Thursday, September 26, 2019
K Street Project
K Street is an area and street in downtown Washington DC. The K Street Project was an effort, mainly from the 1980s into the early 2000s, by the Republican Party to pressure the government into hiring Republicans into high ranking government positions. The people who work on K Street are known as lobbyists and often referred to as the fourth branch of government. Lobbyists are often hired by special interest groups and use their experience in government in order to exert influence over the American Government. While some think that lobbying is an effective way for voices and opinions to be heard, many others believe it is unfair and is not something that belongs in a democracy. K Street has certainly had it's share of controversies over the past years. In 2002, the New York Times reported on many different Republican and Democrat House Members being being hired by various different interest groups. Once this was exposed, Congress put a letter reminding members that this was a violation of ethics and would lead to corruption. The Abramoff Scandal, in which a group of political lobbyists grossly overcharged Native Americans when building their casinos. During the investigation of the scandal, it also got revealed that the lobbyists would often give illegal gifts and make campaign donations to Congress members is exchange for their vote in key issues. The scandal lead to Congress members on both sides reforming how lobbying works in DC and the power of lobbyists. All of this has lead to many lobbying firms moving out of K Street, and today only 1 of the top 20 lobbying firms in the country have a K Street Address. I think it is fairly to come to the conclusion that is good that K Street no longer notorious for holding most of the country's top lobbying firms.
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I've never heard that description of lobbyists as the "fourth branch". That's a really interesting way to think about it. My view on lobbyists is split. I think that they can be good ways to get popular ideas into law, but I also recognize that whichever interest group has the most money can make the changes they want. What happened in 2002 is essentially my main worry about the lobbying system. I don't want my politicians to be bought by a corporation.
ReplyDeleteI think the role of power dynamics of various groups and people in the American government is a really interesting topic when it comes to lobbying. On one hand, having people to represent interest groups in government is important in order to get pressing issues out onto the floor, but it's also very easy to abuse that power in a way that doesn't support the foundations of democracy. Your example of the K Street firms giving illegal gifts to Congress members is a perfect representation of that kind of power abuse. I was also surprised when I read that an investigation was launched to stop the K Street firms, because from my knowledge I know that politics can often involve corrupt methods that are legal, but not necessarily fair. I believe that lobbying can be similar in the ways that most of the time it's legal but an unfair play of power.
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