Lobbyists at Work

Introduction

In the popular view, the word “lobbyist” is often taken to be synonymous with “special interest” and “corruption.” Media stories assume that lobbyists twist arms and force government officials to do things that they otherwise would not. Campaign contributions are equated with bribery.

Professors who study the topic, however, have learned that lobbyists are more likely to spend time with government officials who already share their views. Dozens of studies have discovered that, on average, organizations that give more campaign contributions succeed in their policy goals no more often than we would expect by mere chance. And only about a third of the thousands of interest groups active in Washington even have a political action committee ...