RS 4 A Former Lobbyist Tells All

This podcast was helpful for me understanding a little more about politics because, before I listened to this, I didn't not know what exactly a lobbyist was and how they do what they do. It was interesting to me to hear the process of what lobbyists do and how they support they bills they are lobbying for. I did not know that lobbyists worked for trade organizations or lobbying organizations specifically and I did not know that there was a whole big process to getting the support of the people you are lobbying to.

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 I also never realized that they were so important in the lives of those in Washington and those who sit in Congress. Because the people who sit on Congress are always looking forward to their next election, they will always need money for their campaigns and that will leave a place for the lobbyists, because the lobbyists will have someone to entice with a big fundraiser and money to support their next campaign.

Another interesting note was that the lobbyist they had in the studio said that some of the bills he lobbied for were completely ridiculous. It seems completely ridiculous to spend so much time, effort and money on something that you don't believe in. 


The ending was the most surprising and confusing part of this. It caught my attention when they said Jimmy Williams "wants to destroy the system that made him rich". I thought it was crazy when they said he wanted to go all the way to the constitution to ban money from politics. Although they said that the Supreme Court has ruled several times that money in politics is protected, it is an interesting thing to think about and Mr. Williams plan to get money out of politics is very creative and referred to as "crazy". His idea was to gather a lot of trade organizations and lobbyists so they can all get behind one bill or amendment and push that through the process of ratification. This podcast clarified a lot about what goes on in a specific part of politics and has helped me to understand more of what goes on in Washington and why money plays such an important role in everything.