The Hill News

At a recent press conference on the debt ceiling crisis, President Obama kicked off the latest round of lobbyist-bashing when he said: "I hope [Republicans are] not just listening to lobbyists and special interests ... I hope they're listening to the American people as well." We, as lobbyists, have been blamed for everything from doing something that one interest group doesn’t like to preventing something from happening that is favored by another. In talking with dozens of registered lobbyists over the past six months, all are agreed that we are tired of being the scapegoats. It is high time we break our code of silence and show our true determination to solve the critical problems that are tying the federal government in knots.

For as long as I can recall, it has been popular to rail against lobbyists and the “special interests” we represent. With immense dexterity, elected officials complain about our power while almost simultaneously asking us for co! ntributions to their re-election campaigns. President Obama has been the loudest and most visible critic of our profession. He has accused us of having the influence to make elected officials vote for bad policies, banned us from working at the White House, and rejected our expertise on federal advisory committees.

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