How do lobbyists get legislation passed that they want without being in congress?

They spend millions of dollars, and now that the supreme court ruled corporations have no spending limit they'll probably spend billions of dollars. They are undermining the morals of the country and we the people should be outraged. Vote only for constitutionalists to congress who won't sell out the country.How do lobbyists get legislation passed that they want without being in congress?They do it by paying bribes in many form to individual Representatives and Senators.



These bribes are called campaign contributions and many other legal ways to bribe them.How do lobbyists get legislation passed that they want without being in congress?As of now there are no responses but by the time I'm finished writing this, there will be tons of replies telling you that lobbyists buy off politicians to get what they want. To an extent, that's true, but it's not the whole story.



Lobbyists' jobs are rooted in the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people ... to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."



This means that people, usually groups, pay someone to "petition" congressmen and senators. They don't generally "get legislation passed that they want" -- most of the time they get provisions that they want or don't want inserted or stricken from a large bill. For example, credit unions may all want the same thing out of the newly released financial reform bill, so their group -- such as the Credit Union Legislative Coalition -- lobbies Congress to get that thing into or out of the bill. Sometimes the groups lobbying are "evil" -- oil companies, military-industrial complex manufacturers, insurance companies -- and sometimes they are "good" -- ASPCA, homeless groups -- but they all have a right to be heard.



A good share of the top lobbyists on K Street in Washington (where most major lobbying firms are located) are former congressmen and senators, so they have relationships with many current congressmen and senators. That greatly expands their influence. Other lobbyists are former congressional staffers or heads of large companies or interest groups.



Lobbyists have too much influence in Washington, there is no doubt about that. But they are not evil.How do lobbyists get legislation passed that they want without being in congress?They talk to members of Congress. Or more accurately, they talk to the Congress members' employees. They make arguments on behalf of the issues they care about. They print materials that support their causes. They invite staff to meetings and parties so that they can mingle with them and form relationships, and they use those relationships to encourage members of Congress to vote in their favor.



Money, of course, also plays a role. Lobbyists are not legally allowed to bribe elected officials, but the organizations they represent are allowed to contribute money to Congress members' campaigns. Most Congress members are more likely to support a bill if they know that the bill is supported by groups that support them. Likewise, they know that if they vote certain ways they are more likely to get needed funding from powerful organizations.