If there is one thing that Occupy Wall Street, The Tea Party, the Coffee Party and your Average US Citizen have in common, it’s the fact that they all think the system is broken. And common to that is the fact that lobbyists have an enormous amount of power and influence well over that of the typical working man or woman. Lobbying is the sport of Kings 2000 style. There is so much wrong with how big money negatively affects the outcomes of legislation and controls the electoral process that it is difficult to know where to start.

You might want to start with this article from Common Dreams. The article focus is on large multinational corporations, but you could plug in any large special interest group including, unions, environmental groups, the NRA, AARP, religious organizations; you name it. There are literally thousands. Just this evening I just saw one of the Presidential hopefuls wearing an NRA hat like a walking billboard saying thanks for “showing me the money”. My jaw dropped.

Personally, I think unions are a good thing. I have a small company and am incorporated, so really don’t have a problem with corporations. I’m a member of a few trade groups, all of which have lobbyists. Sometimes they actually fight for things I want, but if I had my way, I would like to get rid of all of them. Toss them out on their asses and let them get real jobs instead of just being legalized bribers of our elected representatives.

If you want to lobby, lobby to the people, then let the people call and write to their representatives. That’s a nice fantasy.  How many of you have ever tried to get a personal meeting with your congressional representative? I have. So far, unless I walk up to them at a rare open public event, I’ve never been able to get 10 seconds with one. If you have and were successful, I’d love to hear from you and let me know how you did it (without money, an attorney  or a publicist at your side). Seriously, just try getting a meeting without a fist full of campaign contributions or promises to “do” something for the district and see just how far you can get your foot in the door. My bet (and no I don’t have $10,000), is not very far before your big toe is removed.

So how do we make a difference? By putting our differences aside for just a little while. By talking to each other and finding where we agree and making a movement that really does include the 99%. Only by removing special interest money from the process, and that will take a constitutional amendment, will we be able to be heard as individuals and not bankrolls. It’s time to stand down in order to stand up and for once..accomplish something real.