Thread: A Call To Action

http://american-rattlesnake.org/2010/12 ... ectations/

I thought I’d use today’s post, written hours before the Senate opens up for business and possibly reanimates the corpse of the DREAM Act, to engage in some speculation about citizen activism, and its impact upon the ruling political class.

A few days ago I was Skype-chatting with a group of like-minded individuals I know from a mutually shared Web forum that no longer exists. Some are libertarians, some are conservatives, some anarchists, some liberals, but the common denominator is that most have a fairly dim view of the current American political process. When I importuned some of them to get involved in defeating amnesty-or at the very least, ask some of their more politically active friends to do so-I was greeted with the virtual equivalent of a shrug.

One of the more anti-government members of this group suggested that the whole process of lobbying Congress in order to achieve a specific political goal, or to see your political philosophy enacted into law, was a futile endeavor. I was told that this whole exercise was useless because the people who control Capitol Hill and the federal bureaucracy are not going to respond to the concerns of a mere constituent. And as a somewhat cynical observer of the political process for most of my adult life, I have to say that this perspective is not without its merits.

Our congressmen and congresswomen are increasingly drawn from a shallow professional pool that reflects their shallow interests, i.e. lobbying and lawyering. They often enact legislation in defiance of the public will, but which benefits them politically, as well as conferring advantages upon small, politically connected, extremely wealthy special interests-in this case, the open borders lobby. It’s entirely possible that the esteemed members of the “greatest deliberative bodyâ€

Another example you could use is the prevalence of large numbers of foreign companies and workers prospering in America while American workers tread water. This was accomplished by lobbying, and I can point you to articles in the foreign press where they brag about how well their efforts to lobby our elected respresentatives paid off. They have more access to our elected representatives than we do. They have even taken over large areas of government contracting. They began with dominating IT, but have moved into finance, education, and other areas. Our nation is their job fair (and not ours). Lobbying - never doubt its power.

Originally Posted by BetsyRoss

Our nation is their job fair (and not ours). Lobbying - never doubt its power.

That's an apt description of what's occurring right now. Tim Carney has written of lobbying's power-a great book called "Obamanomics," which is a must-read, IMO.