3 hours ago, BTGBullseye said:It's all about the point of view.
I personally feel like no politician is ever going to be able to represent the will of the people, and popular people are only slightly less removed from the general public's representation. The sooner we make political bribery (lobbying) illegal, the better for everyone except the already filthy rich.
Meh. We got rid of Pork in the 90s and Partisanship shot through the roof. Senators had no need to go across the aisle, it became a zero-sum-game - you don't need a Democrat and a Republican senator, you just need two REpublican or two Democratic senators, thus it became a race for total control.
I think getting rid of Citizens United would be a good step, but outright removing lobbying or revolving door stuff just means the money will be directed to private groups, paramilitary groups, associated groups. The masses can be swayed by targeted campaign, we already see this in advertising as in the Soda 'Cap' in NYC or McDonalds Hot Coffee Case. Now imagine the lobby money going into efforts to sway the masses, radicalise them, gather them for support.
These things just have a way of snaking out and about. Got rid of the Spoils System and Patronage, we get Pork and Lobbying. Got rid of the Pork, we get extreme partianship. Get rid of the lobbying, mass radicalization and stirring's probably gonna follow.