Special Interests Dominate State Legislature

No one is going to deny that interest groups and lobbyists play a significant role across the political spectrum in the U.S. But how much is too much? Today the Omaha World-Herald ran a story about the amount of money lobbyists earned in 2004. It was quite shocking to learn that combined, the lobbyists took in over $8 Million. But how big of an impact do these lobbyists have? It depends on who they are and how much cash they have. Senators can say all they want that it's ultimately "up to the legislature to make decisions." But, why would the lobbyists even be there and why would they pay out over $8 Million to try and sway Senator's votes or convince them to draft a bill in their favor? If state senators were really trying to do things altruistically for their constituents then the interest groups would become irrelevant.

Unfortunately these groups have connections to larger businesses and when it comes election time they are willing to donate large sums to politicians who have supported their cause in the past. This is no surprise, but merely an accepted part of the political process in Nebraska and elsewhere. Some of these lobbyists have prior political connections as well (Four former state senators - Loran Schmit (1969-92), Dennis Rasmussen (1973-79), Tom Vickers (1979-86) and Chris Abboud (1983-98) - ranked among the highest-paid lobbyists in 2004). To some this may seem disgraceful because these lobbyists have friends and inside connections with the people who make the laws in Nebraska. Now in the private sector they are getting paid big bucks to utilize these connections to get laws passed that are in favor of the interest group they work for.

Senators can say all they want about how they only pass laws that are in the best interest of their constituents. This is the politically correct thing to say and it sounds good. But they're still politicians and they have motives to maintain their political career. In order to do that they need money to run successful campaigns. There is no doubt that many political donations come from private citizens, but a great deal of money also is donated by interest groups and businesses who are apparent both as lobbyists and as political campaign supporters. With many state senators stepping down in the next 4-8 years(unfortunately because of the newly passed term limits) special interest groups will have a whole new host of politicians to feed on. $8 Million may seem like pocket change after another decade.

For more info on lobbyists in '04:
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1638&u_sid=1359627