( – promoted by buhdydharma )
WASHINGTON-Citing a desire to gain influence in Washington, the American people confirmed Friday that they have hired high-powered D.C. lobbyist Jack Weldon of the firm Patton Boggs to help advance their agenda in Congress.
Known among Beltway insiders for his ability to sway public policy on behalf of massive corporations such as Johnson & Johnson, Monsanto, and AT&T, Weldon, 53, is expected to use his vast network of political connections to give his new client a voice in the legislative process.
Weldon is reportedly charging the American people $795 an hour.
“Unlike R.J. Reynolds, Pfizer, or Bank of America, the U.S. populace lacks the access to public officials required to further its legislative goals,” a statement from the nation read in part. “Jack Weldon gives us that access.”
“His daily presence in the Capitol will ensure the American people finally get a seat at the table,” the statement continued. “And it will allow him to advance our message that everyone, including Americans, deserves to be represented in Washington.”
The 310-million-member group said it will rely on Weldon’s considerable clout to ensure its concerns are taken into account when Congress addresses issues such as education, immigration, national security, health care, transportation, the economy, affordable college tuition, infrastructure, jobs, equal rights, taxes, Social Security, the environment, housing, the national debt, agriculture, energy, alternative energy, nutrition, imports, exports, foreign relations, the arts, and crime.
Sources confirmed that Weldon is already scheduled to have drinks Monday with several members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss saving the middle class.
[snip]
Though Weldon has only been on the job for three days, legislators have already seemed to take notice.
“Before today, I’d actually never heard of this group,” Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) told reporters. “But if Jack says they’re worth my time, I’ll take a look and see if maybe there are some areas where our interests overlap.
Gallup.com
Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport
Friday October 08, 2010
We have found consistently in recent years that Americans have significantly more confidence in their own ability to direct policy than they do in the men and women who are elected to represent them. This has always been an interesting finding to me. Members of Congress are supposed to be closely in sync with the people back home. Ideally the average American should have just as much trust in his or her representative as in themselves.
The Onion satirically proposes that the American people hire a lobbyist to compete with all the other lobbyists pressing elected representatives for their attention. That’s probably not going to happen, although there are many, many think tanks and other organizations in Washington which already purport to be taking the public’s interests to Congress. But there are other steps the public can take to address the perception that their elected representatives are out of touch. For one, voting out whatever party happens to be in power, as we may be witnessing this year. For another, creating a third party — independent of the two major parties — in the hope that such a third party would more effectively represent the people’s interests.
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looks like different font, more creamy background and different color quote boxes…
hi Edger!
falling for your Onion posts. I read them and think wow it’s getting more surreal then ever… The third party way would be my pick. Everybody says that there is no way a third party could get enough traction or that the two parties are too big to fail or it would just ‘spoil’ our chances and empower the right. I’m thinking that this way of thinking is just another weapons of mass distractions bs. that the one party we have now uses to discourages all attempts to over ride their monopoly on our democratic process. People are worn down politically it’s a maze of futility that offers no choice. Unity with rat bastards is not how democracy should work. The money seems to be the sticking point, our one party has it all.
I got my ballot in the mail last week and there are good third party candidates on it. The candidate’s blurbs are hilarious but amongst the whacko Constitutional Party fascist’s and their ilk, who talk about restoring god and prayer and retaining bodily fluids, I found two candidates I really should/could vote for. They are running against Wyden for his Senate seat. I really don’t like Wyden and don’t want to vote for this weasel . One is from Working Families, a union offshoot party I support, the other is running as Progressive. I like what both these candidates say. It’s a start a step in another direction and I’m taking it. First time ever that I haven’t voted Democratic.
Is this country ready for a third party? Is a third party possible given the entrenched political machines, their national organizations and the money? If a Republican gets the seat because of splintering the vote is it the voters fault? Isn’t that blaming the victim for seeking a remedy, representation via the democratic process?
Buffett sees it, does he mean it?
Author
there would be political lobbyist pimping on the front page of DD. 😉
Thanks, buhdy!
https://www.docudharma.com/show…
I hope it gets some traction.