Anonymous #1 7w

no it’s banning legalized bribery lmao

11

Anonymous #2 7w

you just push it all underground again. you don’t stop the money changing hands, you just force it to be sneakier

-4

Anonymous #1 7w

and then you can actually prosecute it, dumbass. bribery should be illegal.

14

Anonymous #1 7w

then force it to be sneakier, and prosecute anyone found guilty with the highest sentence possible. legalizing it does not solve the issue, it encourages it.

4

Anonymous #2 7w

nothing gets prosecuted, “dumbass”

-2

Anonymous #1 7w

we’re advocating for systemic change, which could very well include the investigation and prosecution of bribery, dumbass

12

Anonymous #2 7w

nothing ever happens. get used to it.

-2

Anonymous #1 7w

oh so bribery is all good bc you’re a doomer, got it

1

Anonymous #2 7w

bribery is good and i want the best for the world. you just doomer mindset everything you can’t fathom affording to cope

-2

Anonymous #4 7w

Like lobbying can include everything from AIPAC or big oil trying to lobby for their own interests to groups for people with disabilities or scientists advocating with politicians on behalf of some good cause.

8

Anonymous #4 7w

yeah but advocacy work can be done without engaging in what amounts to bribery, the bribery is what people have an issue with

1

Anonymous #1 7w

What the actual fuck is this psycho talking about 😭

4

Anonymous #2 7w

I would agree, but what a lot of people would consider bribery is the campaign contributions. Lobbying is a distinct thing, and paying a politician directly for them supporting a certain piece of legislation is 100% bribery and illegal. It’s not illegal for me though, as a lobbyist on behalf of Exxon Mobil, to donate lots of money to politicians I think will help my oil company, or even influence them to do so, because how can you prove they didn’t just have a change of heart about fossil fuels?

1

Anonymous #4 7w

Like ultimately I’m all about getting the corporate influences out of politics, but I think a total ban on lobbying would also tear down the mechanisms experts use to inform politicians about pressing issues

1

Anonymous #4 7w

it should be. corporations are not people, and spending money is not protected speech. citizens united is a terrible precedent and should be overturned. My gripe with lobbying is when it’s taking politicians on trips, or out to fancy restaurants, where there’s no direct transfer of funds, only access and the value of an expensive meal or a plane ticket. That’s the bribery I’m getting at.

1

Anonymous #2 7w

Well yeah to be clear I’m not saying it’s a good thing that’s legal. I’m just saying that’s one of the real mechanisms I think we should go after instead of banning lobbying outright. I also think what you described should be far more restricted than it is now (especially under this admin) and it’s also another vector that a lot of these shitty lobbyists use to buy politicians. But again, placing stronger restrictions on that specifically would target the bad actors without penalizing good ones

2

Anonymous #1 7w

what kind of pathetic ass shit is this?

1