Gibbs on DSCC Donors: Call Bob Menendez

I'm all for taking lobbyist money.... (0.00 / 0)

and then not listening to them.  Why can't we do that?

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-Robert Frost

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by: Matthew Jordan @ Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 13:51:32 PM CDT

No One Simply "Gives" Money Away.... (0.00 / 0)

....unless there is a clear (even if unspoken) "understanding" of what it is that you want done in exchange.

You would have to be stupid to spell out a quid pro quo; but it's clear that all the laws and policies and regulations we are governed by are determined (in great measure) by who is paying to play.

If policies and laws and regulationjs were simply based on what was best for the American people we woulod be looking at a completely different nation.   There would be NO deficits, virtually no pollution, all would have high quality health care and affordable decent housing and there would be no need for student "loans" as higher education would be covered as is high school.   The fact that that sounds Utopian compared to the status quo is a testament to the cost of living under a regime of legalized corruption/bribery.

If/when the Democratic party chooses to make itself THE party of total reform and demands public financing and lets the people know that its agenda is totally progressive....we won't need one penny of money from lobbyists and/or corporate interests.

The people are far ahead of the "professionals" and the consultants/hacks et al on this.

The thing is not simply to project a fake progressive image; but to actually BE a committed progressive through and through.   That's the future of the Democratic party.  (If it's to have one that is.)    The party must evolve or go the way of the dinosaurs (and the Republicans).

Simply being better than the Republicans is nowhere near good enough

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by: Nick Lento @ Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 16:13:31 PM CDT

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Ooops, I Forgot To Answer Your Question..... (0.00 / 0)

Pols who took dirty money and then went ahead and voted for progressive laws/policies would no longer get any money from said interests.   Further, they would be tainted and then targeted for defeat and discredited by any means necessary.  

Try borrowing some money from a loanshark and not paying it back and see what happens.   Once you take the money you have sold your soul.

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by: Nick Lento @ Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 16:19:31 PM CDT

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I donate money to political candidates.... (0.00 / 0)

and I'm pretty sure there was no quid pro quo.  

Lobbyists I think get a bad rap, I mean, lobbying is a written right clearly defined in the constitution.  

If a lobbyist for a Union or a women's right group, etc donates money to gain access to a legislator or to get face time with them to push their agenda, that doesn't bother me.

But I agree, when lobbyists donate money and then in turn write laws that harm the public and benefit that lobbyist's client, we have a problem.  

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-Robert Frost

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by: Matthew Jordan @ Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 18:51:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

They would probably (0.00 / 0)

find someone else to give money to that would listen. If someone would vote that way regardless because it's a position they would normally take, there isn't necessarily a problem.  It's those times that pressure is brought to bear because of the funds and support.

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by: Jason Springer @ Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 16:54:56 PM CDT

[ Parent ]