What If Lobbyists Didn’t Exist?

John R. Talbott
What If Lobbyists Didn’t Exist?
Posted: 7/26/11 10:05 AM ET

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I was curious as to what the world would look like if we didn’t have lobbyists. We are one week away from announcing here the formation of a third party that has just one platform issue, the refusal of our candidates to take money or meet with lobbyists, banks or corporations while campaigning or in office. We understand that we will most likely be outspent in every election we enter, but we also feel America is ready to clean up the cesspool of special interests we call Washington. Having said that, if we can get 5 million Americans to each give us $50, that would be $250 million, enough to run a major campaign successfully. We will make up for our shortage of money with a surplus of American hard work and ingenuity. If Tunisia and Egypt can organize a revolution on the net, we ought to be able to also.

One of Huffington Post’s readers asked a very intuitive question after reading an article we posted that described the new party’s intentions. He asked, if you only have one platform issue, how is one supposed to know where the party stands on all the other important issues facing the country, the debt, the environment, jobs, healthcare, etc.

First of all, the national party will not be taking any positions on these issues. We will leave it to our candidates to take positions and we will leave it to voters, free of special interest influence, to decide if the positions our candidates espouse meet with favor with the electorate. I know this sounds like Democracy 101, but we have gotten so far away from democracy in this country that it needs to be said. If our candidates get off track and don’t represent your interests, you vote them out of office. The new national political party, unlike the Democrats and the Republicans, will not be rewarding our candidates with donations who regurgitate the party’s positions on issues. Then we will have a true democracy reflecting all the people and all the rich diversity of ideas that this country represents.

If you wanted to think ahead as to what a winning strategy for one of our candidates might be, you need look no further than recent polls of Americans’ views on important policy questions. Our candidates will not feel obligated to always vote the way polls suggest, but, if they want to get reelected in a world without big money and lobbyists, they better not stray too far afield of what the people want.

So what do the people want? Understanding all the weaknesses of polls and how they can be constructed, but just wanting to get a general idea of what the American people were thinking on important issues, I did a Google search for the words “Polls show….” I don’t agree with all of these positions, but I find myself agreeing a lot more with this group than with the corporate and lobbyist controlled crowd currently in Washington. Here are the results of the search in no particular order.

1 July 2011 – 19 Different Polls Show That Americans Support Tax Increases To Cut Deficit

16 Feb 2011 – The latest CBS News poll shows 55 percent oppose Republican efforts to cut funding for the new health care law.

13 May 2011 – The number of Americans who doubt that Obama was born in the US is declining, tracking the rise in his approval rating, recent polls show.

2 Jun 2011 – Polls Show Huge Public Support for Gay and Transgender Workplace Protections.

2 March 2011 – Four national polls show strong public opposition to rolling back public employee bargaining rights

20 Apr 2011 – Polls Show Support for Fixing Federal Deficit, but Not for Proposed Remedies.

7 Mar 2011 – New Polls Show Support for Civil Liberties.

21 Jun 2011 – Polls Show More Americans Favor Withdrawal From Afghanistan

25 Apr 2011 – A poll from CNN this week is the latest to show a majority of Americans in favor of same-sex marriage

15 Apr 2011 – Polls Show Opposition To Medicare Cuts, Uncertainty About Ryan Budget

29 Jun 2011 – New Battleground States Polls Show 7 in 10 Voters Want High Earners to Pay Their Fair Share for Social Security

19 Apr 2011 – This isn’t the first poll to show a strong majority of Americans favor raising taxes on the rich and strongly oppose touching entitlements

10 Jun 2010 – Two separate polls this week, from Stanford and Yale universities, show Americans are still concerned about global warming

5 Feb 2009 – A New York Times/CBS News poll released last week shows, yet again, that the majority of Americans support national health insurance and universal healthcare

Now the majority is not always right, and that is why we have a representative form of government, so our elected officials can also vote their conscience. But, corporate and special interest lobbying in Washington has become so pervasive that the country is begging for an alternative, and we hope to give it to them.

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John R. Talbott is a best selling author and consultant. His new book is mandatory reading for anyone interested in learning the real reasons for this crisis and how to protect yourself going forward. You can read more about John and the new book at www.stopthelying.com or at amazon.com. Information for media contacts is also available at www.stopthelying.com.