Quick Study: Lobbying's Long Arm

An in-depth look into policy clears up the implications behind lobbying.

During the 2008 presidential race, John McCain and Barack Obama each accused the other of having a campaign infested with former Washington lobbyists. The implication? That the mere act of lobbying—of seeking to influence the defeat or passage of legislation—was itself disreputable. But in fact, the First Amendment guarantees a right "to petition the government for a redress of grievances." From the country's earliest days, Americans have exercised this right, whether a citizen writes a letter about a bill or a business owner hires an agent to present his or her views. Almost from the beginning, too, lobbying—because it often took place over a sumptuous dinner or in a well-appointed bar-raised suspicions that the petitioner had somehow gained an unfair advantage with the lawmaker.

As government has increased in size and scope, lobbying has grown accordingly. Corporations, unions, and interest groups of every stripe send their own lobbyists to Washington and state capitals, or they hire lobbying firms to advocate for their positions. But lobbyists are also educators: Lawmakers and government agencies contemplate such complex matters-one day it's environmental policy, the next it's the fine points of technology-that a briefing from experts is essential to making an informed judgment.

Of course, the legitimate business of lobbying and governing can be subverted for personal gain. Periodic scandals involving overreaching lobbyists and grasping politicians have sufficiently tainted the process to make complaints about lobbyists and "special interests" a reliable applause line-even though those special interests, taken as a whole, amount to the concerns of every American.

Big Spenders
A decade of lobbying dollars, by industry, 1998 to 2008

1. Pharmaceuticals/Health Products - $1.5 billion
2. Insurance - $1.1 billion
3. Electric Utilities - $1 billion
4. Computers/Internet - $820 million
5. Business Associations - $745 million
6. Education - $727 million(excludes money from teachers' unions)
7. Real Estate - $696 million
8. Oil and Gas - $687 million
9. Hospitals/Nursing Homes - $649 million
10. Miscellaneous Manufacturing and Distributing - $613 million

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