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“Corruption and Scandal in Washington: Have Lobbying and Ethics Reform Made a Difference? Exploring the Relationship Among Candidates, Campaign Consultants. Lobbyists, and Elected and Appointed Public Officials,” in Corruption and American Politics. (Amherst, NY, Cambria Press 2010), pp. 177-207.
... | 363 tanks, issue-related survey research, and advocacy on the Internet. There are estimates that the total spent on lobbying is closer to $9 billion per year in Washington—or about three times the officially reported amount (Thurber 2009). ...
... Moreover, not included is the money spent on other nonregulated related lobbying activities (e.g., paid media, grassroots, grass tops, coalition-building and maintenance, use of the Internet, survey research, and research at think tanks). Many think including such activities in the totals of expenditures on lobbying would triple the actual amount of advocacy spending in Washington (Thurber 2009). The president has not been able to stop or slow down this flow of money and influence either. ...
... However, with his attacks on lobbyists has come less transparency as a consequence of a flood of deregistrations of federal registered lobbyists and the increase in people using other means to influence government (seeTable 2 ). This behavior has led to reduced transparency about who is lobbying, for whom and for what, and how much money is being spent on those advocacy activities (Thurber 2009). President Obama has called for more accountability and enforcement of the law and rules related to lobbying and ethics. ...
This article explores the causes, characteristics, and consequences of President Obama's attacks on lobbyists and his attempt to change the way the influence industry works in Washington. It concludes with a discussion of the barriers President Obama has faced in reforming pluralist democracy in Washington and an assessment of his successes and failures in his first two years in office.
Abstract To establish the scope and level of corruption in the contemporary United States, a collaborative project of political scientists is needed. Such a study should start with explicating the definition of corruption various scholars use. Three are noted here: using public goods for personal gains, deflecting public goods to private groups, and making such moves when these are legal although they are still illicit. To assess corruption on these levels, we must consider that various forms that capture takes beyond the corruption of the laws themselves. A study of the major differences in the level of corruption among the three branches of government may improve our understanding of the prevalence and causes of corruption. A study of rent may help predict that future course of corruption. Other topics whose study warrants collaborative investigation are listed.
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