Donald Trump has denounced his opponents as being controlled by “special interests, the lobbyists, and the donors,” but a number of pro-Trump delegates helped crush an effort by two members of the Republican Party’s rules committee last week to ban for-profit lobbyists from the Republican National Committee.
Republican state Reps. Mary Anne Kinney of Maine and Cindy Pugh of Minnesota introduced an amendment at a rules committee session that would ban registered lobbyists for for-profit entities from serving as members of the RNC.
“This amendment is meant to keep those with a financial stake in being on the RNC [out]. … Nonprofit lobbyists are exempt,” Ted Cruz delegate Kinney explained, saying that lobbyists for pro-life groups, for instance, would not be barred.
“As a state representative, I’ve witnessed firsthand the influence of paid lobbyists,” said Pugh, also elected as a Cruz delegate. “Our Republican Party should be giving voice to everyday, hardworking citizens, and not giving in to the voices of insider lobbyists.”
She went on to cite Trump’s own stated posture against lobbyists, and the influence of lobbyists on the Democratic Party — saying that “Republicans need to make a bold statement that we stand in contrast and have higher standards” than their opponents. (The DNC has welcomed lobbyists this year, in a change from the Obama era.)
An objection was raised by California delegate Harmeet Dhillon, who works as a corporate lawyer and serves as both a Trump delegate and a vice chair of the California GOP. “Banning people from participating in politics because of their chosen profession,” she said, is “un-American.”
“Once we single out lobbyists, we’re looking at singling out other potential disfavored professions. Such as plaintiffs lawyers, such as used car salesmen … such as farmers people don’t like,” she said. Kinney, the delegate from Maine, is a farmer.
Another corporate lawyer, Mike Stuart, the co-chair of Donald Trump’s West Virginia campaign, rose in opposition as well.
“I truly believe that every state should be able to determine its representatives to the RNC. Whether that be three priests, three pastors, three lobbyists, three coal miners, or three coal miners from Southern West Virginia!” he said. “It’s a states’ rights issue.”
Gwen Bowen, a Louisiana Cruz delegate, praised the amendment for its optics. “There’s a lot of lobbyists on this committee right now, and you know we have a media watching,” she said. “And so we have an opportunity to say the Republican Party is the grassroots party. And it’s the grassroots people who are going to make the decisions for the rules — not the lobbyists, the paid lobbyists.”
Illinois delegate Demetra Demonte, who has voiced frustration with delegates who do not want to vote for Trump, called the amendment “well-intended” but “not practical. I think it’s going to open up a Pandora’s box.”
Oregon delegate Solomon Yue protested: “We have conflicts of interest here. … You have paid lobbyists, they are paid to lobby for a third party for profits and for favorable regulations. That is crony capitalism.” He said Trump would approve. “Take a look at our nominee Donald Trump’s message, how he got where he is today. I’m supporting this measure.”
But Maine’s Alexander Willet, who was tapped by the Trump campaign to put down any potential convention revolt, made her position clear: “It should be up to the individual states when electing their national committee folks when making that decision whether they want a registered lobbyist or not.”
After 45 minutes of debate, the committee voted down not only the amendment to bar lobbyists, but also an amendment to the amendment that simply would have required that they disclose their lobbying activities to the RNC. Both were defeated along a voice vote, meaning that there was no roll call. Asked for comment on the vote total, RNC spokesperson Audrey Scagnelli told The Intercept that the Kinney-Pugh amendment was defeated “overwhelmingly.”
Top photo: Anti-corruption protesters march in Washington, D.C., in April 2016.
“Two Delegates Propose Banning Corporate Lobbyists From the RNC, Get Crushed”
UPDATE:
The two delegates have been taken to the guillotine and successfully executed. Their heads were placed on spears and are being displayed in triumph at the convention
lol… When you think about it, Hillary is the Republican, Donald is the Democrat. What happened?
“Our Republican Party should be giving voice to everyday, hardworking citizens, and not giving in to the voices of insider lobbyists.”
Must be a Communist from “Russia”. How un-American can u get!!
Want to see the profession of legal bribery middlemen (lobbyists) evaporate, virtually overnight?
