Lobbyists who give money to candidates absolutely are committing bribery.
Lobbyists who are performing their job as intended are not. Lobbyists are meant to go speak on behalf of a cause to members of congress. They are not meant to go "here's some money" rather they are meant to go, "here's the figures on how many of your constituents agree with how we want this issue to play out. Here's how we would like this bill to work"
Lobbyists are a way for people to get together and speak to the members of congress that aren't listening to their constituents or taking the time to figure out what they want.
Lobbying itself isn't bribery because talking to people and saying, "I want this" isn't bribery. Saying "I want this" followed by "Oh noes someone dropped this thick envelope of hundreds it must be yours" is bribery.
Earlier this year Jon Stewart along with First Responders and their families from 9/11 spoke in front of congress. They were lobbyists. Fred Rogers spoke in front of Congress he was a lobbyist. Some are professionals paid to be there speaking on the behalf of an organization and some are there because they believe in a cause. It's one of the reasons calling your congress people is considered so important. Lobbyists can't do everything and not every cause can afford a lobbyist. Some causes even have organizations that openly lie about what the people part of the cause actually want.
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Jack Faire
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Last edited by jackfaire; 11-21-2019 at 11:34 AM.
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