JimBowie1958
Old Fogey
- Sep 25, 2011
- 63,590
- 16,767
This is just one of many, but the full sausage making process is revealed for the public..
What Counts as Lobbying? A New Challenge for the IRS
But Gary Bass, a longtime government watchdog who is executive director of the Bauman Foundation, said allegations like those can produce a “chill around nonprofit advocacy” because they make charities more jittery about lobbying, even though they are permitted to do a limited amount.
“The main message is that charities are allowed to lobby,” he said. “I still don’t think we’ve done a good job of conveying that to our community.”
ALEC, a network of conservative state lawmakers and dues-paying corporate members, has been in the news lately because it promoted “stand your ground” laws like the one that was cited as a defense in the Trayvon Martin shooting case in Florida. Liberal groups have also criticized it for supporting tighter voter-identification rules and anti-union laws. A number of corporations, including Coca-Cola, Intuit, and Kraft Foods, announced in recent weeks they were leaving ALEC, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has awarded the group money for education projects, said it will not provide any future grants.
http://www.economist.com/node/21553020
For much of the Chamber's first 85 years it sought to settle disputes by consensus, much like its small-town namesakes. That began to change in 1997 when the wiry Thomas Donohue (pictured) was appointed chief executive after a stint reinvigorating America's trucking association. The organisation he inherited was cash-strapped and lacked punch. His goal, he wrote at the time, “is simple—to build the biggest gorilla in this town—the most aggressive and vigorous business advocate our nation has ever seen.”
He has succeeded on many measures. Today the Chamber is by far the most muscular business lobby group in Washington. From its historic headquarters opposite the White House it wields huge political influence, spending heavily to sway congressional contests. In doing so it has become more controversial and, say critics, more pro-Republican. This has done its coffers no harm: in 2010 it took in $189m in contributions and grants, roughly five times its pre-Donohue inflows.
Today's Chamber is not shy about staking out strong (some would say extreme) positions on hot-button issues: it has led the running on supporting tort and entitlement reform and greater domestic energy production, and in opposing “excessive” regulation, government-run health care and cap-and-trade schemes. Its leaders seem to love locking horns with the left, not least the labour unions that spend hundreds of millions promoting their views in each election cycle. “Our adversaries will never leave the field, so neither can we,” says Bruce Josten, the Chamber's chief lobbyist. Labour groups have been so spooked by its surging testosterone that they have set up US Chamber Watch, an outfit dedicated to undermining it.
What Is Corporate Lobbying?
Controversy
Concern often centers around whether some lobby groups can exert more influence than others by virtue of having more money and political connection. Paying government officials for voting or influencing laws is illegal, but the exchange of favors can be complex and a very gray area, and campaign contributions can be controversial in their own right. Some groups might lobby for changes that are detrimental or repugnant to other groups. Both are representing the views of citizens who have the right to petition the government, so it can appear to the less successful group that the other might only have won its case through spending more money. Since individuals can rarely afford to lobby, they often question whether corporations with much deeper pockets have vastly more political power than they should.
What Counts as Lobbying? A New Challenge for the IRS
But Gary Bass, a longtime government watchdog who is executive director of the Bauman Foundation, said allegations like those can produce a “chill around nonprofit advocacy” because they make charities more jittery about lobbying, even though they are permitted to do a limited amount.
“The main message is that charities are allowed to lobby,” he said. “I still don’t think we’ve done a good job of conveying that to our community.”
ALEC, a network of conservative state lawmakers and dues-paying corporate members, has been in the news lately because it promoted “stand your ground” laws like the one that was cited as a defense in the Trayvon Martin shooting case in Florida. Liberal groups have also criticized it for supporting tighter voter-identification rules and anti-union laws. A number of corporations, including Coca-Cola, Intuit, and Kraft Foods, announced in recent weeks they were leaving ALEC, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has awarded the group money for education projects, said it will not provide any future grants.
http://www.economist.com/node/21553020
For much of the Chamber's first 85 years it sought to settle disputes by consensus, much like its small-town namesakes. That began to change in 1997 when the wiry Thomas Donohue (pictured) was appointed chief executive after a stint reinvigorating America's trucking association. The organisation he inherited was cash-strapped and lacked punch. His goal, he wrote at the time, “is simple—to build the biggest gorilla in this town—the most aggressive and vigorous business advocate our nation has ever seen.”
He has succeeded on many measures. Today the Chamber is by far the most muscular business lobby group in Washington. From its historic headquarters opposite the White House it wields huge political influence, spending heavily to sway congressional contests. In doing so it has become more controversial and, say critics, more pro-Republican. This has done its coffers no harm: in 2010 it took in $189m in contributions and grants, roughly five times its pre-Donohue inflows.
Today's Chamber is not shy about staking out strong (some would say extreme) positions on hot-button issues: it has led the running on supporting tort and entitlement reform and greater domestic energy production, and in opposing “excessive” regulation, government-run health care and cap-and-trade schemes. Its leaders seem to love locking horns with the left, not least the labour unions that spend hundreds of millions promoting their views in each election cycle. “Our adversaries will never leave the field, so neither can we,” says Bruce Josten, the Chamber's chief lobbyist. Labour groups have been so spooked by its surging testosterone that they have set up US Chamber Watch, an outfit dedicated to undermining it.
What Is Corporate Lobbying?
Controversy
Concern often centers around whether some lobby groups can exert more influence than others by virtue of having more money and political connection. Paying government officials for voting or influencing laws is illegal, but the exchange of favors can be complex and a very gray area, and campaign contributions can be controversial in their own right. Some groups might lobby for changes that are detrimental or repugnant to other groups. Both are representing the views of citizens who have the right to petition the government, so it can appear to the less successful group that the other might only have won its case through spending more money. Since individuals can rarely afford to lobby, they often question whether corporations with much deeper pockets have vastly more political power than they should.
