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[Rentahamster]

From what little policy Donald Trump has chosen to share with the public, there have usually been red flags in it that were dealbreakers to me to consider them as serious propositions. This one, however, is different in that it doesn't contain anything that I necessarily object to. I have an issue with the revolving door culture of lobbying within Washington, and this plan appears to address that.

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/donald-j.-trumps-five-point-plan-for-ethics-reform

“It’s Time To Drain The Swamp In Washington, D.C. That’s Why I’m Proposing A Package Of Ethics Reforms To Make Our Government Honest Once Again.” - Donald J. Trump


First:

I am going to re-institute a 5-year ban on all executive branch officials lobbying the government for 5 years after they leave government service. I am going to ask Congress to pass this ban into law so that it cannot be lifted by executive order.
​

Second:

I am going to ask Congress to institute its own 5-year ban on lobbying by former members of Congress and their staffs.​

Third:

I am going to expand the definition of lobbyist so we close all the loopholes that former government officials use by labeling themselves consultants and advisors when we all know they are lobbyists.​

Fourth:

I am going to issue a lifetime ban against senior executive branch officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.​

Fifth:

I am going to ask Congress to pass a campaign finance reform that prevents registered foreign lobbyists from raising money in American elections.​

Not only will we end our government corruption, but we will end the economic stagnation.

Points 1 to 3 I get the most. President Obama instituted his own lobbying restrictions during his time in office, but it was sometimes criticized as not going far enough. Presumably, "closing loopholes" would be to get rid of the "lobbyist but not lobbyist" status that guys like Boehner uses to get around being called a lobbyist.

Points 4 and 5 deal with issues I'm not too familiar with. Is this a major problem? It's probably in there to take a jab at Clinton at the email leaks about foreign money, but I'm not convinced it's a major problem yet.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...s-and-lawmakers-who-want-to-become-lobbyists/

The move appears to be in response to revelations from hacked internal Clinton campaign emails, released from the group WikiLeaks, showing that senior Clinton campaign officials last year debated whether the campaign should accept money raised by lobbyists working on behalf of foreign governments. The internal discussions appeared to result in accepting the money.

Trump also took aim at a loophole in federal lobbying law that allows people who spend less than 20 percent of their time lobbying to call themselves something other than a lobbyist, such as a consultant or adviser.

...

Trump’s proposals go well beyond ethics rules governing former lawmakers and administration officials who become lobbyists, known as the “cooling-off period.” Under current law, former House members must wait one year before they can lobby Congress, and former senators must wait two years. Executive branch officials must wait either two years or one year before lobbying their former agency, depending on how senior they were.

Notably, Trump’s proposals focus on government officials and lawmakers joining the lobbying industry but do not address rules that would apply to lobbyists joining the administration — a question on many lobbyists’ minds.

President Obama largely barred lobbyists from working in the administration, although the White House ended up issuing several waivers to allow lobbyists to serve. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has not indicated whether her administration would continue the lobbyist ban, but some signs indicate she may be more open to allowing lobbyists to participate. Lobbyists have raised millions of dollars for her campaign, and the Democratic National Committee this year lifted its ban on lobbyist donations.

Info on what former congressmen like Boehner are doing:

https://theintercept.com/2016/09/20/john-boehner-china/

The news comes just a week after the announcement that Boehner will be joining the board of Reynolds American, the tobacco company responsible for brands such as Camel and Newport cigarettes. The tobacco board seat will likely earn Boehner over $400,000 a year in stock and cash. The Squire Patton Boggs salary has not been disclosed, but lawmakers of Boehner’s stature have easily obtained salaries at similar gigs in the seven-figure range.

Boehner is reportedly declining to register as a lobbyist for his new job at a lobbying firm, but that label makes little difference these days. Thousands of professionals engaged in government affairs positions work to influence policy on behalf of well-heeled special interests every day without registering under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The law governing lobby registration is virtually unenforced.

