"Special Interests"

Somehow my business phone number ended up on the RNC robo-call lists. At least once a day I get a phone call from John McCain, Rudy G, or, like today, Anne who "is Joe the Plumber, an average Joe." Last week Rudy G told me Americans will DIE if Obama and his liberal friends in Congress are elected. Today, Anne told me that Obama wants to spend 3 Trillion Dollars on "special interests." I am so over hearing about "special interests," from both the right and the left.

Here in Missouri, we had a State Rep Candidate whose Democrat primary opponent sent out nasty mailers accusing her of taking money from "special interest lobbyists." It was the most effective mailer her opponent sent out. The "special interest lobbyists" from which this woman took money? A children's non-profit that advocates for money for vaccines, early childhood education, and after-school programming.

I am a special interest. I am also a lobbyist. Yes, of course, we ought to be cautious of "big money" corporate lobbyists and special interests. I am not a big fan of corporate welfare or pharmaceutical companies taking Congresspeople to strip clubs and golf outing in the Tuscany. However, when pundits, campaigns, and particularly Republicans decry the evil of "special interests," they lump into those groups our teacher's professional organizations like NEA, children's organizations, the Girl Scouts, Planned Parenthood Advocates seeking funding for breast and cervical cancer screening for low income women, queer rights groups, labor unions looking to keep their jobs, etc, etc.

I am a special interest, and I bet you are too. Are you a woman? A child? A veteran? A student? A laborer? A parent? A queer person? An uninsured ill person? A racial or ethnic minority? A legal immigrant? A retired person? We are special interests. And we have political organizations and lobbyists in our State Legislatures and Washington, DC who are decent, honest groups & individuals. We give very small amounts money to campaigns to help elect candidates who are in the best interest of our members. We lobby our representatives to vote for bills that protect our health, our jobs, and our rights. And when I say lobby, I mean, we knock on the door and are given maybe 10 minutes to speak with a legislator. We tell her why we would like them to vote for a bill. We try to persuade him with facts, figures, and stories of real lives. There is no golf. There are no strippers.

So, the next time you think evil thoughts about "special interests" and lobbyists, remember that you are a special interest. And I am a lobbyist.