Lobbyists

12 Key excerpts on "Lobbyists"

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  PR- A Persuasive Industry?

  Spin, Public Relations and the Shaping of the Modern Media

  • T. Morris, S. Goldsworthy(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  C HAPTER 12 Lobbying, public affairs, politics, and government PR Paying for influence Lobbyists are important creatures of our age. Their activities are seldom long out of the news in the United States and the United Kingdom, and scandals involving lobbying infect most democracies from time to time. The word is often used in the same breath as PR, so there is plenty of guilt by association. As with PR, and as the title of this section reveals, this has led to some awkwardness about what to call the “lobbying.” Although it may be the term in general use by lay- people, and the one, crucially, that is used in the media, in the United Kingdom practitioners seldom call themselves Lobbyists. Many opt for “public affairs,” which is often the term preferred by the big inter- national consultancies, although those who work in the not-for-profit sector tend to dodge all these terms (just as they avoid calling what they do PR) and lump their activities together as campaigning. Lobbying (or public affairs) may be defined as any activity designed to influence the actions of those who exercise the powers of government. This includes not just national governments, but all places where political power is located and wherever decisions are made on laws and regulations and their implementation. Beyond national legislatures lobbying embraces central government minis- tries, agencies, and a growing army of regulators. It includes regional and local tiers of government, but it also covers an ever-spreading array of international organizations, operating either globally – for example the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the 145 146 PR – A Persuasive Industry? World Trade Organization – or in different parts of the world – for example ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Area), the European Union, and the African Union.

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  Groups, Interests, and U.S. Public Policy

  • William P. Browne(Author)
  • 1998(Publication Date)
  • Georgetown University Press

    (Publisher)

  The Meaning of Lobbying A great deal of attention has been given so far to understanding the organization of groups and other political interests. Consider-able mention has been made of their lobbying, pressure, advo-cacy, or just the plain working of policymakers. However, what are interest representatives doing as actual tasks when they pres-sure government? Or, as British lobbyist Charles Miller put it, what are the precise techniques of advocacy? 1 Part of the answer can be found in a description by Jeffrey Birnbaum of a large lobbying firm. Hill and Knowlton, while under Robert Gray's care, housed people who contacted policymakers as well as a varied assortment of researchers, economists, political analysts, publicists, graphic artists, speechwriters, and managers of campaign contributions. 2 There was even an instructor who coached clients and staff on press interviews. Part of Hill and Knowlton's facilities included a broadcast studio, one that not only created electronic media spots but also broadcast them to commer-cial radio and TV stations to use as they wished. Quite literally, Hill and Knowlton made news. Lobbying involves a lot, as this example suggests. Depending on the job, Lobbyists may do a lot as well. Their techniques are many. This certainly seems a big change, at least at first glance, from the early days of American government when Lobbyists were named for their simple penchant for hanging out in congressional lobbies—the halls—waiting to corral a passing legislator. 3 Modern lobbying involves far more. 4 In reality, it always did—more than most people realize. Its techniques include not only the contacts made to advocate issues, and the research needed to make any 62 3 The Meaning of Lobbying 63 deal, there's also a great amount of what might best be called lob-bying foreplay. Tommy Boggs has been a master of that. He main-tained a house on the Chesapeake where policymakers went to party, hunt, and sometimes fish.

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  North American Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations

  Other Voices

  • Tom Watson(Author)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  97 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 T. Watson (ed.), North American Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations, National Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations, DOI 10.1057/978-1-349-95044-7_8 CHAPTER 8 Abstract This chapter provides a mosaic telling the story of seminal events in the history of US political lobbying. Lobbying is defined here as an individual, group, organization or corporation that seeks to directly or indirectly influence the voting of government officials. It is also the act of educating a legislator on an issue related to the interests of Lobbyists and/ or the organization for which they work. It begins with an example of the “citizen lobbyist” and then offers a synopsis of principles and practices of Lobbyists in Washington, DC. Next it provides an overview of lobby- ing’s deep history; included are four “periods” illustrating lobbying’s foci. Reflections on the lobbying as the “third house” come next, followed by discussion of costs and benefits of “corporate lobbying.” The chapter Political Communications and Lobbying in the United States Edward J. Downes, Dustin W. Supa, and Esther Austin E.J. Downes () College of Communications, Boston University, 640 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215-2422, USA e-mail: [email protected] D.W. Supa College of Communication, Boston University, 640 Commonweath Avenue, Boston, MA 2215, USA E. Austin Boston University widens its focus with commentary on the current history of international Lobbyists. It concludes discussing lobbying in today’s new/social media environment. Readers will have a kaleidoscopic overview of the many pieces that combine to form the history of political lobbying and its ethi- cal challenges. Keywords Influence • Legislation • Lobbying • Unions “CITIZEN Lobbyists” Each 22 January since 1974 a massive assembly of citizens gather on the Mall in Washington, DC and march up Capitol Hill to the US Supreme Court.

