Buying Votes

A detailed Summary of Buying Votes

The Legislative branch of the United States government was designed to represent citizens of this nation. Congressional members are representing the people in their district or state. Laws are supposed to be passed in the public's best interest. People attempt to influence the passing of laws through lobbyists. These people are paid to offer campaign donations and gifts to certain congressmen in return for a vote for or against specific issues. Lobbyist activity in Washington, D.C. breeds corruption and inhibits the democratic process.

Interest groups were created to gain support for certain issues. Farmers, laborers, gun control activists, abortion opponents, and teachers are just a few of the numerous interest groups in the United States. Any person is eligible to join these voluntary, private groups, which sometimes require a donation of money. Formed from these interest groups are Political Action Committees (PACs). A few top people run these groups. The main purpose of the PACs is to raise money. The money raised is passed on to Congressmen via a lobbyist. The term lobbyist "was initially used several centuries ago in Great Britain in reference to journalists who waited in the lobbies of

Those who have the most money have the most power. At least that is what the practice of lobbying seems to promote. Those who control the majority and the most expensive of the lobbyists are large corporations, giving them a great deal of influence in the bills that pass the government. Lobbying results in the passing of bills that benefit only those few, and Congress is getting paid to do it. Lobbying is a form of legalized bribery, results in selfish politics in Washington, D.C., and steals votes from the general public in favor of the rich corporations.

Another view of the lobbyist is that they are representing the people and getting bills passed that the people want, thus promoting the citizens' role in the government. The problem with this view is that the money is getting more representation than the people are. The group that has the most money and buys the most votes will get more bills passed in their favor, regardless if they are the majority or not. Once again, this takes away from the democratic process, not allowing all the people's votes to count. Representatives should vote for those who elected him, not those who pay him the most.

The most obvious downfall of this setup is that representatives would be encouraged to vote for money. In other words, if a pro-life group paid a representative to vote against legalizing abortion, the money would sway him. Whether or not a bill is passed becomes an issue of who is willing and able to pay more for it. Congressmen would look to vote for bills that would get them the most money from the PACs. Figuring the maximum $5000 is given to half of the Senate and half of the House of Representatives for passage of one bill, the total donations comes to

Some common words found in the essay are:
House Speaker, Associated Press, House Commons, Washington DC, Votes Legislative, Committees PACs, House Representatives, Newt Gingrich, PACs Figuring, vote favor, pacs raise money, representative voting, supporters lobbyists, lobbying disclosure, representing people, purpose democracy, democratic process, getting money, money vote favor, money vote, washington dc,

Approximate Word count = 1174
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics