Congress Reneges On It's Promised Lobby Reform

So the pundits and commentators travail at why congress cannot get anything done on contolling gas prices or responding to the will of the people when polls clearly show the people oppose the position the congress is taking on immigration but say little when congress reneges on it's promise for serious lobby reform. They just let it go but do, in the same fleeting breath, admit how fundamental it is to change.

You know why congress does not respond to the will of the people? Because they are insulated from the public by the contributions and influence through big corporate lobbyists and campaign donors. Campaign reform has begun in some part but lobby reform has not and the bill the congress has tried to pass is a national disgrace and a betrayal of the promise to do something about it. The congress crys that it has done very little because there has not been an outcry about it but they revisit the lobby issue during, and not mistakenly, the convergence of other hot button issues in the media. Port security,soaring gasoline prices, NSA wiretapping of all Americans, illegal immigration. There is no mistake why they chose to try to pass weak lobby reform when they did. It was so obscured by these hot button issues that people were not as focused on the more meticulous, but much more important, issue of lobby reform. In fact lobby reform is the key to getting exactly what the people, pundits and commentators clamour for; a responsive congress.

Lobby reform is fundamental to returning integrity to our government. You may as well not even vote if you let campaign and lobby money influence the voting of your congressman. Your vote will not be rememembered and have little or no impact. Lobby influence and money muffles the volume of your voice and so congress is just riding along now doing what they want to do to please the corporate money donors and of course the prime example is the immigration issue. Corporations and business want cheap labor in the form of easy mexican laborers so the congress is doing everything it can to make sure that supply of cheap labor remains here in the form of amnestied workers. Right now they don't mind tough laws against hiring illegals just as long as the big supply of those here now remain. Corporate america then still has it's cheap labor. Why is congress stubborn on keeping the workers here. Because large businesses have given congressman money, campaign money, lobbying perks and preferential treatment to get them to vote the way they want them to vote and that is...to make sure the businesses get their cheap labor.

So what are you back to? The reason why congress will not do what you the people want them to do. So how do you get them to stop cooing up to the big money influence and pay more attention to you? You do everything you can as a citizen to put pressure on to get lobbying reform, from pressuring the media to roast and embarrass the congress, writing congress itself or outward citizen protest. I mean, don't complain about what congress does or what politcians do if you will not do the one thing that will make them do what you want them to do. That is, reform lobbying practices and get their eyes off the big money back onto you so that when 68% of the American people want illegals deported back to where they came from there will be at least a 68% chance that it will happen. So that when 96% of the people want something done about gasoline prices there will be a 96% chance something will be done and done sooner than later.Putting separation between those powerful money interests who do not want these things done will help get them done. That separation is called lobby and campaign finance reform.

They would have you think it is all complex but it is simple. The choice is also simple. You do something or you do not. Democracy is not something you have it is something you do, if you do not do it you do not have it. Time to do it.

The Working People's Perception, Political Reality and Reform

It has been well known that it is the regular working class, the "joe sixpacks" that generally listen to talk radio and it is the corporate owned Republican based media that have bought off talk radio stations and flooded the working class with right wing Republican propaganda for years now. Anyone listening to talk radio full well knows there are almost no dissenting voices of the left or the Democrats and even though some talk show hosts call themselves democrats, a ruse by any other name is still a ruse.

Of course the Republicans and the right wing, having always been deeply afraid that all the people might vote, desperately needed to brainwash the common working people in order to "live up" to the fundamental American creed of government by the people so there before you is why we have right wing Republican dogma dominating over 96% of talk radio. In order to have government by the people the people must "think correctly".

Talk radio's message has always been that corporations and business are your friend and government is your enemy but the truth is not as black and white as they would have you believe and in fact it is not the truth at all. This country was set up so that the people would have control of their government through their vote but you have no voice in how business runs itself except indirectly to boycott their products and that may work with their product but not so well with their influence on your voted for representatives. And that leads us into the political reality in this country and that is that corporations and the wealthy have essentially become your government.

Talk radio tells you that corporations and business are your allies but it is these powerful entities that hire lobbyists to buy off your voted for congressman thereby negating the effect of your vote and your influence on how your government is run. If you want to complain about the government you need to complain about the corporations that are essentially running your government and that have tried to become your government through bribery of our congressman.

Government has become more unresponsive to working people because the wealthy have been allowed to buy off that responsiveness for themselves. You complain about taxes and there is no shortage of anti-tax feeling out there but it is the corporations that have influenced congressman to give corporations themselves across the board big tax loopholes so that the only ones truly paying their taxes are yes, you the common working people. They leave you with the tax burden. Corporate business buys off congressman to get them to vote against the interests of working people and consumers and the last six years have seen record legislation of this kind. If government seems like your enemy it is because it has been bought off by the ones talk radio would have you support, corporate business.

As long as corporate lobbyists can buy off and bribe YOUR representives you have little or no voice in your government. And the answer is not to become anti-business but to demand REFORM of your government and to establish real laws that limit and punish business money's bribery of YOUR representatives.
The right wing and the Republicans love to be perceived as tough on law and order so let's see some tough law and order where the interest of the integrity of our government is concerned.

An actual billboard owned & promoted by largest talk radio corporation, Clear Channel.

Your Vote and Real Lobby Reform

They say the government never responds to them anymore. They say no one listens anymore, that their vote does not count, that the congressman are going to do whatever they want to do so it's no use to vote. This sentiment is passed among the poor and even the middleclass like a plague. You know why it is not the sentiment of the better off, the wealthy? Because they know their voice will be heard because they have the influence to buy off our congressman. Do you know how they are bought off? With money through campaign donations and lobbying influence.
The Abramoff scandal or "K" street scandal which is the biggest expose' of congressional lobby corruption in history illustrates this clearly. Do you want your vote, your voice to have influence with your congressman. If this scandal does not result in the necessary lobby reform to return the influence of our vote then it probably never will. It is up to us to press this moment to get congress to push through real lobby reform.
The sad truth is that so many in Congress have become like little suckling pigs to the mothers milk of wealthy corporate lobby money. They have little personal constitution or discipline of their own but they are accountable for their condition because they have reaped what they have sown. They have been shamed when this scandal first broke in January and they were apoplectically falling all over themselves promising real tough lobby reform under the exposure and light of the media.

Now the even more shameful has happened. They have reneged on those promises and believing that you are distracted by other issues they have thrown your way like immigration they have tried to pass a milk toast lobby reform bill that really changes nothing. They think you are not looking.
If real lobby reform cannot be passed, if the influence of money cannot be reduced then your vote will have little influence. Maybe that's the way you like it, not having influence with your vote. Are we really that lazy that we are going to sit back and refuse to press this moment, to put pressure on our media and congress? If so then your voice will have no impact, your vote will have no influence. You like it that way. You love to say "I don't vote, it doesn't matter anyway".

Or...you can write your congressman, call your congressman, e-mail your congressman. Write the media, call the T.V. stations. When they call to survey you tell'em lobby reform is at the top of your list, that the volume of your voice, the integrity of your vote is fundamental to all our founding fathers died for and you want it back...NOW.