Lobbying

Definition
In the United States, Lobbying is identified with the “right to petition” in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. However, it is much more than simply speaking to one’s representative in Washington. Lobbying includes direct lobbying, indirect and grassroots lobbying, TV and print advertising, social media, survey research, coalition building, and other practices that intersect with public relations, advertising, and marketing (Deakin, 1966; Waterhouse, 2015). It can be summed up as “salesmanship on a very personal level,” according to Thomas Susman, an America Bar Association lobbyist (Goldman, 2012).

In addition to the history of the term and the practices associated with lobbying, lobbying also has a legal definition. “Lobbying activities” are defined under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 as, "Lobbying contacts and efforts in support of such contacts, including preparation and planning activities, research and other background work that is intended, at the time it is performed, for use in contacts, and coordination with the lobbying activities of others" (2 U.S. Code § 1602, 1995). Although this definition moves beyond the physical location of Washington, D.C., by defining “research” and other activities as part of “lobbying.” The regulation contains a major loophole. It required lobbyists to register, but the office charged with lobbying registration has no authority to pursue an individual suspected of not registering. In order for the LDA to apply to an individual, she must meet two of three requirements: “earn at least $2,500 from lobbying over a three-month period,” have “more than one lobbying contact,” and “spend at least 20 percent of her time during a three-month period making ‘lobbying contacts” (Feng, 2015). The registration loophole is referred to as the “Daschle Loophole” after former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle who works for DLA Piper. Like many of his predecessors, he has found a more lucrative profession lobbying the Congress he previously worked for (Feng, 2015). In addition to the problems with individual lobbyists, categorizing organizations as “lobby” organizations is problematic. Organizations like the National Association of Manufacturers and the AFL-CIO do not consider their “principal purpose” to be lobbying, despite engaging in lobbying activities frequently (Fitzpatrick & Palenchar, 2006).

History
Like public relations, lobbying likely has a long history. However, this history remains under-studied. Most research focuses on lobbying as it began in the 19th century. This entry will focus on lobbying the U.S. context. Lobbying was protected from 1789 onward under the First Amendment; it was idealized as way citizens could petition the government and speak with their representatives (Euken, 2014). However, lobbying evolved from this idyllic image to be characterized by corruption and bribery during the Grant era when corporate lobbying began. Although some regulations were attempted at the end of the 19th century, none were successful (Thompson, 1985). At the start of the twentieth century, public relations firms were established and often served as lobbyists for the industry, by creating industrial groups like the American Petroleum Institute (Cutlip, 1994). Lobbying at this time involved both direct lobbying, by representatives in Washington, D.C., and indirect lobbying, or grassroots lobbying. However, as Congress came to find out, citizen support was often fabricated by corporations.

After World War II, corporations felt their power wain, particularly during the rise of Ralph Nader during the 1960s. However, during the 1970s they began to fight back through a more aggressive lobbying campaign organized around groups like the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Industry Political Action Committee, in addition to industrial groups like the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) (Waterhouse, 2015). In addition, in 1973, the AFL and CIO merged. The number of registered corporate lobbyists rose during this time until they peaked at over 12,000 in 2012. Although the pan-industrial organizations like the Chamber of Commerce enabled businesses to heavily influence Washington, disagreements over policies in the 1980s ultimately lead to fractures in the groups. Today, corporations lobby individually and contribute to pan-business organizations, like the Chamber of Commerce (Waterhouse, 2015). In addition to corporate lobbying, citizens, unions, and other interest groups may also lobby in Washington and frequently do. However, recent work has focused on corporate lobbying as concern over corporate lobbying has grown and unions have become weaker (Waterhouse, 2015).


 * Lobbying Research, Education, and Practice Today **

Today “lobbying” may often masquerade as something else, such as “advocacy public relations” or “government relations” (Berg, 2012; Wise, 2007; Dexter, 1969). Indeed, the American League of Lobbyists changed their name in 2013 to the Association of Government Relations Professionals. In part, this is because there has been longstanding and widespread disapproval and distrust of lobbying activities (Saad, 2011; Dexter, 1969); this has lead to multiple professional codes and some research on ethics (Berg, 2012). Despite multiple attempts since the 19th century to regulate lobbying, lobbyists have never really complied with regulation requirements because their activities are protected under the First Amendment. In the future, critical work will continue to focus on lobbying and its connection the structures of campaign finance (McChesney, 2013).

Much like public relations and marketing, research on lobbying is typically focused on the practice of lobbying and effectiveness of lobbying methods, focusing on particular methods such as grassroots lobbying, or case studies of particular industries (Bergan, 2009; Sindik, 2014). Despite the growing body of research on effects and practices, lobbying is not seen as a sub-discipline within communication; it may fall within “public affairs” or “political management” in schools of business and government (Goldman, 2012).

include component="comments" page="page:Lobbying" limit="10"


 * References **

2 U.S. Code § 1602 (1995). Legal Information Institute, Cornell University law school, Retrieved from [] Berg, K. T. (2012). The Ethics of Lobbying: Testing an Ethical Framework for Advocacy in Public Relations. //Journal of Mass Media Ethics 27// (97). Bergan, D. E. (2009). Does Grassroots lobbying work? //American Politics Research 37//(2). Cutlip, S. (1994). //The Unseen Power: Public Relations, A History//. Hillsdale, JJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Deakin, J. (1966). //The Lobbyists//. Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dexter, L. A. (1969). //How Organizations Are Represented in Washington//. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Euken, J. C. (2014). Evil, Greed, Treachery, Deception and Fraud: The World of Lobbying According to Senator Hugo Black. //Federal History 6.// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feng, Lee. (2015, February 20). “The Shadow Lobbying Complex.” //The Nation.// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fitzpatrick, K. R., & Palenchar, M. J. (2006). Disclosing Special Interests: Constitutional Restrictions on Front Groups. //Journal of Public Relations Research 18//(3). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Goldman, T. R. (2012, November 18). Forget creativity: Can lobbying be taught? //The Washington Post.// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"lobby, n." (2015, June). OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2015. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"lobby, v." (2015, June), OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2015. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">McChesney, Robert W., and John Nichols, //Dollarocracy//. New York: Nation Books, 2013. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Saad, L. (2011, April 11). Americans decry power of lobbyists corporations, banks, feds. //Gallup//. Retrieved from [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sindik, A. (2014). Standing out in the crowd: How unique are the lobbying patterns of the broadcast and wireless industries? //Telecommunications Policy 38.// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thompson, M. S. (1985). //The “Spider Web”: Congress and Lobbying in the Age of Grant.// Ithaca: Cornell University Press. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Waterhouse, B. C. (2015). //Lobbying America: The Politics of Business from Nixon to NAFTA//. Princeton: Princeton University Press. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wise, K. (2007). Lobbying and Relationship Management: The K Street Connection. //Journal of Public Relations Research 19//(4): 357-376.