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The US has decided that its politicians are for auction. I don't see why its a problem if the bidding is from China instead of Comcast? Besides foreign governme
by Feniks 9y ago
The US has decided that its politicians are for auction. I don't see why its a problem if the bidding is from China instead of Comcast? Besides foreign governments have been lobbying in Washington for decades. There is a whole industry about it.
- wahsd 9y agoIt's almost even more sickening that our "media" and "news" are totally and utterly compromised. The corruption or even impropriety is really the secondary story when the whole structure and process for holding them accountable is corrupt and rotten and just plain blind with incompetence, ineptitude and stifling bias.
- perseusprime11 9y agoI agree. This is how we are setup. U.S foriegn policy is important for trade, immigration, war, sanctions, etc. There is no other way to get your story through without lobbying.
- colanderman 9y agoIsn't that the purpose of diplomats? "The main functions of diplomats are: representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state; initiation and facilitation of strategic agreements; treaties and conventions; promotion of information; trade and commerce; technology" [1] Why are we permitting lobbyists to usurp this role? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomat
- tw04 9y ago>Why are we permitting lobbyists to usurp this role? Why do we allow lobbying to exist at all? Because politicians make the laws, and lobbyists enrich them. If someone said "hey, would you like to have other people give you free gifts every day, or would you like to make that illegal?" - what is your response going to be? Lobbying will literally be the downfall of our democracy. Here's hoping other countries learn from that brutal mistake.
- libertyEQ 9y agoIf you ever call you congress critter, that is considered lobbying, no? "Spamming" and abuse of all kinds are the price paid for a free society.
- tw04 9y agoNo, it actually isn't. To actually lobby Congress on behalf of a company you need to register as a lobbyist. Very, VERY different than a constituent calling their representative.
- verylongaccount 9y agoWhat particularly strikes me about this story is the highly selective concern. What about all the lobbying done by Israel and Saudi Arabia?
- oculusthrift 9y agoshhh... that’s antisemetic and islamophobic
- bmer 9y agoNo one considers criticizing Saudi Arabia to be Islamophobic, and no one considers criticizing Israel to be antisemitic. There are Muslims and Jews who criticize respectively both of those countries policies. It's also somewhat difficult to compare Israel and Saudi Arabia in the same breath, since Saudi Arabia is actually a regime propped up by the US, while Israel is a very close US ally (for better or for worse) which has a mind of its own.
- adultSwim 9y agoTell that to the Anti-Defamation League.