Although the term “lobbyist” was coined during the administration of President Ulysses Grant, the practice had long been in use before President Grant’s administration. Therefore, lobbying is not a new phenomenon in the United States. In simple terms, lobbying refers to the practice of making attempts to influence government decisions and policies. Although lobbying takes place at every level of government, in many of the occasions, lobbyists target congresspersons with the aim of explaining how the interest groups that they represent would be affected by certain policy decisions. Although viewed by the media and the public with deep mistrust, lobbying is not illegal and is actually protected by the constitution.
Generally, lobbyists have been successful in tilting federal policies in their favor. With the use of their well-funded machinery, lobbyists are capable of not only influencing elected officials but also the public. For example, lobbyists buy space and airtime in the conventional media when they want to educate the public about certain issues. Once the lobbyists create a buzz about the issue, they can now exert more pressure on the elected government officials. Their activities receive a boost when the public supports their line of thought.
A good example of the effectiveness of lobbying is the Oakland Harbor that lobbyists were able to block its dredging for several years. The lobbyists were also able to influence decisions made by Maine’s Land Use Regulatory Commission regarding zoning proposals for the state’s northern forests (Hunter 107). In another instance, lobbyists working for the Audubon Society and Sierra Club successfully lobbied for limited growth in undeveloped areas such as state forests and wildlife refuges in the Northwest states (Hunter 110).
On a national scale, lobbying has contributed to the greater democratization of American politics. Currently, almost every interest group is represented in the lobbying system and groups that had been previously unmobilized are now represented. This means that the promise of democratic representation is closer to being fulfilled than ever before in the U.S. history. From the perspective of government officials, democracy has improved because constituents can now communicate their policy desires to their elected representatives.
However, not everyone buys in the idea that lobbyists are always effective in influencing public policy. For instance, there are arguments that lobbyists overestimate their effectiveness. There are also arguments that the success of lobbying varies from one state to another (Hunter 107). Again, the fact that elected officials represent diverse interest groups suggests that elected officials neutralize the power of lobbyists. Moreover, the success of external interests groups is not as much as compared to the success achieved by internal interest groups. This is especially the case in the adoption of economic and development policies. The different opinions suggest that there is no universal pattern of lobbyist influence in the policy process.
Since the 1960’s, lobbying in the United States has been on the rise. This is because interest groups felt that the conventional parties were taking a good stand on some pertinent issues of concern to them. Although there are arguments that lobbyists overestimate their success, it is undeniable that lobbying has contributed to greater democratization of the country. Lobbyists have also been important in influencing some key federal policy decisions as well as state policy decisions.
Works Cited
Hrebenar, Ronald J. and Bryson B. Morgan. Lobbying in America. Santa Barbara, CA : ABC
CLIO, 2009. Print.
Hunter, Kennith G. Interest Groups and State Economic Development Policies. Wesport, CT
: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Print.
