign government lobbying is trickier to show as they use numerous front groups, so you can't just say what a government gave directly. Israel for example has dozens of groups and it is believed through them, that Israel is the largest foreign nation lobbyist.

[dirty dog]

One of the few things I agree with President Obama on is what a can of worms we fear the recent supreme court ruling is going to open up for us. I believe that lobbying and special interest groups have far to much power and influence on our government regardless of party. I would also include corperate campaign contributions. There should be less of all not more.

[lacrew_2000]

I think the rise of mutual funds has contributed to the 'problem'. I'll admit, I don't track the dozens of companies listed in my mutual funds. I certainly don't track which candidates they donate to, and wouldn't have an easy way to pull an investment out of one particular company in a fund, if I disagreed with a contribution.

The result: Many of these large companies throw massive amounts of money at candidates from both parties, just to hedge their bets on who might be the winner.

Oh yeah, some of these obscenely large bonus payments people get? They are given with a wink and a nod that the 'individual' will funnel a portion of it to various candidates (I've seen this first hand).

Why do I think its a problem? I HATE watching and listening to political ads!