Petersen (4) mentions that lobbying is a paid activity in the United States in an attempt to sway an elected official towards an action that relates to some legislation. Petersen (5) says that a lobbyist persuades a public official, media, and the public to promote the cause of something and declare support. The Congress hires professional advocates, who assist in formulating policies, in the public institutions. Lobbying affects the political decisions employed by the public, interest groups, and the labor organization that has a stake in the executive policy. Champagne (27) explains that lobbyists provide a crucial role by providing technical information to public officials that relate to a subject of regulation. This is because the congressional staff does not have the technical knowledge in the subject areas. Petersen (8) offers that lobbyists’ access to decision makers has a direct proportion to the campaign contributions on behalf of the client involved. The country faces an abuse in the lobby system that integrally relates to campaign contribution reform. The activity of lobbying derives its power from the constitution.
The politics of the nation battles over the use of the scarce resources in the face of the complex economy. An organization, business, trade groups, or an individual can represent a lobby. A lobby has to exert a lot of influence so that a ruling can favor its cause.
The organization that oversees lobbying in Texas includes different types of interest groups. Champagne (29) asserts that an interest group encompasses individuals working in a joint effort aimed at seeking public and the media influence. Some groups focus on a single problem while other groups focus on broad issues of public policy. Some groups a single election, while others span for a longtime to influence many elections, and the public policies. In Texas, representative government has a structure that encourages the representation of diverse interest groups to avoid conflict and group competition.
Petersen (10) informs that formation of pluralism government balances competing interests to bring resources and weigh them on different sides of the interest groups. This prevents the dominance of an interest group not to undermine the rights of the other. The Texas interest groups do not have uniform capabilities. This is because the different groups have different levels of resources. The design of the constitution seeks to regulate the interest group activities and shape the capabilities of the groups to affect the policymaking. In Texas, lobbying is an important component to steer the conversation between the citizens and the public officials. The interest groups can plan meetings with the public officials to influence the policies in their favor. The well- connected lobbyists who work privately are free to lobby goods at the public expense. Petersen (13) informs that it is illegal in Texas to trade a vote on public policy for money or any other benefit. The Texas Ethics Law defines the habit as felony when one receives campaign contribution by agreeing to act in the interest of the contributor.
The congress of America has enacted Campaign financing, and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) enforces the legislation at the federal level in the country. The Federal state permits private spending but has public spending that qualifies the President of the country in the primaries and the election. Shaw and James (137) elaborates that public spending is subject to certain conditions that qualifies for government subsidy and has certain limits.
The Political Action Committees (PAC) includes private firms that can donate a set sum to influence an election. PAC can allow the family members, as well as the union members, to donate money that has a set limit. There are 527 groups do not donate directly to a candidate (Shaw and James 137). These groups are not in the jurisdiction of FEC. The PAC and the 527 groups contribute a considerable sum while the American public contributes a large portion of the campaign funds.
The Federal state allows bundling as a tactic to regulate the FEC. In bundling, an individual collects contribution from a multitude and donates the money to the campaign. A bundle benefits from the multitude of people and uses the opportunity to make a plea. In Texas, interest groups can pressure the public officials to organize petitions drives or email campaigns to influence the voters. The elected public officials in the state have an immense support from the community. Popularity measures can help the elected official in supporting a certain issue. Lobbying in Texas (14) informs that interest groups request the members to mount coordinated campaigns to express their support or opposition of an issue by using any appropriate medium. Email and postcard campaigns are stronger when supporters use own words and paper in the postcards
It is important for one to conduct a campaign in a way that maintains the public trust and confidence to promote democracy. A running candidate must manage the campaign process, plan and allocate the budget costs, and coordinate timeframes of schedules. A candidate must deal with the media in a realistic way. One can engage with the media, attend public functions, and use advertising for promotion purposes. One must act honestly with integrity at all times and adhere with the national laws concerning campaigns during elections. A candidate must operate a separate account to ensure the election funding does not interfere with the personal account and the payments that relate to an electoral campaign call for the discharge in the same period of an election. A candidate must disclose all the gifts received as donations during the campaign. This method can ensure the integrity during an electoral process.
Works Cited
Champagne, Anthony. "Campaign contributions in Texas Supreme Court races." Crime, Law and Social Change 17.2 (2002): 27-44. Print.
Lobbying in Texas: a guide to the Texas law. Rev. Jan. 3, 2008. ed. Austin, Tex.: Texas Ethics Commission, 2008. Print.
Petersen, Paul R.. Quantrill in Texas: the forgotten campaign. Nashville, Tenn.: Cumberland House Pub., 2007. Print.
Shaw, Daron R., and James G. Gimpel. "What if We Randomize the Governor's Schedule? Evidence on Campaign Appearance Effects From a Texas Field Experiment." Political Communication 29.2 (2012): 137-159. Print.
"The Lobbying Game by Gibson H. Gray, published by the author at 403 West First Street, Tyler, Texas, 75701, U.S.A., 2005, 226 pp., US$7.50.." Political Science 23.1 (2006): 75-75. Print.
