It’s about time somebody cracked down on these damn lobbyists. The government is supposed to be WE THE PEOPLE, not we the corporations.  Lobbyists shouldn’t just be bounced from federal advisory committees, they should be banned outright.  There is no way our representatives can be trusted to do what is right for the people of the U.S. when they are indebted to and bought by big business.  Lobbyists are angry?  Good, now they know how we feel when we see our interests sold out to K Street lobbyists.

If you would like to see which industry supports which party there is an interactive application you can use to check by industry. Here is the results for the pharmaceutical industry:

Democratic
Republican


GoodGuide.com political contribution data for the pharmaceuticals sector

View data for other companies at GoodGuide.com

Lobbyists Stew After Being Bounced From Boards

A tide of anger and dismay is rippling down K Street as the Obama administration implements a new policy limiting the roles of lobbyists on federal advisory committees.

The policy change, described by the White House as the next step in President Barack Obama ’s drive to limit influence-peddling in Washington, could affect hundreds of lobbyists who serve on the panels, which were created by Congress in the 1970s to provide private-sector advice to the government.

By removing a key point of access to the administration, many lobbyists will be less useful to their clients, who will be forced to appoint others to take up the slack. And the information about federal government intentions gleaned from committee meetings will now be unavailable to many lobbyists as they strategize on how to work various issues.

“There is fury,” said a lobbyist who sits on one of the committees. “Absolute fury.” K Street veterans say they sit at the intersection of policy wonk-dom, Washington savvy, and the needs of business, and are therefore best suited to populate the panels.

But the White House views the move as a key step in rolling back what officials see as the open-door policy for K Street created in previous years. According to a senior White House official, the panels have been excessively dominated by lobbyists. “It is one of the ways special interests have historically shaped policy to the detriment of the public interest,” he said.

via SOURCE.