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The real devil in the process
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 | 2:01 a.m.
Regarding the recent letters about lobbyists and political influence:
Blaming lobbyists for partisan government is like blaming the devil for sin. The lobbyist and the devil are just doing what they do. It’s the Congress, you and I who do the sinning. So to lecture Sheldon Adelson for buying political favors is misdirected. The blame goes to those who sell it.
Discussion: 18 comments so far…
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Unions have free rein spending money to elect people that will give Union Bosses and members large raises and benefit. The WH does what Andy Stern wants with a couple of phone calls.
This is crony politics.
Now some people want to restrict small businesses from lobbying elected leaders.
"The blame goes to those who sell it."
I understand the writer's point but I don't agree. Our system of gov't requires a willing buyer and seller for corruption, influence peddling, special interests and crony capitalism to stay alive and flourish. Takes action against both sides to reduce and make difficult to thrive.
Carmine A. DiFazio
There's plenty of blame to go around. The blame goes to those who are willing to sell it, those who are willing to buy it, and those who are victimized by it for allowing the other two to act in their self-interest instead of ours.
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I would say Lobbyist Jack Abramoff deserved to get blamed and go to prison for being the criminal lobbyist he was and Little Caesar Tom Delay, a former Texas Congressman is heading in for a three year term some due to his relationship with Abramoff
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True its on everyone to some extent but some are gullible and buy into the big lie without any research and others just flat out lie like Slick Newt when he claimed he was a Historian for Freddie Mac - they bear more blame ... most lobbyist are lawyers and ex-Congressmen anyway so that has a lot to do with how the facts get so manipulated
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Carmine , have you ever anything to say that makes a point or some sense? Once again, I don't get your post at all ... its just a few jumbled up words without meaning ... like you don't have a thing to do but sit on a couch and press the keypads and sip your Old Crow
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The Tax Lobbyists are the ones who really have to be scrutinized for the complications and loopholes they mananage to get Congress to sneak into law ... and in some ways they actually hood wink Congress into thinking this stuff is really needed
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Important too is the lobbying that is going on for companies like Google who need to keep Congress informed on updated techonology and to ensure Congress keeps its big, fat long nose off the Internet - this is worthwhile lobbying
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Ola - the best idea is to vote for all Democrats in order to protect the interests of the people and not the best interests of big oil, Wall St and the rich who, to this very day, have not provided one single job for anybody ..... and the Republicons are still getting their sheep followers to buy into this big lie ... how stupid can it get?
its the american way. look at the house flippers who made money on the real estate market. look at ebay or amazon where people make money selling items for profit. look at romney closing factories laying off thousands of employees to make a company more profit. isnt this the same way lobbyists operate? although perfectly legal, none of these methods require any moral standard. our system is flawed and until we alter or abolish it, you must learn how to live with it.
Yoo hoo, Mr. dipstick! You forgot to mention the CEO of the USA, Osama Obama, who is in the process of "laying" off 100,000 servicemen & women in a blatant political ploy to fool the gullible he is trying to "balance" the budget. Have you no pity, no heart, for these poor folks who will soon be out of work or is it only those "laid" off by Republicrats that catch your attention or meet your leftist agenda? Never mind answering, I already am aware of the answer, Mr. dipstick!
Sux is the king of negative, non sequitur and unintelligible advocacy for the liberal democratic party. We sure hope you keep posting Sux through November.
"Carmine , have you ever anything to say that makes a point or some sense? "
Always, but I can only say/post it here. You have to read and comprehend it. I can't do that for you.
Carmine A. DiFazio
Doesn't anyone learn anything from these discussion room conversations? Apparently not. The huge amount of responses and debates from Michael Casler's recent letter to the editor on, "Taking Lobbyists Out Of The Equation" is surely representative.
Think about it!!! We only want lobbyists taken out who do not support our personal interests. Every American, whether they admit it or not supports lobbyists. Examples are, the seniors have AARP. The blue collar workforce have unions. The white collar executives have their lobbyists. Ethnic and religious organizations have their lobbyists. It's everywhere in politics. It's the American way, like it or not.
Remember, a good winning strategy with financial backing from lobbyists brings about power. And power brings about security for those who are under the umbrella of a particular lobbyist organization.
Don't complain about lobbyists until you as an individual have absolutely no financial, political, religious, ethnic or any other type of interests. Right".. The only time this will happen is when we pass away from this Earth and are buried.
