Comments on: Interview: The life of a lobbyist http://davidjgarcia.com/blog/2009/06/interview-the-life-of-a-lobbyist/ PR, multimedia, technology and life Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:22:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: David J Garcia http://davidjgarcia.com/blog/2009/06/interview-the-life-of-a-lobbyist/#comment-13455 David J Garcia Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:54:53 +0000 http://davidjgarcia.com/blog/?p=808#comment-13455 Exactly. I'm glad you liked it. As professional communicators, we can appreciate the role that others--like lobbyists--have to play. Of course there are those that are slimy and unethical, and Richard mentioned them. But, like our conversation on my first ethics post, just because you take an advocacy position doesn't make you unethical. I appreciate how you put it: "lobbyists often represent the self-interests of huge chunks of the populace through their corporations' reach" & "good lobbyists help politicians keep in touch with their constituencies." Exactly. I’m glad you liked it. As professional communicators, we can appreciate the role that others–like lobbyists–have to play. Of course there are those that are slimy and unethical, and Richard mentioned them. But, like our conversation on my first ethics post, just because you take an advocacy position doesn’t make you unethical.

I appreciate how you put it: “lobbyists often represent the self-interests of huge chunks of the populace through their corporations’ reach” & “good lobbyists help politicians keep in touch with their constituencies.”

]]> By: Brooke Eddington http://davidjgarcia.com/blog/2009/06/interview-the-life-of-a-lobbyist/#comment-13446 Brooke Eddington Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:42:49 +0000 http://davidjgarcia.com/blog/?p=808#comment-13446 <i>Even though people think lobbying is all about making friends, that’s not enough. “You could get along well with the people, but if you have a thin argument, that doesn’t change anything.”</i> <i>“People like to beat up on big business,” he says, “but that money all goes to something, including paying for employees, research and development, future job growth and–lest we forget–government programs, through tax dollars.”</i> I LOVE those two statements. People always beat up on lobbyists, and it's always really frustrating to me, since lobbyists often represent self-interests of huge chunks of the populace through their corporations' reach. I'm glad you did a section on this, because I think it's important for people to hear positive press and "the real story" about the ethics of being a lobbyist. Good lobbyists help politicians keep in touch with their constituencies. Even though people think lobbying is all about making friends, that’s not enough. “You could get along well with the people, but if you have a thin argument, that doesn’t change anything.”

“People like to beat up on big business,” he says, “but that money all goes to something, including paying for employees, research and development, future job growth and–lest we forget–government programs, through tax dollars.”

I LOVE those two statements. People always beat up on lobbyists, and it’s always really frustrating to me, since lobbyists often represent self-interests of huge chunks of the populace through their corporations’ reach. I’m glad you did a section on this, because I think it’s important for people to hear positive press and “the real story” about the ethics of being a lobbyist. Good lobbyists help politicians keep in touch with their constituencies.

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