Criminalize campaign contribution “bundling.” You see, THIS is how direct legislative vote-buying happens, and NOT through outside-money SuperPAC-funded advertising allowed under the Citizen’s United ruling.
Make law telling lobbyists they can still work with Congress members to create favorable legislation, IF the member can be convinced of that with only the lobbyist’s own single max-allowed contribution. And they could even still organize for others to contribute, if they wish, but can never again “deliver the goods” on behalf any other without criminal penalties for both them and the elected official.
Now I’m against excessive criminalization, especially non-violent consensual behaviors harming no others. That’s clearly not the case when Congress frequently displays quid pro quo votes in defiance of the will of the American people, and there’s no clearer example of this than their extremely slimy avoidance of safe and sane gun control legislation.
The people’s interest are perpetually sold-out to whatever predatory industry or corporation (and apparently foreign government) better finances their elections, which conveniently includes their take-home-when-done “unspent campaign funds.” The interests of far more honest citizens, in the majority, are harmed every day by this corrupt behavior – even to complete ruin.
And if media wasn’t so corporately corrupt it’s be far easier for everyone to see gun laws are just one industry and one example and just one drop in a very large ocean of identical corruption – on every single issue Congress addresses.
Hillary’s Constitutional Amendment overturning the SCOTUS’ Citizen United ruling – isn’t a bad idea. It just does nothing to strike at the heart of OUR country’s legalized bribery corruption – and she knows it.
One itsy bitsy problem.
Who is going to create these legal corrections you suggest?
The Congress?
That will happen right after Al Capone rises from the dead
and insists that he be arrested.
Yeah, I know, the only thing I’ve figured out is publicly calling them on their hypocrisy and shaming them every time they mention Citizen’s United – but not also their more direct influence peddling in “bundled” campaign contributions. But that prerequisitely requires shaming the disgusting suck-up media repeating lies instead of asking critical questions. I’m not holding my breath, or anything.
The rule of law’s now just some meaningless bs muttered by the wealthy and their enforcers to oppress, persecute and arrest the defenseless. Even Hillary’s proposed red herring constitutional amendment will be ignored by conservative states’ legislatures, now that the SCOTUS said buying politicians “favor” with expensive gifts is somehow not corruption. Too bad everyone doesn’t have money to throw away, eh? I think we’ve been shit-outta-luck fixing this one for a long time now, but still.
It’s exactly why we have the endless insane waste of resources that’s the war on drugs, you know. That was the first endless war, against ourselves, and it conditioned many to accept perpetual war no matter how badly that first one failed.
Sounds llke the tired refrain of states rights, when it really means kicking the can down the road.
An alternative headline: Zero delegates propose banning corporate lobbyists from the DNC, get crushed.
The most embarrassing thing about our politicians isn’t that they are prostitutes who happily offer their services to any passerby with cash in their pocket, but that they are willing to do this for pennies on the dollar.
Politicians hand out government contracts worth millions, if not billions, in exchange for as little as 1% of those amounts in campaign finance. This is particularly true with military-industrial contracts, something many Congressmembers have built their careers around. This is also seen in the executive branch, with Hillary Clinton’s pay-to-play arms deals involving the likes of Boeing, the Saudi Royals, and the Clinton Foundation being the most notable example. Taken together, it’s a grossly corrupt system that funnels taxpayer dollars into the pockets of corporate cronies of politicians, while basic national needs like infrastructure repair, higher education, etc. are neglected. This is very similar to the gross corruption seen in the Soviet Union in the last years before its collapse.
Obviously the solution is publicly financed campaigns for city, state and national office. Keeping the lobbyists who work for the recipients of government contracts out of the process is a good idea; the only issue is to decide who gets public money to run election campaigns, which could be done on the basis of a democratic process like signature collection.
Question.
When is a corporate lobbyist not a corporate lobbyist?
Answer.
When they are elected to office as a democrat or republican.
Then,
they are sprinkled with a magic fairy dust which makes them
objective, trustworthy, and filled with humanitarian empathy
so that their integrity is unquestionable and
their farts are ambrosia.
Be careful not to choke by inhaling too deeply!
Thanks, Clark, I needed the chuckle.