How Does Lobbying REALLY Work?

Are lobbyists really as bad as their reputation?

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**What are lobbyists?
Lobbyists get paid to try to convince lawmakers to adopt or oppose policies on behalf of their clients. There are thousands of different groups that have lobbyists either working directly for them or hiring lobbyists from lobbying firms. And these groups can range from big corporations and trade associations to public interest nonprofits.

**Are lobbyists bad?
Lobbying itself is generally thought of as a fundamental right guaranteed by the first amendment in the constitution as the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. At its core, lobbying is just a way for citizens to engage with lawmakers on issues that are important to them. Most of the critiques around lobbying have to do with how money is involved. It’s really expensive to run a political campaign, and one way that lobbyists can get facetime to talk to politicians is to throw big fundraisers for them, and lobbyists themselves can actually donate to political campaigns. And most of the biggest spenders on lobbying represent business interests. This raises equity issues about what types of organizations can afford to hire lobbyists and ultimately whose voices influence policy.

**How does lobbying work?
A lot of lobbying is building relationships with politicians and finding out who has the interest and power to help with your cause. And money isn’t the only currency in lobbying, politicians also pay attention to how many people are calling their offices and care about an issue, how many people are sending emails or writing notes about an issue. Getting facetime with politicians and their trusted advisors is extremely important when it comes to lobbying,

**Do lobbyists for non-corporate causes ever win?*
Yes, even though corporate interests outspend public interest groups– lobbying can still work to bring about change that isn’t necessarily pro-business. For example, The Nature Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit successfully lobbied for congress to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is a pot of money reserved for conservation efforts to offset environmental damages caused by the oil and gas industry.

SELECTED SOURCES
Lobbying (The National Museum of American History)

How Corporate Lobbyists Conquered American Democracy (The Atlantic)

Gold-Level Clubs for Lobbyists (Politico)

Top Spenders on Lobbying 2021 (Open Secrets)

Midterm Election Spending (Open Secrets)

Big Pharma Went All In to Kill Drug Price Negotiations (Kaiser Health News)

Testing Theories of American Politics

Fighting Special Interest Lobbyists Power Over Public Policy (Center for American Progress)

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CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:56 What are lobbyists?
1:47 Lobbyists and money
2:32 Lobbyists for businesses
4:50 Environmental lobbying
7:50 Conclusion

#lobbying #lobbyists explained

[AboveTheNoise]

If you could lobby for any law to get passed, what would it be…and how would you work your strategy?

[Haseri]

You can hire a lobbyist to negotiate a raise, it's called a union

[Nonz.M]

This video was a good reminder that the voice of the people has very little influence on the laws that get passed.

[TheseWordsTouch]

Lobbying is legalized bribery as soon as money is involved. I wish politicians would just do their job and make informed decisions with any information provided to them.

[ForcesOfFreedomAndFascism]

"It's incredibly expensive to run for office, " but with free internet and social media, wouldn't it be easy to publicize your platform? The cost of expensive 30-second TV ads, where you learn nothing about the candidate except a catchphrase or a smear of the opposing politician, seems ineffectual.

[ruano]

Surely the most obvious improvement would be to ban lobbyists from doing any work that could benefit politicians and government officials. So that includes fundraisers but also any gifts, holidays, favours for family members, offers for future jobs etc.

[MandoMTL]

Lobbying, Bribery...
Potato, Potatoe...

[connecticutaggie]

Myles, great video. I loved how you informed without painting an overly simplistic view.
Insight about about Lobbyists can come from a similar to another job that is often villainized - Medical Sales Reps. Though Medical Sales Reps can (at times) use inappropriate means to influence a sale, they also provide information, training, and support that doctors need to be successful. I am sure when you go to your doctor I am sure you want them to provide you with the best treatment but so much has changed since they left medical school and even medical school can't train them on everything. That is often where a Medical Sales Rep comes in - he is an expert on the medicines he represents and can help a doctor understand what they are and where they can be used so he can make the best decision for you.
The best Lobbyists can do the same thing for a Congressman. Congressmen can't be an expert on everything and the public almost certainly is not. Issues are complex and if he only listened to superficial he could very easily sponsor a bill that sounded great on the surface but actually was disastrous for his constituents.

[dramonmaster]

Thanks for making this video and making politics more fun to learn.

[sullivannix]

Loved the video! Very high quality and informative.

[monstar]

What's the difference between lobbying and corruption?

[PunkHerr]

The downside of lobbying is that people with money/power always have longer breath and more opportunities.

But let's say we keep lobbying, what could help? For example like back in Greek to get random politicians.
This way you start from 0 every time a new election happens so that you cannot take one politician
and hope (or even help) that they stay for years and work for your interests.

Through the randomness you don't have to fight (and loose ressources on that) for reelection.

[rsaunders]

Good for Legislators + Good for Lobbyists = Not Good for Everybody Else. With the legislative branch writing thousand-page bills, somebody has to actually do the work of writing down the specifics.

[sylvesteruchia]

"Even reptiles have lobbyists"

Mark Zuckerberg : " how else are we supposed to get heard ?"

[saeedabasilobbyist]

Great info buddy, liked the way you presented.. Me also introducing a global positive style of Lobbying in professional way rather than a kickback or bribery style

[DavidBeddard]

Lobbyist to negotiate a raise? It's called a union, Myles!

[indiealaska]

Learned a lot from this one! Thank you!

[robotbutterflies]

I was actually paying close attention to US ARK not long ago. There was some points in an upcoming bill that would make it very difficult to own or sell exotic pets. As a person who keeps Tarantulas, I had a vested interest on how it played out.

[mayaispunk]

This was really great and simple to understand :D 👍🏽

[yjlygvq]

At this point I am looking for my new client but so many companies are so frustrating. So if you know a company looking for a lobbyist I am your guy. I am here in Washington D.C.