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/09/boehner-joins-the-not-quite-a-lobbyist-ranks/

Thus the proliferation of the shadow lobbyist. People who have unregistered in each year since 2007 include those whose jobs have changed, or those who might not have needed to register in the first place but were playing it safe. But they also include those who do their fair share of lobbying work, but classify it as something different.

A 2013 study by OpenSecrets.org found that more than 46 percent of lobbyists who were registered in 2011 but not 2012 were still with the same employer, suggesting that they were continuing to contribute to lobbying efforts while avoiding the reporting limits. Industry leaders suspect this has become increasingly common in recent years.

Many are trying to anticipate how the next president will interact with the industry — particularly whether or not she/he will keep Obama’s restrictions, and how much their repeal might actually matter. Obama has issued waivers to allow certain former lobbyists to take positions, so it’s not as though the revolving door was slammed shut.

A new president trying to staff an administration from a limited pool of qualified individuals might not want to deal with the restrictions, which have unquestionably complicated the process. The head of the nonprofit helping the presidential transition process has urged Obama to rescind the provisions himself to remove the burden from his successor.

Donald Trump‘s views on the issue remain muddy, although some of his campaign staffers, like Paul Manafort, his campaign chairman, certainly have worked in the influence industry. But there has been “a decent amount of speculation” in the lobbying world that a Clinton presidency would bring a repeal, Burns said. Clinton, after all, is staffed by people with strong connections to the industry — such as her campaign chair, John Podesta, who helped found one of Washington’s top lobbying firms. His brother, Tony, still is chairman of the Podesta Group and has bundled funds for Clinton.

Still, even if the next administration proves kinder to lobbyists, it’s not necessarily likely that many will come out of the shadows, said Wright Andrews, a lawyer-lobbyist of nearly four decades who is best known for representing the subprime mortgage industry in the early 2000s.

“That’s the way the game is played, unfortunately,” Andrews said.

General info about lobbying:

https://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/01/21/revolving-door-lobbyists-government-experience/

It is a widely accepted truism in Washington that the place to get rich is on “K Street” — that metonymic shorthand for the Washington lobbying business. But how rich?

In 2012, we estimate that the median active for-hire Washington lobbyist generated $179,667 in lobbying revenue. That’s slightly more than what a member of Congress earns ($174,000) — and has been slightly more since 2010, when the median revenue first eclipsed the member salary.

But clients appear to be willing to pay significantly more for “revolving door lobbyists” (those lobbyists with government experience) than they do for lobbyists without government experience.

For 2012, we estimate that lobbyists who list a government staff position somewhere in their lobbyist disclosure firms were associated with a median revenue of $300,000. That’s almost three times the median revenue we estimate that lobbyists without government experience generated: $112,500.

For the record, this is what a google search of Hillary Clinton position on lobbyists pulls up:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-clinton/wall-street-revolving-door_b_8064504.html?1441031416

Both of us have a track record of supporting stronger ethics rules. One of us -- Tammy -- has introduced legislation in the Senate to help close that revolving door. The other of us -- Hillary -- strongly supports this bill, and as president would crack down on conflicts of interest in government.

http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/p...birthweek-trey-anastasio-216621#ixzz4LqXthaNx

TRANSITION WATCH -- Lobbyists have raised and given millions of dollars to Hillary Clinton -- but if you think that will get you a spot on her transition team, you’re wrong. K Streeters haven’t been allowed to join policy groups that help advise the campaign, and so far her transition team -- which has grown to roughly two dozen employees -- have also barred lobbyists from joining its ranks. It’s not yet clear if a Clinton administration would maintain the Obama administration’s ban on lobbyists working in the executive branch. A source familiar with the transition says no decision has been made, and nothing is expected until after the election.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...more-open-to-lobbyists-in-her-administration/

In 2008, then-candidate Obama pledged not to take money from registered lobbyists for his campaign. Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee ended the ban on lobbyist donations that Obama enacted in 2008.

