The Command Post
2004 US Presidential Election
« S.C. Primary News Update - Midday | Main | AP: Dean Campaign Fires More Than a Dozen Staffers »
February 03, 2004
| Lobbyists Upset By Candidates

AP reports that lobbying groups are asking candidates to tone down their rhetoric regarding special-interest groups.

One group watching Democratic presidential candidates criticize each other for taking lobbyist donations wants them to stop portraying lobbying as a dirty word.

The American League of Lobbyists sent the Democratic candidates letters Tuesday defending the profession and asking them to “accurately describe this necessary and essential part of the public policy process” when talking about it on the campaign trail.

Lobbying is protected by the First Amendment “and one of the major ways that politicians are held accountable to the people,” league president Deanna Gelak wrote. “Lobbyists represent all points of view on the major issues that confront the country.”

AP also reports that Howard Dean and John Edwards, both running campaigns against special-interests, have in fact received money from lobbying groups.



Posted by Jeff M at February 3, 2004 01:50 PM | TrackBack
Comments
Post a comment

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (Click here should you choose to sign out.)

As you post your comment, please mind our simple comment policy: we welcome all perspectives, but require that comments be both civil and respectful. We also ask that you avoid the extensive use of profanity, racist terms (neither of which we consider civil or respectful), and other boorish language.

We reserve the right to delete any comment, and to prohibit you from commenting on this site, if we feel you have broached this policy. As a courtesy, we will first send you an email noting a violation so you understand the boundaries. This will occur only once, however, and should we ban you from our comment forums we expect that ban to be permanent.

We also will frown upon those who suggest that we ban other individuals for voicing unpopular opinions, should those opinions be voiced in a civil and respectful manner. The point of our comment threads is to provide a forum for spirited though civil and respectful discourse … it is not to provide a forum in which everyone will agree with your point of view.

If you can live by these rules, welcome aboard. If not, then we’re sorry it didn’t work out, and thanks for visiting The Command Post.


Remember me?

(You may use HTML tags for style)