The real problem is that the politicians don't stay bought. They only temporarily rent themselves to the highest current bidder. And some of them only rent themselves for particular kinds of acts. (Perhaps visualizing Congress as the big bordello in DC is the most accurate way of thinking about it.)
ivfacts101
You do have some very interesting comments on different subjects of interest at times. However do you think that maybe you could address President Obama by his elected title, instesd of osama obama. Lack of respect for the office does not make one's comments shine.
Newt and Adelson can thank the conservative Supreme Court for handing down the Citizens United decision that made it legal for a billionaire casino baron to poor unlimited dollars into a presidential race.
Lobbyist have been apart of US politics almost from the beginning. Citizens United however is the new ingredient that is poisoning the system.
Judges like Scalia, Thomas and Alito is more proof that rightwingers are the ones guilty of tearing this nation to pieces.
bchap; when casler admitted he voted for sharron angle any credibility he had evaporated. hes just another ( jerry ) fink.
I would echo sam pizzo and note that cheap name calling is Jerry's only mode of operation.
Dennis; You stated, "When Casler admitted he voted for Sharron Angle any credibility he had evaporated. He's just another ( Jerry ) Fink.
Does former Democratic Governor Dan Walker of your home state of Illinois ring a bell? I'm sure you voted for this loser. So, is it fair to say that you've had no credibility since the early 1970's?
As for Jerry Fink. We've had our disagreements and even resorted to calling each other names. He's as passionate as I am about his views and opinions. I like the fact that Jerry holds no punches. I always know exactly where I stand with him. I surely will not fault him for that.
Future - "Unions have free rein spending money to elect people that will give Union Bosses and members large raises and benefit."
Your bias overlooks the fact that one man, Adelson, changed the outcome of votes in South Carolina. His donations to Gingrich allowed Gingrich to spend on ads which he couldn't do prior to being bought by Adelson. When one man can exert that much power shows just how twisted the system is.
Considering the fact I have never seen Schaffer post ANYTHING other than slurs and name calling, I'll reference the "pot calling the kettle black"...
"VernosB", you state in reply to "Future", "Your bias overlooks the fact that one man, Adelson, changed the outcome of votes in South Carolina. His donations to Gingrich allowed Gingrich to spend on ads which he couldn't do prior to being bought by Adelson."
I don't want Gingrich in the White House anymore than you do. However, you do have interests in certain lobbyists. Your past posts clearly denote this. Is it just the fact that in this situation the so-called "twisted system" did not work in favor of your political positions?
Vernos, would not the following apply:
"Your bias overlooks the fact that one man, Soros, changed the outcome of votes in 2008. His donations to Obama allowed Obama to spend on ads which he couldn't do prior to being bought by Soros. When one man can exert that much power shows just how twisted the system is."
Please tell me why the above doesn't apply if your post about Adelson is correct.....
And, Vernos, considering that Andy Stern and John Trumka have been in the White House over one hundred times and that Trumka even laughed about the "clout" he had with the Administration, why wouldn't the following be true:
"Your bias overlooks the fact that one man, Trumka, changed the outcome of votes in 2008. His donations to Obama allowed Obama to spend on ads which he couldn't do prior to being bought by Trumka. When one man can exert that much power shows just how twisted the system is."
Again, Vernos, tell me why the above is not true if your post about Adelson is true.....
Comment removed by moderator. Personal Attack
Go Sux just can resist lying about Romney its almost as if he was supporting Obama.
China is not supporting the Romney campaign.
While nobody can stop Go Sux from lying and making slurs we still can call him out on his slurs and lies.
Watch "The Big Buy: How Tom DeLay Stole Congress" and you'll understand how and why our goverment is dysfunctional.
BChap - "I don't want Gingrich in the White House anymore than you do. However, you do have interests in certain lobbyists."
You've missed my point. It has nothing to do with electing Gingrich, or for that matter Adelson. I would say the same about a Democrat using the power of money to sway voting. If we already have issues with lobbyists controlling Congress through their purse strings, one man with megamillions or billions can persuade a single candidate with huge donations for his own singular benefit.
It's very disturbing that the presidential campaign leading up to November of 2012 will cost over a billion dollars, all due to a moronic decision made by Supreme Court conservatives. "We the people" are slowly losing our democracy and many of you are ignoring that fact because winning at any cost is what is expected. There are those willing to commit crimes just to prove a crime was committed.