Peter Schweizer Quotes
We need to focus, not only the buyers of influence, but also on the sellers of influence.
Much public concern has been with moneyed interests buying influence, but the campaign contributions where members of Congress pressure (extort) contributions from companies and other organizations that might be harmed by legislation.
Peter Schweizer, President, Government Accountability Institute, Research fellow, Stanford University's Hoover Institution, Interview, PBS The Diane Rehm Show, December 4, 2013
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Hollings who was one of the senior experienced senators was offended by the degree to which the George W. Bush Administration and the Republican leadership had turned to lobbyists to draft legislation and amendments to pending legislation. Lobbyists often have specialized information that members of Congress do not have, so there has been in modern times communications between lobbyists and members of Congress and their staffs. However, during the Bush Presidency the practice reached an extreme where lobbyists would even write the legislative language and give it to the members in whom they had invested by giving them large campaign contributions and many perks. K Street is the fanciest street in Washington DC with some of the most expensive office space. A substantial proportion of the lobbyists have K Street offices, hence the metaphor.
As a candidate for the Republican Presidential Nomination, Trump was very forthright about the fact that when he was a business tycoon, he gave money to many politicians not for any ideological reasons but he considered the money an investment which paid off handsomely. Almost all large campaign donors believe that they are making an investment and most have continued to be satisfied with the results so they continue to donate. See {583282} as an example of Trump's candid view.
Norquist, Abramoff, and Congressman Tom Delay had created a shakedown scheme to extract money for Republicans from lobbyists and to punish any who donated to Democrats. Although Norquist wanted 50 more, Abramoff was convicted and sentenced to jail in one of the biggest political scandals in modern times. Delay also was indicted.
ANWR stands for the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve. The oil companies want to drill for oil in the reserve and feel that the risk to the pristine natural area is justified by the value of the oil to the nation. At the beginning of their efforts, they maintained that drilling was "no risk" to the environment. However, after the BP oil spill that did so much damage and could not be controlled for months, most oil companies admit there is some risk, but argue that the benefit is worth it. Opponents do not think the benefit is sufficiently great to risk the wildlife and the rest of the ecology, and some argue that the oil itself is just more fossil fuel that will increase the rate of global warming. The “legal bribery” to which President Carter refers is the loophole in the existing laws and rules of trhe House and Senate which allow members to take money from companies or rich individuals and in return give special access to them and their staffs, provide them with early copies of proposed legislation of committee reports, allows them to draft laws or amendments or statements for their speeches, supports their bids for government contracts, makes inquiries to government agencies on the company’s behalf and provides other services that the company executives will bring them more money that the “campaign contributions” cost them.
Senator McCain, on the current lobbying scandal, in particular, and the state of the government’s relationship with lobbyists in general.
Peter Franz Schweizer is an American writer and political consultant. He is the president of the Government Accountability Institute (GAI), senior editor-at-large media organization Breitbart News, and a former fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution.
