Reply #39: Lobbyists are people too! [View All]

[newmajority]

Lobbyists Are People Too -- Not!


The non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics has a new report raising questions about Hillary Clinton's practice of accepting federal lobbyist donations -- and her defense for doing so.

"A lot of those lobbyists, whether you like it or not, represent real Americans," she said in early August at the YearlyKos convention in Chicago when asked why she wasn't joining Obama and Edwards in spurning federal lobbyists. "They represent nurses, social workers, and yes, they represent corporations and they employ a lot of people."

The center analyzed Clinton's lobbyist cash and found that -- surprise -- she had raised far, far less from night-shift nurses than from, say, titanic multinational drug companies.

"In total, 353 federally registered lobbyists (including those working at lobbying firms or in-house for corporations, unions and associations) contributed at least $787,300 to Clinton's presidential campaign in the first nine months of this year, more than they gave to any other candidate, in either party. Lobbyists who represent health professionals, including the nurses Clinton singled out, account for $82,805 in contributions to her, while those representing the pharmaceutical industry paid out $562,900."

--Glenn Thrush

http://weblogs.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/politics/blog/2007/11/lobbyists_are_people_too_not.html