There is no doubting the sheer magnitude of lobbying in Washington, D.C. According to OpenSecrets.org, there are nearly 11,000 registered lobbyists in our nation's capital in 2010. Furthermore, despite the ongoing recession, these lobbyists have already spent nearly $1 billion pushing their agendas on Capitol Hill and at the White House.
The top spending lobbying powers are largely multinational corporations and organizations that represent such organizations. It is not surprising that multibillion dollar companies spend considerable sums encouraging the government to do things in their favor. More importantly, everyone in the United States is guaranteed the right to petition the government. There is nothing wrong with corporations spending money to petition in Washington – the problem arises when the government forgets about those who cannot afford to be heard.
What is surprising and startling is the influence that foreign lobbyists have within the United States.
According to Newsweek, U.S.-based law firms are increasingly coming under the employ of dictators and authoritarian regimes overseas. Governments that seem to fly in the face of everything the United States stands for pay millions of dollars to have lobbyists in Washington spreading a feeling of good cheer.
Historically if the United States took offense to a particular regime it would detach itself from that country diplomatically. The government in Equatorial Guinea spent more than two decades on a list of nations whom the U.S. recognized as human rights abusers. Now, after years of subtle lobbying efforts, President Teodoro Nguema Obiang is considered a solid ally and friend to American businesses.
The cases cited by Newsweek are primarily cases of fringe autocrats in countries that do not have much to do with the United States. Those with whom we have close and continued relations could be even more of a driving force on American policy. Regardless of what the White House thinks about Equatorial Guinea, most Americans will never see any repercussion of that nation's purchased influence. Most Americans will have to deal with repercussions from the influence of more power and well-funded lobbies.
China in particular has an increasing presence in the U.S. capital. The U.S.-China Business Council is a leading member in APEC and has already helped push a pro-China stance in both political parties. The Chinese government itself is stepping up lobbying efforts to further influence Washington politics.
It is hard to argue that such lobbying efforts should be officially curtailed in any way – the protections afforded by the Constitution are extended to everyone on American soil. Holding politicians accountable for falling into lobbyist traps is much easier to support.
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