Gabriella Sandoval, Events Liaison and Manager
Persuasion in politics is a tactic that has been used for years. It is designed to convince individuals with power in government positions to support and implement certain ideas and policies. This form of persuasion is known as “lobbying” and is also associated with advocacy. Lobbying can be carried out by either individuals or organizations undertaking public campaigns (which are legally registered with the government) to pressure people in government positions into taking action towards specific policies.
Lobbying can be executed in many ways. It is done through conferences, seminars, public meetings, consultations, face-to-face meetings, and written or telephone communications. The main purpose of lobbying is to create awareness and educate prestigious members on how public policies can and will affect individuals and communities. Because of this, it’s relatively fair to make the claim that lobbying plays a crucial role in our political system.
Everyone is affected by lobbying, because lobbying seeks to address many important social and economic issues that without a doubt, affect the majority of citizens. Actions brought out by the government do not pertain to specific individuals, however, all laws and policies are applicable to all citizens. Therefore, lobbying is a way to influence legislative action that affects everyone.
Lobbyists are a sort of representatives that take into account the interests of individuals that do not have the opportunity or access to represent them personally to the government. Although lobbying is perfectly legal, the practice has previously and continues to face harsh criticism, with many implying that the use of heavy persuasion in politics is a form of bribery, due to the amount of influence it has on legislative action. While lobbying isn’t itself a corrupt practice, there is still wiggle room for self intent and self interest to be displayed. This can then lead to false acts of working in the public’s best interest.
The complexities of lobbying include:
Lobbyists have a habit of bribing members of Congress with advantageous job offers. This term is also referred to as “the revolving door”. With multi-million-dollar future salaries on the line, most members of Congress are more than willing to protect the best interests of the lobbyists who may one day be their employers.
Lobbying is legally protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. While the term “lobby,” isn’t explicitly mentioned, the right “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” is specifically implied. This translates into modern times, as a right to lobby.
In 2023, the total lobbying spending in the United States amounted to 4.26 billion U.S. dollars. In 2022, the total lobbying spending was around 4.11 billion U.S. dollars. This significant amount of money is recorded by Statista.
The bottom line is that the practice of lobbying is integral to decision making in our political system, and, like many things, there are both pros and cons to it, all depending on the circumstances.