Cecil mentioned lobbyists as a sort of nefarious, secretive group in his May 31, 2013 column. That’s ridiculous, and here’s why.
First, they aren’t exactly secret. He cites lobbying spending - because all such spending is public record. And lobbyists must register, disclosing publicly who they work for and on what issues. Anyone can look at those records on the internet.
Second, he flubbed the money thing. He divided the number of lobbyists by the amount spent on lobbying to try to get an average salary. But the lobbying money goes to much more than salary (and benefits, which he didn’t count). Lobbying money is spent on grassroots mail or door-to-door campaigns to get average people to participate in the lobbying effort by contacting their congressmen, advertising, etc. His salary figure was therefore inflated. Not that making money is wrong, or has anything to do with secrecy.
Third, lobbying is a constitutional right. It simply means telling Congress what you want. Lots of Americans do it. A professional lobbyist simply knows how to do it well and gets paid to do it for a business or large group of people. And there are lobbyists for everyone. Cecil cited big corporations and evil groups like the NRA, but there are lobbyists for groups fighting corporate influence or working for the environment or gun control or whatever too. There’s nothing wrong with lobbying. It’s who or what you lobby for that matters - which is how it should be. The voices of many people are amplified greatly when a lobbyist can speak for them all at once.
Last, lobbyists have no power, only influence. They can only ask Congress to do something. Congress has the power, and only Congress is responsible for how it uses it. If Congress chooses to listen to lobbyists, or anyone else, that is the choice of Congress. And every vote in Congress is public record. Not secret.