FIRSTLY:

DISCLAIMER:

Why Me?

Longworth, Rayburn, and Cannon, Oh My!

Yes but, what can you do for me?

Welcome To The Special Interest "Republic"

"Damn The Country, Obama Must Fail"

The Republicans Have Their Long-Knives Out:

Nothing Ever Changes, Ever:

We're In Deep Trouble

Is It Too Late?

A few months ago, I was invited to join an Internet trade group in their lobbying effort in Washington, DC. The goal was to educate Congressmen and Senators on the realities of privacy online, as well as the complex small-business economy of the millions of mid-sized to small websites that rely on advertising to survive. Overall, the trip was deemed a success, to some degree, we were able to communicate our issues in a way that was understood, even appreciated. However, I came back with several additional observations, the most important being that our government is absolutely gridlocked in a pointless turf-war and that we (the people) have long-since lost any voice we may have thought we had.It is with hesitation that I post these direct observations and experiences. Foremost because of my role as part owner of AboveTopSecret.com, and the potential bias that many may see to infer from my statements. However, given the escalating climate of political rancor in this nation, I hope that the import of my experience outweighs the potential knee-jerk reactions of bias.My involvement was requested because I'm a part-owner of a "long-tail" web site -- that is, one of millions of sites not part of the small collection of massively trafficked mainstream news and portal web sites. The goal of the trip was to communicate the complexities and fragility of the smaller site owners who very much mirror real-world small business owners and comprise a major portion of online traffic, advertising, and content. Additionally, my background as an advertising executive helped give me the background and communicative tools to portray our concerns in a way that could be appreciated.We started early, and our rather large rabble of 20-or-so web site owners was divided into groups of four and given a tight schedule of visits. Our group's rather long and tedious day consisted of nine meetings with Congressmen (most-often a senior aide) spread out among three of the House office buildings on Independence Ave., the Rayburn, Longworth, and Cannon buildings. Each building is connected by a maze of multi-level underground tunnels which also connect to the Capitol building. Accompanied by a registered lobbyist (in order to have access to the tunnels), I was teamed up with three other web site owners as we rushed from meeting to meeting.On three occasions we actually sat down with a Congressman, and for the most part they did a good job of seeming to show interest in our concerns. The other visits were with senior aides or assistant chiefs of staff, who worked less to appear concerned but usually had one or two good questions.Despite our best efforts of portraying the needs of online small business that are in each congressional district, it became painfully evident that if we weren't speaking in terms of direct benefit to them, there was no real interest in our visit other than ensuring it ended on time or sooner. This was the first very clear up close and personal indication that our republic is broken.It's not difficult to spot the four types of people rushing about in the tunnels below the congressional office buildings. Interns and pages are young and generally are dressed in the best office casual Gap or J. Crew can buy. Congressional staff members are a bit older, and always in business suits from the more expensive selections of Sears or Kohls, or Macy's if they're a more senior staff members. Actual members of Congress are among the best-dressed best-coifed people around, and typically the only ones able to wear a smile. Which leaves us with the lobbyists... who are all wearing dark-colored higher-end business suits, serious expressions, fatigued carriage, and comfortable shoes. Once you can identify the various denizens it becomes obvious this is no longer our republic, and we're in deep trouble.While we here on ATS have always known we're in deep trouble, the picture was clearly painted and readily experienced during lunch. In one the massive cafeterias of the Longworth building, easily 100 (or more) yards long by 60 wide, more than 80% of all the people in the packed room were lobbyists grabbing some lunch. Our companion lobbyist confirmed the guess, and also confirmed that it was this way in all the cafeterias, and has been since he can remember (18-year veteran of DC).So I asked him, "With all these well-paid professional lobbyists representing big chunks of potential money, how do actual constituents stand a chance?" His response, "They don't, they never did."I reminded him of the subject matter of my site, and how his statement confirms the concerns of conspiracy theorists everywhere. He said, "It used to be a conspiracy, now it's just the way things are."During my "SkepticOverlord Goes To Washington" adventure, I had the opportunity to speak with several lobbyists other than the chaperone assigned to my group. Some conversations were over cocktails the previous evening, others after the day's events before I had to depart to the airport. One such person in particular became particularly talkative once I identified who I was, and which site I owned. He knew of ATS and was very interested in many of our topics. In fact, it might be best to qualify our short but detailed conversation as "getting a weight of his chest."After being a Washington lobbyist for quite some time (into his second decade), he was clearly disenfranchised and not enjoying his work. Two points stand out as being particularly important to the events happening right now."Ever since the election, and for the foreseeable future, the Republicans only have one thing on their mind, screw Obama." He said nothing else matters to them, not voters, and certainly not getting anything done. While the daily dance of special interest continues, he said that everyone is continually distracted by the inside war between Republicans and Democrats... and the smart lobbyists are the ones approaching Republicans with strategies and plans to undermine the Democrats and especially Obama. His concern was (and this was in late May, before the worst of it began), that the "get Obama" climate was in danger of getting out of control and irreparably damaging the entire country.The most haunting words I head my entire trip were, "Nothing ever changes here, other than the nameplates on the Senate, Congressional, and Executive offices. The money (lobbyists) controls every policy, every platform, and in most cases, every election." It's one thing to know draw this conclusion on your own, it's quite another to hear it straight from an insider's mouth. Sending chills up my spine hardly covers the feeling.We here on ATS knew this. To most of us, this is no surprise. However, the stunning surprise comes from experiencing an insider's lament as to the horrible state of the "Special Interest Republic" we have occupying the offices of Washington, DC. To hear, from an insider's mouth, that the "elected" officials are gridlocked in bitter battle with no focus other than to force the failure of the new President is stunning confirmation of what we feared was happening. Combined with the overwhelming control of the entire process by special interest money, and the only conclusion we can draw is, "We're in deep trouble."Regardless of your politics, or your personal opinion of the person represented by the nameplate on the Oval Office, the culture of "get him" we now see is beyond perilous. In fact, it so horrific and dangerous to our culture it's difficult to find the appropriate adjective.I'm no fan of politicians, and especially many in Obama's administration. Part of the reason for my dislike is the never-ending context of attacking the other party and/or president of the other party. But this current culture of attack-inspired gridlock is, in my opinion, the worst ever. And to compound our feelings of helplessness, it's all too clear that the current bunker mentality of an us-v-them all out war on Capital Hill is inspired by the massive money of special interests. This political war, at a time when so much must be done, is quite possibly the death knell of this nation.Is it too late?Was there ever any hope?(typo corrections)[edit on 11-8-2009 by SkepticOverlord]