Yeah, Legislating Is Just Like Any Other “Business,” Isn’t It?
by Bill Simon
Allow me to term the $931,000 spent by lobbyists to bribe the 2007 Georgia General Assembly in the politically-correct terminology people like the Pavlovian-lobbyists and their (complementary) legislator-dogs want us to believe:
From Pavlov’s perspective: “This $931,000 is an INVESTMENT for our sales and marketing divisions. When our lobbyists sacrifice their expense accounts in order to court legislators, it is just like any other business out there that is trying to build relationships with a prospective client.”
From the Dogs’ perspective: “Every time we go out to eat with a lobbyist, it is the same as it is with any other vendor taking a client out to eat. True, we usually chow-down on extraordinary food and good wine, but, keep in mind, we are sacrificing our family time to make sure that we become educated on the positions of these lobbyists so that we can truly make the best decisions in the legislature.”
I am reminded of the case of State Rep. Stacey Reece (R-No Longer In Office). Back in early 2006, the lobbyists who are practitioners of the this-is-just-like-any-other-business practice threw Reece and his fiance a wedding shower. Then, Reece termed the expenditure on his personal business as [paraphrasing here because I don’t have the original AJC article…but can dig-it up if anyone is stupid enough to challenge me on it] “something that happens all the time between friends…”
Yes, yes, why those Pavlovian lobbyists are just “friends” of the legislators, aren’t they?
I want to know something: Do these lobbyists have any friends besides legislators? Do they also spend copious amounts of their client’s money on treating them to sports events and dinner?
And, I’d like to know…any of those lobbyists who considered Reece their “friend” last year, are they still calling on him and making plans to take him to dinner and to the World Series/Super Bowl, etc.?
NO? Wow…some friends these folks are. Hell, they might as well skip the financial bribes and just send them all companions of the opposite gender to demonstrate their “friendship” with the legislators; at least that demonstration of friendship will never show-up on a lobbyist’s disclosure.
