Can we ban paying lobbyists?

[Union Yes]

Example of a law banning lobbyist pay and compensation...

No person, business, or organization can receive pay or compensation for petitioning government for the redress of grievances.

Lobbying before Congress, the Senate or directly to the President is petitioning government for a redress of grievances.

No person should be allowed to receive pay for lobbying our government elected officials in my opinion.

Lobbyists have turned our government into the corrupt mess that it is today.

Lobbyist have stolen our democracy from right out under our noses.

Pro-people government reform has to start with lobbyist reform. Or reform will NEVER happen.

If you oppose this then please think former Sen Trent Lott who is making a killing as a paid lobbyist.

It's lobbyists like Trent Lott who are destroying our democracy.

When will it stop?

[AngryAmish]

1. No.

Say I am bedridden in Illinois. How would I get redress without paying someone?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. Can you even give me a reason why it's lobbyists and not campaign financing that is "destroying us"?

Mind you, we already have laws against bribery and corruption, which have served us well. Beyond that, lobbyists don't do anything incredibly powerful, outside of representing people that donate like crazy to campaigns, which should lead anyone to believe that it's the campaign money that's the problem - not the lobbyists. The other power that they have is that they represent voters (including you).

Truth is, you have lobbyists. If you've given even one dime to pretty much any major association (and there are literally thousands of them), you have a lobbyist. They are very, very valuable in conveying the very real benefits and consequences of laws passing through our government.

Again, the problem is one of money. One form of it is already illegal and has been successfully prosecuted many times in a court of law. The other is legal and has been expanded by the Supreme Court, but it will exist with or without the lobbyists. So please, with this in mind, tell me how they "destroy our democracy"?

[Ozymanithrax]

3. According to the Supreme Court Money = Free Speech...

Banning paying lobbyists is banning free speech.

I'm just saying...shit stinks but we can't ban it.

[Earth_First]

4. When corporations can runs advertisng for political office, this point is moot

Remove disclosure from the equation and you won't need the lobbyists any longer.