Do Republicans shun lobbyist?
I am hearing all the time that lobbyist are running Washington. I hear about the vast amounts of money they are spending influencing members of Congress and their staff. I am hearing there are more lobbying groups in Washington then there are the 535 members in the entire Congress. On one occasion or two, I have heard lobbyist in Washington wield more money then the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of some countries.
When the President proposes a bill and Republicans say it is Dead on Arrival (DOA), I can not see lobbyist who favor passage of the bill wasting time going to the offices of a Republican. It would not make sense if they do. The Republican leadership will have already publicly pronounced the bill DOA.
And then there are the few Democrats who say they want to support the Presidents' bill but vote against it with Republicans.
Does this mean lobbyist un-favorable to the Presidents' bill have paid successful visits to the offices of those few Democrats? Are lobbyist pounding and knocking down their doors armed with fistful of money to influence their votes? Is this a behind closed doors “What’s in it for me?” thing with Democrats? Is this the reason Democrats do not vote as a block as do Republicans? Are there more wealthy Democrats than Republicans or do they get sent back to Congress more often?
In other words, is the public being lied to as to the influence of lobbyist in Washington or does it simply boil down to party leadership? Color me confused.
As always,
BB
When the President proposes a bill and Republicans say it is Dead on Arrival (DOA), I can not see lobbyist who favor passage of the bill wasting time going to the offices of a Republican. It would not make sense if they do. The Republican leadership will have already publicly pronounced the bill DOA.
And then there are the few Democrats who say they want to support the Presidents' bill but vote against it with Republicans.
Does this mean lobbyist un-favorable to the Presidents' bill have paid successful visits to the offices of those few Democrats? Are lobbyist pounding and knocking down their doors armed with fistful of money to influence their votes? Is this a behind closed doors “What’s in it for me?” thing with Democrats? Is this the reason Democrats do not vote as a block as do Republicans? Are there more wealthy Democrats than Republicans or do they get sent back to Congress more often?
In other words, is the public being lied to as to the influence of lobbyist in Washington or does it simply boil down to party leadership? Color me confused.
The 50-50 vote came in relation to a motion to simply take up the bill and fell well short of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. Democrats Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut broke with Obama on the vote. Two Democrats who voted with the president, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana, however, said they couldn't support the underlying Obama plan unless it's changed.
And
"For the second time in two weeks, every single Republican in the United States Senate has chosen to obstruct a bill that would create jobs and get our economy going again," Obama said in a statement after the vote. "Every American deserves an explanation as to why Republicans refuse to step up to the plate and do what's necessary to create jobs and grow the economy right now."
Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/20/obama-jobs-bill-first-responders-teachers-senate_n_1023229.html
As always,
BB
posted by BB at 2:39 AM
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