Both are described as the good guys of lobbyists and I have no problem with that description, but they continue to voice the same lines that cause the public to mistrust lobbyists and politicians:
“The misconception that’s out there is that if you take somebody out to dinner, that you’re buying their vote,” Burch said. “Their time is very valuable, and it does give you the opportunity to have their ear and visit with them. But I don’t know of anybody that’s ever given me a vote for a meal.”
It is the perception of the free lunch thing, and the fact that it has been obvious that there are legislators who have been swayed by lobbyists, whose services not only include free lunches, but drinks, dinners, entertainment tickets, travel, lodging, gambling, and above all, campaign fundraising, that has caused the public to mistrust the system. It has also been obvious over the years that many of the bills filed by our legislators each year were not only influenced, but also largely or completely written by lobbyists.
It is also the revolving door between the state legislature and the lobbying business, where senators and representatives who were elected to office to work on behalf of the public, are suddenly lobbying them for favors.
There is nothing inherently wrong with lobbying, but the public would be better served if all gifts from lobbyists were eliminated. Conduct the business in the legislators' office. Lobbyists already have a major advantage...access...over the general public. While I have no problem with the Springfield Business Journal's characterization of Burch and Marrs as white knights of Missouri lobbyists, they are white knights playing by the current rules, and those rules need to be changed.
No comments:
Post a Comment