The Devil is an American Lobbyist

Five Buzzards at a two-buzzard meal

Bribe: noun. Anything given or serving to persuade or induce. Verb. To influence or corrupt by a bribe.

Lobby: n. A group of persons who work to conduct a campaign to influence members of a legislative body. V. To solicit or try to influence members of a legislature.

Lobbyist: A person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest.

If money is given to a political candidate or an office-holding politician before, during or after being contacted by a lobbyist for that organization, then the candidate or elected official has been bribed for services rendered or some service implied to be rendered in the future.

If an individual or organization gives money to both political parties or candidates running for the same office then they are, by caveat, guilty of bribery.

I have been railing against lobbyists for some time. Our system of lobbying is vile and corrupt.
There’s new evidence that lobbyists have fresh meat in their sites.

1. The new emergency-lending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is a choice morsel for the American lobby. Politicians and lobbyists are constantly looking to climb aboard the next gravy train and this looks like a big one. At least politicians are elected by voters. Lobbyists are paid to be devil’s advocates for the highest bidder.

President Obama, the new sheriff, has said he wants to keep his 83 billion-dollar request free of unrelated add-ons.

Fat chance.

2. Insurance companies and their lobbyists are working behind the scenes for a simple but lucrative change in insurance laws. Lucrative for them.

An obscure change in federal law could be worth billions to insurance companies and screw the owner of every insurance policy in the United States until hell freezes over or the next civil war.

Key lawmakers and Obama administration officials say they’re open to it. So if you pay any dollars for any type insurance this will have a negative effect on you.

Known as an “Optional Federal Charter” the new system would free large insurers to escape state insurance regulators by setting up a new federal agency. In other words, a set of national rules for insurers would be established. The insurance industry would then have the “option” of following the state or federal rule whichever they prefer (obviously the more lenient and the one that suited them financially).

This system would allow insurance companies to shop around for the weakest rules. Today the sheep (you and me) are protected by state insurance regulators. Insurance regulators are there to prevent fraud and protect citizens. Do you want your elected representatives to become impotent in protecting you from giant insurance companies who have no soul and whose only god is profitability?

I’m sure the people who are lobbyists would look at these posts as one sided. And I’m sure they would say lobbyists do a lot of good. But for whom? Is it good for you or the fat cats and corporations who can afford to influence politicians by campaign contributions and spending big bucks on active lobbying?

Once elected a politician’s goal is to get re-elected and there’s no better way than to have a fat purse filled with silver from the fat cats and corporations who will actually buy their votes.
Write your president and every representative. Stop lobbyists now before it’s too late.