Theoretically a citizen goes and visits his rep or senator and explains something is wrong with his kids that grew two heads and the crops withered since the mega chemical plant opened over in the next county...that Rep or Senator in justifiable outrage may introduce a bill to limit pollution...Quote:
Originally Posted by D-Type
Then in practice the Mega-Chem Corp lobbyist meets with him, expresses concern about why, after all the 10s of thousands of dollars transferred into his campaigns is he treating him with such disrespect? Meanwhile the CEO of Mega-Chem Corp "happens" to bump into a few Senators and maybe the Prez and 'splains "he hear some pip-squeak is making noise about a few slight mutations....and Finkelbaum from that District sorta introduced a bill..... I'm going to make you an offer, Prez, an offer you cannot..........."
And the bill never gets out of the Whatever Committee..
OR the lobbyists actually sit down and actually draft the Bills they want and usually, mostly Republican lawmakers push to pass the bills verbatim.... A lot of horrible hate legislation has been done that way thru front organistions calling themselves and the meetings they have with legislators and lobbyists "educational seminars" but are really bribery sessions financed by a small circle of notorious multi-billionaires such as Koch Brothers...
Here's a interesting look at one notorious law:
Hate Group Lawyer Drafted Arizona
And the notorious American Legislative Exchange Council
American Legislative Exchange Council - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Origin and funding:Quote:
In a Dec. 2011 article critical of ALEC which appeared in The Nation magazine, John Nichols described ALEC as a “collaboration between multinational corporations and conservative state legislators,"[6] which perhaps shows some of the ambiguity regarding ALEC. Progressive advocacy groups such as Common Cause questioned ALEC's non-profit status, alleging that the Council engaged in lobbying.[7] Bill Moyers summarized the operation: "Politicians and lobbyists at the core of this clever enterprise figured out how to pull it off in an organized, camouflaged way -- covering their tracks while they put one over on an unsuspecting public."[8]
ALEC provides a forum for corporations and legislators to collaborate on "model bills"—draft legislation which the corporations would like to become law. The model bills are then introduced by ALEC's legislative members, and approximately 200 per year become law.[9] ALEC has produced model legislation on issues such as reducing corporate regulation and taxation, tightening voter identification rules, streamlining or minimizing environmental protections (depending on how one looks at it), and promoting gun rights.[4][9][10] ALEC also serves as a networking tool among state legislators, allowing them to research the handling and "best practices" of policy in other states
ALEC mission statement language included in bills
In November 2011, Florida State Representative Rachel Burgin (R), introduced legislation to call on the federal government to reduce its corporate tax rate. The text still included the boilerplate "WHEREAS, it is the mission of the American Legislative Exchange Council to advance Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty..."[27] The bill was quickly withdrawn, the phrase removed, and was resubmitted as HM717,[28]
Florida 'Stand Your Ground' law
After Florida passed its Stand-your-ground law, the American Legislative Exchange Council adopted its legislative language into one of its model bills.[29][30][31]
Quote:
In 2012, Walter Mondale, former Democratic Vice President of the United States, and Arne Carlson, former Republican governor of Minnesota, referred in an op-ed piece to the political activities of the Koch family and ALEC, saying:
"[ALEC] is the creation of the Koch brothers who amassed their fortunes in oil and who live in Florida. The goal of ALEC is to influence legislators across the nation."[64]Journalist John Nichols opined in The Nation that the Koch brothers have provided funding to ALEC for "decades" in a "savage assault on democracy".[6]
According to Bloomberg News, ALEC is funded by, among others, Koch Industries Inc. and Exxon Mobil.[65]
So for one side in America, this is how it works: corporate lawyers buy legislators AND draft the laws they want---all behind closed doors and in secret.
