Lobbyist Contributions

The very premise, that our (the US) politicians should be approachable by all, is one that benefit's the individual in a society. But somewhere along the way, this noble idea has been convoluted into a serious crime. One that makes impotent your vote and our way of life. So then how did this happen?

In our democracy, we are ensured that we can approach our legislators and our executive branch. That way the little guy could get his voice heard as well as the bigger interests. But at some point lobbying was handed over to the large corporations, and although all of our politicians insist that the money that these people keep shoveling forth is insignificant, they nonetheless continue to remain "on the take". Lobbying is a form of bribery - how can it NOT be? Today, large corporate and private interests pay small fortunes to congressmen and women who claim that the money doesn't influence them, and then they become the puppets of the interests behind the lobbyists. And our executive branch is likewise corrupted. Finance reform laws, written by those for whom it was supposed to control, is predictably ineffective and easily sidestepped – even a child could understand the mechanisms used to circumvent these laws.

These criminals on the take are our elected officials, meaning that your vote has just been purchased away from you. One of the few things that the small guy had to help level the playing field, that one thing that we all had in common, is now meaningless and of no effect. You can elect anyone who'll say anything, but they're all there to get a piece of the action. Why won't the legislators ban lobbyist contributions altogether, restoring power to my vote? It's asking them to put on a collar of their own construction – they'll never do an effective job of it, as we've seen from past "attempts". And the executive branch, also on the take, would be required to sign this into law. If it attempted to control them, it would never be signed.

Through legislative slight-of-hand with the American people, these crooks have engineered a money machine that siphons off the bounty of our nation, along with your freedom of choice, for their own greedy oligarchy and leaves our country in shambles. So how do we solve this dilemma? As of this time, I'm uncertain. No one would write such self-imposing legislation, and no executive member would give it the time of day. If you had the law, no lawmaker or executive member would turn away from crushing it. Jefferson thought that occasional rebellion was appropriate; is that our only alternative? Is there no other way?

John