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  Rethinking Public Relations

  Persuasion, Democracy and Society

  • Kevin Moloney, Conor McGrath(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  3 These techniques can be deployed to protect and protect the structural power of big business, or to challenge and expose that power. Fundamentally, though, lobbying is undertaken for competitive advantage, to achieve some policy gain. We say again that public relations is instrumental, not idealistic.

  Not for the first time, we have here a feature of PR practice which is bedevilled by a host of diverse academic and professional definitions. As a part of everyday language, ‘lobbying’ is generally understood by most of us more or less straightforwardly as an exercise in influence: “Lobbying, in effect, is no more than endeavouring to get folks ‘on your side’” (Collison, 1978: 32); and lobbying is “attempting to influence government decisions” (Nownes, 2001: 8). In those nations which have adopted lobbying registration or regulation, there are legal definitions of what constitutes ‘lobbying’. These tend to focus on the act of communicating with a policymaker in order to influence public policy, and yet this is often the smallest part of a lobbyist’s job. Most practitioners spend most of their time monitoring the activities of parliament and government, more general information-gathering in the socio-political arena, then applying the knowledge gained to the preparation of corporate policy papers, developing and maintaining appropriate contact with key decision-makers and other stakeholders, and only at the end of a lengthy process actually seeking to persuade politicians and civil servants of a client or employer’s case. Boiled down to its essentials, lobbying is about knowing who makes decisions about public policy which affect your group or organisation’s interests, how and when to influence them; but it is important to understand that even more fundamental to lobbying than influence is information provision and persuasive communication. Lobbying, like other areas of PR, is a rhetorical exercise in which the art of finding the most persuasive way of framing an argument can determine effectiveness.4

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  Army Relations with Congress

  Thick Armor, Dull Sword, Slow Horse

  • Stephen K. Scroggs(Author)
  • 2000(Publication Date)
  • Praeger

    (Publisher)

  Indeed some state statutes limit the definition of lob- bying to attempts to exert improper influence. 4 No one is sure where this imprecise term originated, but it likely evolved from a derogatory reference to individuals who waited in the lobby of the Cap- itol building to ambush passing legislators to advocate a particular position on pending legislation. 5 Jeffrey M. Berry, in his excellent work on interest groups, defines lobbying as "any legal means used to try to influence government." 6 Lester Milbrath defines lobbying as ' 'the stimulation and transmission of a com- munication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decisionmaker with the hope of influencing his decision." 7 Both are close to defining lobbying-type activities responsibly undertaken by public agencies; however, neither definition succeeds in differentiating these activities from private Washington lobbying efforts. Even private Washington Lobbyists try to avoid this label because of the stigma associated with their profession. 8 Because of the stigma of applying the "L" word to LL activity, the term "liaise" rather than "lobby" is used in this book to discuss military service LL activity. Communicating directly to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an agency and Congress is liaising activity. Private Washington Lobbyists attempt to influence, urge, or press Members of Congress or congressional staffers on issues through a variety of means, on behalf of a third party. Additionally, the individual lobbyist and senior leadership in the company represented can benefit financially from influencing that Member or staffer. In contrast, LL officers and their senior leadership receive no personal monetary gain for their activities.

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  The Interest Group Society

  • Jeffrey M. Berry, Clyde Wilcox(Authors)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Most Lobbyists follow ethical codes of conduct. They work long hours under trying conditions to represent their constituents before government. Some work for professional firms that represent many clients, while others work on the staff of a corporation, a labor union, or citizen groups. Some are deeply involved in fundraising for candidates; others represent small, nonprofit associations that give no more than an honorary wall plaque for their strongest supporters. All are unhappy with the public’s disdain for their profession and wish that the public better understood their work. To counter this negative image, the ALL recently renamed itself as the Association of Government Relations Professionals, and has been pressing Congress to pass additional disclosure requirements for lobbying activity, in an effort to make lobbying more transparent.

  Traditional Lobbyists are increasingly only part of the story of interest group advocacy. As we will see in Chapters 7 and 8 , advocacy now involves what Eric Lipton has called an “ecosystem of influence” where the role of the registered lobbyist is increasingly overshadowed by a network of surrogates who create information and the appearance of a groundswell of popular support.4

  But in this chapter we focus our attention on Lobbyists, both those who work directly for interest groups as part of in-house staff, and those who work in lobby firms that sell their services to groups.

  A Day in the Life of a Lobbyist

  To appreciate and understand what Lobbyists do, it is best to begin by simply asking how they spend their time. Nick Allard, dean of the Brooklyn Law school and former lobbyist at Patton Boggs, says that at least 80% of the typical day of a lobbyist is spent preparing for advocacy—through “conversations, research, writing, and brainstorming.”5 The technology of research has changed over time, but most Lobbyists start their day making sure they are up to date on new developments. In the late 1980s a lobbyist for a large Midwestern corporation reported that she started her typical day reading print newspapers such as the Washington Post, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Tax Reporter

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  Lobbying in Europe

  Public Affairs and the Lobbying Industry in 28 EU Countries

  • Alberto Bitonti, Phil Harris, Alberto Bitonti, Phil Harris(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  Moreover, even the small amount of political marketing literature on lobbying tends to focus on the recruitment and retention of members and the provision of benefits to members by interest groups. Very little research has been undertaken to date on how (political) marketing theory can explain or illustrate the representation of interests by Lobbyists, or their policy-influencing activities. In this direction, a then British lobbyist now returned to politics outlined the similarities between marketing and lobbying: lobbying can sometimes be seen as a specialist form of marketing communications, often engaged with similar concerns, measurements and promotional campaigns, contributing directly to business performance. Knowledge of the political market, understanding the relevance of one’s product or service, determining how to promote the product or service as meeting the needs of government or helping to meet its needs, demonstrating value for money and ability to meet targets for availability (product, promotion, pricing and place) are directly relevant skills. (Andrews 1996, 79) Thus, a second set of issues tackled by chapters concerns the main strate- gies adopted by interest groups in order to gain influence in the political arena, and their relationship with other “competitors” of the market of influence such as political parties and think tanks. So how is lobbying done in Europe today? The key functions which a number of Lobbyists have identified to the various authors and are evident in the literature as being essential to fulfill- ing their role include the following: • Understanding own organization’s communication and decision- making process • Knowing the policy formulation and policy-making process AN INTRODUCTION TO LOBBYING AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN EUROPE

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  Public Affairs in Practice

  A Practical Guide to Lobbying

  • Stuart Thomson, Steve John(Authors)
  • 2006(Publication Date)
  • Kogan Page

    (Publisher)

  These bodies are said to represent the voice of that industry and, therefore, they are listened to. This should not, and does not, prevent individual companies from lobbying and they are often able to make more pervasive points as they do not have to offer the balance, or compromise, of a trade body. Organizations will also often come together to argue in favour of a position. The European Union is often criticized for the power and influence wielded by consumer organizations and, in the same way that companies try to speak through a trade body, consumer groups are often able to champion the cause of the consumers across Europe. The art of lobbying 53 When the legislation is presented to the parliament, it is what takes place behind the scenes that is often more important than the debates in the parliament. The political groups mentioned above can influence the priorities of the parliament. It is, however, the parliament’s committees that do much of the detailed work on the legislation. Each committee has rapporteurs alongside the political membership, and they develop the legislation, often talk to outside groups and write a report. It is often helpful to establish contact with your member state’s perma-nent representation as they can act as a source of advice on lobbying tactics and assist in your understanding of the policymaking process and the stage that the policy that you are interested in has reached. Whilst informal channels of communication exist between the Euro-pean institutions, they are under no obligation to talk to each other as legislation progresses. Much of the contact that does take place depends on the personalities and any pre-existing relationships. This makes the role of lobbying much more important. External parties can assist in the development of legislation and it is very much the case that the participation of commercial bodies is welcome so they get it right.

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  Government and Business

  American Political Economy in Comparative Perspective

  • Richard Lehne(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • CQ Press

    (Publisher)

  This chapter begins with an examination of the types of activities Ed Gil-lespie and other business Lobbyists pursue when they attempt to influence con-gressional decisions. The next section reviews the relationships between industry and administrative agencies and explores the tactics businesses use to influence agency decisions. An assessment of the significance of judicial actions for busi-ness policy and a review of the legal opportunities available to organizations to gain commercial advantage make up the third section. The final section covers surveys of government structures in other countries and lobbying practices in the European Union. lobbying connections 1 6 5 What Do Business Lobbyists Do? When corporations seek to influence congressional decisions, several approaches are open to them. They can retain Quinn Gillespie & Associates or one of Washington’s 12 , 500 other contract Lobbyists. They can also call on business associations, rely on their own public affairs offices, or create an ad hoc issue coalition to deal with the problem. The form of lobbying they select usually depends on the nature of the issue and the frequency with which similar issues occur. Figure 8 -1 relates four forms of lobbying to the characteristics of the issues. When policy problems arise, businesses think first of established business associations. They pay dues to these organizations, and they want something in return. If an issue recurs frequently and affects all firms in an industry in a uniform way, a company will probably turn to a business association, such as the American Bankers Association or the Beer Institute. These organizations are eager to defend their members and prove their worth. When an issue pits one member against another, however, firms cannot depend on their trade associa-tions for help. A corporation’s own public affairs department is well suited to lobby on issues that occur frequently but affect the firm in a particular way.

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  Introduction to International Economics

  • Henk Jager, Catrinus Jepma(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Red Globe Press

    (Publisher)

  This seems at odds with the assumption of an omniscient government whose objective is to maximize national welfare. What is proposed here is a political-economy model in which the government consists of various individuals such as politicians, bureaucrats, and offi-cials, who are all interested in pursuing their own objectives in policy-making. This idea recently encouraged the development of new perspectives regarding trade policy theories, by including the behaviour of the government as an explanatory factor in trade models. 9.2 The practice of lobbying: a case study Case study 9.1 offers an example of some of the problems that can arise in lobbying an international organization such as the EU. 168 Introduction to International Economics Case study 9.1 ‘Getting through to Brussels’ Over the last two decades, and particularly since the introduction of the internal market in the EU, the lobbying of EU institutions has become a rapidly growing industry. At the time of writing there are some 15,000 Lobbyists in Brussels who seek to sway the leg-islative procedure of the EU in favour of different interest groups. Thus a great deal of time is spent on influencing new legislation, antitrust measures, and merger enquiries. However, according to a senior official at the Commission, 90 per cent of lobbying is ineffective. What makes a lobby successful? Etienne Davignon, a former EU Commissioner, states that lobbying in Brussels cannot be compared with what happens at the national level. However, EU officials are often concerned about losing contact with the outside world, so they are much more open to outside contact than most national officials and administrators. It is important for Lobbyists to understand how to exploit this openness. The first thing is to ‘get through’ to the European authorities – by being received and heard. Once inside, Lobbyists can make the long journey to Brussels productive by following some of the ground rules outlined below.

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  Brussels Versus the Beltway

  Advocacy in the United States and the European Union

  • Christine Mahoney(Author)
  • 2008(Publication Date)
  • Georgetown University Press

    (Publisher)

  127 KNOWING THE ARGUMENTS and the primary targets of those argu-ments is not enough; advocates also will have to decide on the most effective way to directly communicate their message to policymakers. This is the world of inside lobbying; it is the day-to-day life of advocates in Washington and Brussels. 1 It involves participating in hearings, consultations, and stakeholder meetings; drafting legislation and amendments; sending position papers, let-ters, and faxes; meeting with policymakers one-on-one and with their staff; organizing cocktail parties, seminars, and conferences; orchestrating lobbying day fly-ins of high-level membership, and arranging visits by policymakers to the field; and many other nuanced versions of these tactics. A number of previous studies have demonstrated the immense size of some advocates’ tactical toolboxes (Schlozman and Tierney 1986; Kollman 1998; Berry 1989; Baumgartner and Leech 1998), but how do the tactical strategies of Lobbyists in Brussels and Washington compare? Do institutional structures shape inside strategy selection? How do those structures combine with issue characteristics and interest group factors? This chapter details the hypotheses regarding the relationship between inside lobbying and the characteristics of the interests themselves and their political context. The first section discusses theoretical expectations, followed by empirical analysis. A comparison of in-side lobbying in the United States and the European Union includes analysis of direct lobbying, other inside lobbying tactics that advocates use in addition to one-on-one contacts, and alternative lobbying routes. The second portion of the empirical section analyzes the relationship between issue and interest characteristics and insider tactics, including multivariate analysis to parse out the effect of the sets of independent variables on inside lobbying tactic selec-tion.

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  American Government 3e

  • Glen Krutz, Sylvie Waskiewicz(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Openstax

    (Publisher)

  In some cases, their aim is to influence the portion of the budget allocated to a given policy, program, or policy area. For example, interests for groups that represent the poor may lobby for additional appropriations for various welfare programs; those interests opposed to government assistance to the poor may lobby for reduced funding to certain programs. It is likely that the legislative liaison for your university or college spends time trying to advocate for budgetary allocations in your state. Interest groups also try to defeat legislation that may be detrimental to their views. For example, when Congress considers legislation to improve air quality, it is not unusual for some industries to oppose it if it requires additional regulations on factory emissions. In some cases, proposed legislation may serve as a disturbance, resulting in group formation or mobilization to help defeat the bill. For example, a proposed tax increase may result in the formation or mobilization of anti-tax groups that will lobby the legislature and try to encourage the public to oppose the proposed legislation. Prior to the election in 2012, political activist Grover Norquist, the founder of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), asked all Republican members of Congress to sign a “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” that they would fight efforts to raise taxes or to eliminate any deductions that were not accompanied by tax cuts. Ninety-five percent of the Republicans in Congress signed the pledge. 73 Some interests arise solely to defeat legislation and go dormant after they achieve their immediate objectives. 10.4 • Pathways of Interest Group Influence 361 Once legislation has been passed, interest groups may target the executive branch of government, whose job is to implement the law. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has some leeway in providing care for military veterans, and interests representing veterans’ needs may pressure this department to address their concerns or issues.

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