Monday, December 3, 2007

Slitting their own throats

One of Milton Friedman's biggest laments was when business interests forsook free-market capitalist and pro-business candidates and fund their opponents: the anti-capitalist, anti-business, anti-growth interests and their socialist candidates. He viewed this as the companies slitting their own throats. Were he alive, he'd likely feel that lament once again.

Banking on the idea that Democrats are going to come to power, corporate lobbyists are pouring money into Democratic candidates. Let's be very clear here, because obviously too many donors just don't understand this point: even if you can buy out a candidate's deeply held anti-capitalist convictions, you certainly can't do it for the few thousand dollars you're allowed to donate.

As bad as lobbying, special interests, and the entire funding process for American democracy, the issue is not candidates being bought. As someone who has been lobbied as a candidate, I can certainly tell you: successful lobbyists are not out trying to bribe people with different opinions; they're trying to identify and fund candidates who already share their opinions while shutting down candidates with differing opinions.

Business interests who think that donating ten thousand dollars to a congressional candidate will somehow cause the candidate to support their position only needs to look at John Dingell. Despite a quarter of his donations coming from energy and utility companies, he just negotiated an energy bill which would be devastating to those same energy and utility companies. Despite another quart of his donations coming from auto companies, the same energy bill includes mileage requirements which will be devastating to auto companies. If even John Dingell is willing to value personal political power over not only his donors but his constituents whose very livelihood depends on the success of the auto industry, why would companies think that candidates are willing to sacrifice their own personal political power within the party to serve their interests?

Business lobby increases pressure ahead of '08
Race is on ahead of presumed change in administration

The New York Times

WASHINGTON - Business lobbyists, nervously anticipating Democratic gains in next year's elections, are racing to secure final approval for a wide range of health, safety, labor and economic rules, in the belief that they can get better deals from the Bush administration than from its successor.

Hoping to lock in policies back by a pro-business administration, poultry farmers are seeking an exception from the smelly fumes produced by tons of chicken manure. Businesses are lobbying the Bush administration to roll back rules that let employees take time off for family needs and medical problems. And electric power companies are pushing the government to relax pollution-control requirements.

"There's a growing sense, a growing probability, that the next administration could be Democratic," said Craig L. Fuller, executive vice president of Apco Worldwide, a lobbying and public relations firm, who was a White House official in the Reagan administration. "Corporate executives, trade associations and lobbying firms have begun to recalibrate their strategies."

No comments: