Following last month’s blog on the similarity
between U.S. lobbying and what often passes for bribery elsewhere, I was
imagining how truly transparent sponsorship of elected officials would look.
Given my early life passion for motorsports and my occasional viewing of an
auto race, it occurred to me that perhaps our Washington legislators could take
some cues from professional race car drivers.
What you say? How did you make that jump? Well,
rather easily really.
Take as an example NASCAR, which has grown phenomenally in popularity around the world in recent years. The drivers and pit crew members willingly advertise their sponsors’ brands and products on their uniforms, hats, decalcomania on their cars and openly plug them during interviews. Everyone knows the Ford drivers will promote Ford, the Miller Lite team will promote their sponsor’s beer, and the Office Depot sponsored teams will promote the chain of retail stores. It’s transparent and obvious.
How would that look in Washington? What if each politician
was clearly beholden to their sponsors, the organizations and brands that have
influenced their decisions? What if this was so transparent that when a press
conference or interview was held the public would know who contributed to their
campaign or who lobbied for the legislation the politico was authoring or endorsing
at the time. What if politicians wore jackets covered with their sponsors’
logos like racer Tony Stewart above?
After all, how many citizens sit watching television
in the evening with a handy directory of which politicians are beholden to what
special interests, be they AARP, NRA, the oil lobby or the automobile industry?
They sit there passively taking in the interview or press conferences unaware
of who is sponsoring the politician’s comments. Until we do something about
influence peddling in politics we will indeed get the legislators we deserve.
Final
note: In an uncanny comparison of which party's politicians are invested in
what stocks, take a look at this graphic just published by Miller-McCune
magazine: http://www.miller-mccune.com/politics/partisan-portfolios-1297.
The first impression one gets is the incredulous comparisons, where politicians
from one party invest heavily in one type of stock the other side is largely
invested in different kinds of companies. And note which party is invested in
which kind of companies. Worth a look, really!