Political influence

Most Americans are familiar with Political Actions Committees (PACS). These are groups headed up by a lobbyist that represent different interest. For example some well-known groups are the pharmaceuticals, AARP and the National Rifle Association (NRA). These groups provide a valuable service to elected officials, in particular, congressmen in Washington. They explain their positions on complicated issues saving time for the congressmen. Before they can present their case they must have access to the elected official and this is where the controversy begins. In order to get the attention of a congressman these groups help with campaign financing and this is where many people think that congress votes based on these contributions. Upon further investigation it can be shown that votes are not always influenced by these monies. Take the example of the steel lobby vs the auto lobby. Steel wants import taxes to keep out the competition which keeps prices up but the auto people oppose such measures and want to keep prices down. Both of these industries have lobbyist and both try to influence the congressmen. If that congressman represents a district where there are lots of steel industry jobs he may vote in their favor but if he is in a district with many auto jobs he likely will vote in that direction. In either case he is voting the needs of his constituents. This does not mean that the system in not abused as sometimes the group with the most money has the most influence. Other times the group with the most voters can sway the congressman. Such groups like AARP, NRA and unions can bring many voters to the polls and they have influence without offering money to the congressmen. And, of course some groups use both voters and money. The point is that just because a congressman accepts money does not mean he is selling his vote.