The lobbyist enters the dark, smoke-filled room with pockets full of cash. The fat politician waits with a greedy grin, ready to vote for a sweet deal for the power behind the lobbyist. We’ve all seen this in the cartoons in the newspaper. Sometimes that picture is not so far from the truth. But lobbying is not quite that simple. We all know our political system directly affects our economic system. But how does lobbying fit in? The answer depends on your understanding of economics.

Free markets and lobbying

From a free market point of view, all regulation of business has a negative affect on the economy. That means all tax breaks, business taxes and even pork-barrel government spending skew a market that works best if left to itself. Yet who works hardest to secure special tax breaks? Who works over their Congressional representatives for first grab at contracts? The business lobbyist.

Our current economic system hardly reflects the ideal of the free market. To a free market economist, lobbying is only good when it seeks to end government regulation of business. All other lobbying limits the invisible hand of the market, which finds its own balance over time to the relative good of society as a whole.

Our pro-business politicians use free market language to speak against regulation, but at the same time they push though special tax exemptions and subsidies while directing rich contracts toward cronies and campaign contributors. In this case, the market isn’t free; it’s an oligopoly — control by a small, inside group. Over time, government spends more and more on a small selection of corporations. Businesses with access to political power through influential lobbyists get rich, while businesses without that access suffer and fail. That’s fleecing the public sheep, not letting the market work as it will. Do Halliburton and Dick Cheney come to mind?

Conflict Theory and lobbying

Another approach to thinking about how society and the economy work is sociology’s Conflict Theory. According to this approach, many interest groups struggle in society for greater access to political decision-making and economic resources. Those who gain more access and more money thereby gain power. They set the rules of society to work to their advantage and to the disadvantage of other interest groups. Those with more power exploit the labor and resources of those with less power. Over time, that exploitation solidifies into oppressive systems such as racism, sexism, classism and heterosexism.

From a Conflict Theory viewpoint, lobbyists are primarily employed by interest groups to wield whatever power those groups can muster on the political scene. Today, this primarily means campaign donations. Modern political campaigns cost huge amounts for TV and radio commercials, direct mail flyers and postage, campaign staff, travel budgets and polls. The flow of money from interest groups, especially business, keeps that machine chugging along. With each donation, a chain of accountability stretches from the interest group to the politician. When Dominion or Philip Morris lobbyists enter the office of a politician, that politician knows what donations — and possible future donations — that lobbyist represents.

Lobbying as information sharing

With over 3,000 bills flowing through the Virginia General Assembly in just two or three months, it is impossible for one politician to be informed about each bill on which he or she votes. We live in a world of increasing complexity. So, while money certainly talks to politicians, effective lobbyists must also be reliable sources of information for politicians.

So the flow of information from lobbyist to politician plays a critical part in good politics. A good lobbyist can lead a politician through the arcane details of an issue and suggest a policy solution based on real research and solid thinking. Of course, the politician always knows that the lobbyist is ultimately self-interested, so the politician must finally sort through the information for her or himself.

But good information, unlike vast sums of money, is not limited to corporations and other large institutions. Understanding what information an elected official needs and providing it is a way that any lobbyist can get close to that elected official.

Effective lobbying is a form of power

Not all professional lobbyists dispense campaign contributions. But every effective lobbyist shares these strengths:

• first, the relationships they have built over time with particular politicians;
• second, the intelligence networks through which they gather information; and,
• third and most importantly, their reputation and integrity.

For example, the lobbyist for the Payday Loan industry is Reggie Jones, whose reputation at the Virginia General Assembly is impeccable. He can get votes for his clients from some politicians simply based on his reputation and credibility. He has power separate from the money power of his clients, and distinct from the social conflicts of the larger society.

Organizations of everyday people can develop these three qualities, too. Over the long term, by building a relationship with a legislator, development of a network of informed supporters, and internal standards of integrity, an organization can come to be even more respected by legislators than a professional lobbyist.

At VOP, we use a two-pronged approach to our work with legislators. We employ Ben Greenberg to be an inside presence with legislators on our issues, and to work with our members who go to the General Assembly every day in order to talk with legislators from a constituent’s perspective. The two reinforce one another very well. With Ben Greenberg’s guidance, and the experience and participation of our members and allies, we are building a powerful lobbying presence at the General Assembly.

At the same time, out in the world of the market, the media, and social conflict, we organize power in the community, knowing that ultimately all decision-makers have to base their decisions on the power relationships around them.

In the final analysis, lobbying often skews our supposedly free market towards the undeserving wealthy. Lobbyists are part of larger systems of conflict in our society. The political process moves our economic abundance toward some at the expense of others.

But there is something we can do about it. People’s organizations like VOP organize as a counter-balance in order to make sure Virginia’s economy works for the benefit of all — for the common good.