LOBBY SYSTEM: This report is the first of a series on how the lobby system works, most often to the harm of the American people, and to the benefit of the political leaders in Washington.
Daniel Webster: On Lobbying and Bribery.
Lobbying: to conduct activities aimed at influencing public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation. 1. To promote (as a project) or secure the passage of (as legislation) by influencing public officials. 2. To attempt to influence or sway(as a public official) toward a desired action.
Bribery: the act or practice of giving or taking a bribe. Bribe: 1. money or favor given or promised to a person in a position of trust to influence his judgment or conduct. 2. to induce or influence.
Fat Albert Navy Scandal: is at the top of the news. The government has now charged several more people, to include a Rear Admiral, in the ever widening bribery scandal. What makes this such a non story is that this is how the Defense Department and the Government, as a whole, have operated for the last sixty plus years. These Navy guys got greedy and went outside accepted boundaries however I would dare say a re-look at how the Navy operated in the Philippines during the latter half of the 20th century would make this Fat Albert bribery scandal look fairly like business as usual.
The Arab Lobby…by Mitchell Baird: “The Saudi lobbying campaign resulted in one of the most successful manipulations of American business and American foreign policy ever attempted by a foreign power…..The offensive was led by Prince Bandar, who became Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States in 1983 and served for the next twenty-two years. He exemplified the personal touch involved in lobbying and the way the Arab lobby, as represented by the Saudis, influenced policy through direct access to the President and his advisors. Bandar was not just a diplomat but chief tennis partner of Secretary of State George Schultz, and racquetball opponent of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General David Jones.
Colin Powell developed such a close relationship with Bandar over more than two decades that he referred to him as a brother. Powell said Bandar was such a frequent visitor to the top officials in the Reagan administration that he acted as if he were a member of the Cabinet. ”
Prince Bandar was often referred to as Bandar Bush so close was he to the President, and the Bush family. Treacherous and briberous was this whole affair. Shame on President Bush, and his oil rich father before him. Do the American people understand the lobby system? No, the average citizen is totally clueless. These crimes are so far above the Watergate matter that brought President Nixon down it is almost funny, but for the sobering impact it has on our security as a country, both now and in the future.
My thesis, in this, and the coming articles, is the American people need to understand the lobby system inside and out and demand transparency in all things related to it.
New laws will need to be passed to end this “legal corruption”. Yes, it is “legal corruption” because the politicians simply have passed laws to make legal what is obviously illegal, self enriching, behavior.
Oh….you might look for information on the Mercedes Benz Colin Powell received from the Saudi’s after he retired. Yes…..after ….. for all his support to the Saudi Government. The tip of the ice berg….just the tip.
Keep looking for more Lobby stories by….. Michael Hawke
