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Pete Davis
DeBock
English 4 Honors
18 March, 2015
Lobbying Reform
Lobbying has been an element in government since the Roman Republic (Issitt 1).
Without regulation of lobbying activities, corruption and bribery is nearly inevitable. Although
the Roman Republic had laws prohibiting bribery, monitoring government officials was clearly
much more difficult. Lobbying was also present in early imperial governments in China and
Japan. All three governments created reasonable concern of corruption and bribery from its
citizens (Issitt 1). In the United States, lobbying is a guaranteed right under the 1st Amendment to
the Constitution. However, in order to restore trust from the general public, all lobbying activities
should be made available for public scrutiny.
High profile cases of bribery have contributed to the evolution of general distrust in
government officials from American citizens to total paranoia. One famous example is Jack
Abramoff. According to Micah Issitt, During the first six years of the administration of
President George W. Bush the poster child for excessive lobbying that crossed the line into
illegal activity was Jack Abramoff, a former Republican lobbyist who represented the interests of
several large law firms and political organizations (Ford 1). Attempts to restrict the rights of
lobbyists have proved unsuccessful due to their fundamental 1st Amendment right. President
Obama ridding his administration of lobbyists is one famous example of a failed attempt to
greatly reduce the influence of lobbyism (Issitt 1).

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Of course, lobbying is a basic right of an American citizen. Therefore, lobbying cannot

simply be ridded of. According to Adam Ford, Lobbying reform is not about curbing freedom of
speech; it is about preventing corporate funds from lining the pockets of legislators, either
directly through outright bribes or indirectly through gifts and expensive trips, in an attempt to
encourage favorable legislative actions (Ford 1). Further regulation of lobbying is necessary in
order to ensure the general public that politicians are not simply puppets of those funding their
campaigns.
Lobbyists can make a positive impact by coming into direct contact with government
officials that the average person simply could not hope to influence (Jacobs 1). Lobbyism from
special interest groups and activists has certainly proved effective. Lobbyists can be helpful to a
candidate by conducting researches with resources that would otherwise not be available to a
candidate (Jacobs 1). A candidate having the financial backing of certain groups could certainly
make a positive impact in an election. Voters would then be able to pass judgment on a candidate
based on what groups are financially supporting that candidate.
In order to restore trust from the general public, all lobbying activities should be made
available for public scrutiny. Bribery and corruption has been an issue for as long as government
has existed. Corruption is without a doubt unavoidable in government. However, the government
should have laws in place that represent a clear effort to make bribery and corruption as difficult
as possible to accomplish. Transparency is an important step in restoring the trust of American
citizens. Recognizing which politicians are accepting favors from groups and being able to vote
those very politicians out of office would be a key effort toward lobbying reform (Ford 1).
Transparency is the obvious answer to an undeniable issue in American government. At the very

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least, voters should be able to learn about gifts and contributions candidates have received and be
able to vote based on that information (Ford 1).

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Works Cited
Ford, Adam. "Lobbying Weakens the Power of Voters." Ebsco Host. Lakeside Publishing Group,
LLC, 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Jacobs, W.E. "Freedom of Speech Includes Lobbyists." Ebsco Host. Lakeside Publishing Group,
LLC, 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Issitt, Micah. "Lobbying Reform: An Overview." Ebsco Host. Lakeside Publishing Group, LLC,
1 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.