The Ethical Lobbyist: Reforming Washington's Influence Industry (Georgetown Shorts)

The public's view of lobbying is that it is synonymous with corruption. Corruption is rare despite the popular perception, but there is plenty of evidence that the lobbying profession has a serious problem with poor representation of member or client interests. In fact, they often cut deals which go against their clients' positions in order to curry favor with lawmakers, which Holyoke argues is a serious ethics problem. Why is this unethical and how can it be changed? The First Amendment protects political participation and representation--citizens may employ professional petitioners (lobbyists) to faithfully press their causes to lawmakers--but this also underscores why compromising member interests is unethical. In this short ebook, Holyoke explores the history of the lobbying profession and the constitutional right to petition, describes examples of ethical lapses, and makes an argument that the lobbyist-client relationship should be more like the attorney-client relationship of ironclad representation. He says that the current laws regulating lobbyists are inadequate when it comes to ensuring ethical behavior, and he presents a set of principles and a specific proposal for reform based on these principles.

• | Author: Thomas T. Holyoke
• | Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• | Publication Date: Aug 01, 2016
• | Number of Pages: 68 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1626163804
• | ISBN-13: 9781626163805