No. Then they develop even more connections that allows them to be better lobbyists once they're done. It feeds the lobbyist system.
If someone really wants to minimize the role of lobbyists in the government, the only logical approach is to not deal with or hire lobbyists or former lobbyists.
But standing on principle is a tall order in D.C. For anyone.
I'm not a big fan of absolutes. The ONLY absolutes I'm aware of are death and taxes.
What are the logical reasons for using lobbyists?
hmmm.... Money and Connections.
Here is the problem with these emotionally charged arguments and gotcha games.
We force the decision into some Binary model. Good or bad. All or nothing.
Every single decision has good and bad in it.
The logical thing (in the utalitarian model) is to weigh both the good and the bad together, and if there is MORE good than bad then you do it.
Now, lets apply this model to what Obama is 'going' to do.
a) Think of all the Money and COnnections Lobbyists have.
b) Think of all the problems that exist in the nation and in Washington.
c) Think of all the ways Lobbyists could help.
d) Think of all the ways Lobbyists could abuse their power and position.
e) Think of all the ways you could 'limit' how lobbyists could abuse their power and position.
Do the math. a - b + (c - d + e) = 0
a + (c - d + e) = b
In this equation, I set the Lobbyists issue against all the problems in Washinington. Ideally, the left side of the equation would be equal to or greater than the right side of the equation. However, as long as the left side of the equation ends up being 'positive' then logically, you should do that action.
Now, where the math gets tricky is in your ability to do 'e' and the value you assign to c and d.
By looking at problems as equations you can take some of the emotion out of it and make an objective choice. You can also see the complexity because some of the equations will not be simple algebraic equations but evolve into more complex ones.
The problem with absolute arguments is that they focus on one variable, and make their decision based on that one absolutist variable and create an absolutist model out of that variable and then try to apply that model to the entire equation.
This is what is the engine for the 'gotcha' game.
Obama has some real problems and the best way for him (and us) to fail is to play these gotcha games.
As a nation, lets give him the SAME SLACK that we gave Bush. Give him a chance, support him, and then after a couple of years we will then have the DATA to see if we were moving in the right direction.
that is my two cents.
Overall, I believe a lot of good can come out of this.
It just has to be done in the right way.
Mel...
