Getting Around Rules on Lobbying

[DanS]

Personally, I'm coming around on this issue. Or at least my views are becoming more nuanced. It has never struck me as right that unionmembers pay for union advocacy on issues with which they don't agree. Likewise, it doesn't strike me as right that shareholders pay for corporate advocacy on issues with which they don't agree.

[Shrapnel12]

Originally posted by snoopy369
I have to say it's nice that the democrats are in power once again, so once again lobbyists have no power and corruption is gone the way of the dodo.

This is sarcasm right? That corruptions is common in our system is correct, that it is limited to just the US and just the Republicans is naive.

[Arrian]

Yes, that was sarcasm.

-Arrian

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Patroklos
Money may have rotted the system, but that is a fault inherent and inseparable to the system.

It seems we are in agreement.


The others raised some good points on the problem with money buying influence.

DanS - We have attempted to tackle that very issue. Corporate donations to political parties are now forbidden as are Union donations. Private donation limits are capped. It's still a relatively new process (a few years now) and the "kinks" are still being ironed out.

[Kuciwalker]

Ah, but what if a media corporation wants to provide free/low cost advertising to a candidate? What if they just run stories that favor a particular candidate? Limit that and you destroy the heart of free speech.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Ah, but what if a media corporation wants to provide free/low cost advertising to a candidate? What if they just run stories that favor a particular candidate? Limit that and you destroy the heart of free speech.

Media bias is separate from free ad time.

Bias is tough to address w/o getting into serious free speech issues. I agree.

Any free ad time must be matched with equal time to other candidates.

[Kuciwalker]

What qualifies as an ad, rather than "we wanted to have candidate X talk to you about stuff because, after all, there's an election going on so what he says is newsworthy"?

[Aeson]

Candidates should live in a house together, isolated from the rest of the world, for X weeks. Each week will feature the elimination of 1 candidate by popular (text messaging) vote of the viewing audience. Proceeds from the text messaging fees will go to fund Medicare. You can vote as many times as you can text a valid name to HOT4DEMOCRACY. ($3.95 per text message. The item will appear discretely on your bill as "HOT4...")

There will be 24/7 webcams. Advertising on the webcam pages will help fund Social Security.

The candidates will be randomly assigned to 1 of 2 sides of the house when entering. There will be no contact between the sides of the house except during events. Half of the house will have access to watch C-SPAN, and the other half C-SPAN 2. Each week both sides will also get to vote between themselves on which other news channel they have access to. If both sides vote for the same channel though, neither side gets to watch it for that week.

Each week there will be a "red rover" game where the halves of the house choose to send one of their own over to the other side. (This can be for whatever reasons they choose.) Who gets sent over will be determined by feats of strength, with the winner making the choice.

Once all but 2 candidates have been eliminated, the winner will be chosen by means of a pop quiz on the constitution. First one to get 3 questions wrong is eliminated.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
What qualifies as an ad, rather than "we wanted to have candidate X talk to you about stuff because, after all, there's an election going on so what he says is newsworthy"?

That would require them to offer the equal opportunity to the other candidates to "talk to you about stuff because, after all, there's an election going on so what he says is newsworthy".

Not all candidates accept free time btw. Particularly at the local level.

[Kuciwalker]

Not all candidates are equally newsworthy.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Not all candidates are equally newsworthy.

Yeah, the probem arises of course with small "fringe" candidates. Our system has various "qualifiers" depending on what you are talking about (ads, election spending, election financing, "party" status, debate eligibility, etc..). Very cumbersome and unfair in many respects. A work still in progress.

edit: I thought you would have asked about financing given the donation restrictions I mentioned earlier. Federal campigns/parties are tough to run on $5000 individual donation maximums...

[Dinner]

Both parties are actively working to get around the latest lobbying reform measures. It seems as long as we allow any form of gifts to change hands we're going to have the problem of special interests buying Congressmen.