rblog

So Much Damn Money
The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corruption of American Government
Author: Robert G. Kaiser
Amazon info

Eye-opening. Wonderful description of how the "earmark" process arose - as shown through the history of the Cassidy & Associates lobbying firm, one of the earliest practioners of the earmark. The book shows how lobbying can so easily become a slippery slope. Certainly it appears fair that any person or institution should be able to ask their elected representatives for help in getting some project that they consider worthwhile to be funded by the gov't (e.g. a new research facility). And, it also seems reasonable to hire a consultant to help you navigate the complexities of Washington. And, if you are going to get $20M in funding, paying the consultant $100K also seems fair. Now the consultant who claims to be able to "get things done" will need to be very sophisticated in the ways of Washington and to have good access to lawmakers and their staff. Thus, if the consultant is making large fees, it seems quite reasonable to be making donations (completely legal) to lawmakers and political parties. That access will allow the consultant to present their client's ideas to lawmakers and hopefully get them approved. On the surface, it all seems to reasonable. This book is the story of how it all went so wrong.

There are numerous threads (all interesting, but somewhat hard for me to summarize) - some starting in post-Watergate, when the Democrats distributed power outside of committee chairs - creating many sub-committees and more opportunities for individual congresspeople (and Senators) to be in positions of power. Positions that would allow them to approve projects for their districts - which is, after all, why many of the constituents voted for them. This led to the growth of earmarks - or grants directed at a particular institution - mostly (in the beginning) universities outside of the traditional, already established, elites. The next big shock to the system was the Reagan election in 1980 and the fear that the Democratic party had of losing control over the congress - as you can't "bring home the bacon" if you aren't in charge of a (sub)-committee and you can't do that if your party is not in control. This led to some abuses of power on the Democratic side. And the growing recognition by all involved, that being the party in power was key.

This led to a HUGE increase in the amounts of money spent on campaigning - especially around the area of polling and public opinion. No longer could a candidate campaign on their convictions/beliefs/instincts, but rather statements had to be carefully analyzed to see how it would impact public opinion, and even more importantly, whether there was a way that the statements could be turned to the opponents advantage - especially as negative campaigns began to become more effective. And as the need for money increased, lawmakers turned to the one group of people who WANTED to provide it - the lobbyists (see above for "consultant").

Then in the late 80s and early 90s we see the rise of Newt Gingrich and a move that he encouraged which was for representatives to spend more time in their home districts and away from Washington. On the surface, this sounds fine - but when representatives are only spending 3-4 days in DC, they stop socializing together, they no longer know and trust others - especially those of different parties. And, along with other factors, partisanship began to rise to the levels we see today - which are historic anomalies. This constant partisan politics assisted the emergence of the never ending campaign (due to the importance of staying in office, the rising costs, and thus the constant need for money). Further adding fuel to this bonfire was the emergence of a new career path in "government service" - start as an aide to some important person, establish relationships with that important representative and others in the legislative/executive branches - and then become a consultant (that is to say, lobbyist) for big bucks.

Why does this all happen? Because there is so damn much money at stake.

I thought this book was a great view into how lobbyists work, although I was less interested in the particular story of Cassidy and Associates (although that lens makes the book more personal and more readable). It is a bit depressing (of course) although perhaps a new era has brought a decline of partisanship and the beginnings of the restoration of collegiality to our representatives. New legislation passed in 2007 after the Abramoff scandal may help - but loopholes will always be found.

Recommended: To all.