You Think You’ve Seen Them All? Here’s An Honest Politician Explaining How a Lobbyist

[Risky Thicket]

A major reason why Trump and Sanders are popular: Americans want their democracy back. They are sick of the corruption and sick of Big Money influence (foreign and domestic) in Washington and at state levels. Status quo is status fecked.

“It was one of the scummiest meetings I’ve ever been in,” said Rep. Thomas Massie of a proposal from a lobbyist to help place him in the powerful, influential House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax policy, among other things.
“He pulled me and my chief of staff into a meeting,” Massie told the Cincinnati Enquirer of the lobbyist he refused to identify, but who ‘represents the medical device sector.’


“He offered to raise the money that would be required to get me on Ways and Means. This is a lobbyist telling me he can get me on Ways and Means.”


In essence, Massie explained, the lobbyist wanted to help him win the prominent position in return for future legislation benefiting the lobbyist’s interests. Though such mutual back scratching seems obvious when tracing the money trail, Massie’s comments show how directly the money-infused lobbying, well, racket literally shapes policy.

Source

 

[Glen Contrarian]

Re: You Think You’ve Seen Them All? Here’s An Honest Politician Explaining How a Lobb

A major reason why Trump and Sanders are popular: Americans want their democracy back. They are sick of the corruption and sick of Big Money influence (foreign and domestic) in Washington and at state levels. Status quo is status fecked.

Do you really think that Trump would somehow get "big money" out of Washington? The guy's been bailed out TWICE by a Saudi prince! Trying to get someone who IS "big money" to stop the influence of big money in Washington is like setting the fox to guard the hen house.

And Sanders, as much as I might like him, is simply not strong enough to get big money out of Washington.

 

[Removable Mind]

Re: You Think You’ve Seen Them All? Here’s An Honest Politician Explaining How a Lobb

A major reason why Trump and Sanders are popular: Americans want their democracy back. They are sick of the corruption and sick of Big Money influence (foreign and domestic) in Washington and at state levels. Status quo is status fecked.



Source

Being a lobbyist is the second profession of elected officials who leave office, and it pays much better. Actually being a elected official is a training program for lobbyists.

 

[Risky Thicket]

Re: You Think You’ve Seen Them All? Here’s An Honest Politician Explaining How a Lobb

Do you really think that Trump would somehow get "big money" out of Washington? The guy's been bailed out TWICE by a Saudi prince! Trying to get someone who IS "big money" to stop the influence of big money in Washington is like setting the fox to guard the hen house.

And Sanders, as much as I might like him, is simply not strong enough to get big money out of Washington.

No, I don't believe Trump would get big money out of Washington. I do feel that millions of Americans believe that he might. Or they are at least willing to roll the dice rather than continuing to support a system that has basically screwed the nation.

Sanders on the other hand has the potential to make an impact. He has campaigned on doing so. IF Sanders were to receive the nomination and win the general he'd have a hell of a lot of momentum behind him. IF Bernie can use that momentum the masses can make significant changes in campaign reform and in Washington as a whole (or Washington as a hole, depending on your perspective). Sanders could be the catalyst.

Clinton is certainly not going to make any significant changes. Her campaign has been all about status quo; the continuance of plutocracy. Any innovational changes mentioned by Hillary (all of them watered down) have been forced by Sanders. Hillary has followed Sanders lead because at times she's had to. It doesn't mean that she is committed to implementing the watered down concessions. Regardless, we can rightfully assume that Hillary is not going to champion any real change that transfers power to the people. And that transference is defined in monetary terms.

There's a story told by the late Mr. Jerry Clower. Mr. Clower, from McComb, Mississippi was a very well respected man who became a well known Southern comedian. In fine Southerner tradition Jerry Clower never used a sentence when a couple of pages would do.

In Clower's story Marcel Ledbetter and his friend John went out coon hunting late one dark night. They discovered a huge coon up in a tree though the coon was obscured by their dark and leafy view.

John said he'd climb up in the tree and knock the coon off the banch and Marcel would pull a net over the coon when he fell to the ground.

John got up there, shimmied half way out on a big limb and discovered that the coon was mountain lion. Soon the mountain lion and John started fighting and screaming and shaking the branch.

Marcel said, "Knock him out, John" not knowing that John was in a battle with a mountain lion.

John screamed down to Marcel, "Shoot up here, shoot up here."

Marcel yelled back that he couldn't see up in the tree that well in the dark. He was afraid he might shoot John by mistake.

John, "I don't care. Just shoot up here amongst us. One of us needs relief."

And that is where I believe many Trump and Sanders supporters are today. The Washington establishment will never initiate substantive changes regarding the status quo. Never happen. Americans are growing desperate for relief and that relief is not going to come from elected establishment officials.

 

[Risky Thicket]

Re: You Think You’ve Seen Them All? Here’s An Honest Politician Explaining How a Lobb

Being a lobbyist is the second profession of elected officials who leave office, and it pays much better. Actually being a elected official is a training program for lobbyists.

Absolutely! For elected officials and key staff, working in government is a ticket on the gravy train right on the other side of a revolving door. The practice is a large part of what destroyed American democracy. Washington could step up for American democracy and put an end to it. People continue voting for the same people and the same system and hoping the same people and the same system will do the right thing for the nation. :roll:

 

[Removable Mind]

Re: You Think You’ve Seen Them All? Here’s An Honest Politician Explaining How a Lobb

Absolutely! For elected officials and key staff, working in government is a ticket on the gravy train right on the other side of a revolving door. The practice is a large part of what destroyed American democracy. Washington could step up for American democracy and put an end to it. People continue voting for the same people and the same system and hoping the same people and the same system will do the right thing for the nation. :roll:

Indeed...

People think that staffers always leave with the politicians that they worked for once he or she is no longer in office. These folks are invaluable assets. How do people think that once an unseasoned politician who lands an elected office so quickly learn the ins and outs of navigating in a way that will maximize their chances for remaining in office until their ready to go to Lobbyist Land?