But lobbyists have raised about $7 million for the 2016 Clinton campaign so far, and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta co-founded what became one of Washington’s top lobby firms with his brother, prominent Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta — a top Clinton bundler.

After eight years in Washington as first lady, the Democratic nominee and her husband, the former president, also have a vast network of influence in the nation’s capital. Many former Bill Clinton officials and aides have gone on to lead lucrative lobby shops or take in-house lobbying jobs at corporations.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...7-million-for-hillary-clinton-for-trump-zero/

Lobbyists have so far raised $7 million for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, while Donald Trump’s campaign reports he has collected $0 from K Street fundraisers.

These numbers, derived from Federal Election Commission reports filed Friday, highlight the different approaches being taken by the two candidates.

Relying on lobbyists to raise, or bundle, contributions is a strategy employed by presidential candidates in both parties for several elections. But Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, has been reluctant to rely on traditional fundraising practices as part of a campaign where he has portrayed himself as an outsider candidate who is not beholden to campaign contributors. That approach has also put him at a fundraising disadvantage against Clinton.

Current fundraising status (opensecrets.org): https://www.opensecrets.org/pres16/

And now the big questions still remains - how much of this plan is blustery bullshit, and how much of it does he actually plan on committing to? Is there anything I've missed? Did Trump sneak in any weasel words into this statement? Obviously, it doesn't say anything about lobbyists going in the other direction and working for his administration - something that Clinton has made clear regarding her transition team. Anything else?

 

[Any Questions]

Lobbying in American politics is an assault on genuine democracy as money counts much more than a vote.

Get rid of it USA and your lives would improve, you might even find that people who actually believed in doing some good enter politics.

 

[Frodo]

Lobbying in American politics is an assault on genuine democracy as money counts much more than a vote.

Get rid of it USA and your lives would improve, you might even find that people who actually believed in doing some good enter politics.

Lobbying is basically corruption made legal.

 

[Gavin Darklighter]

Trump actually has a lot of good ideas that unfortunately get buried under all his bullshit. A lot of people may not know he's pro single payer and strongly defended planned parenthood in the GOP debates.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

I agree with these policies.

Lobbying especially when it's done by foreign bodies is bullshit and should never have been allowed

 

[dumbo]

?

The problem with an organisation fronted by an ex-president offering $100m in donations is:
a) that it's fronted by an ex-president.
b) $100m.

IMHO the suggestion is utterly useless.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Fifth:
I am going to ask Congress to pass a campaign finance reform that prevents registered foreign lobbyists from raising money in American elections.

Didn't his campaign ask for donations from brits?

Trump actually has a lot of good ideas that unfortunately get buried under all his bullshit. A lot of people may not know he's pro single payer and strongly defended planned parenthood in the GOP debates.

then why would he make Pence his running mate?

 

[Nozem]

Trump actually has a lot of good ideas that unfortunately get buried under all his bullshit. A lot of people may not know he's pro single payer and strongly defended planned parenthood in the GOP debates.

"A Trump-Pence administration will defund Planned Parenthood and redirect those dollars to women’s health care that doesn’t provide abortion services."

That's a quote from Pence himself.

http://www.lifenews.com/2016/10/13/...nd-planned-parenthood-and-reverse-roe-v-wade/

 

[NoblesseOblige]

When people prattle on about the evils of lobbying do they forget all it's done for minority, women's, and LGBT rights?

 

[Corleth the Fey]

It's nice to want things. No one is removing the money men from the halls of government.

 

[SamVimes]

When people prattle on about the evils of lobbying do they forget all it's done for minority, women's, and LGBT rights?

Except when it was used to oppress them.

 

[antonz]

"A Trump-Pence administration will defund Planned Parenthood and redirect those dollars to women’s health care that doesn’t provide abortion services."

That's a quote from Pence himself.

http://www.lifenews.com/2016/10/13/...nd-planned-parenthood-and-reverse-roe-v-wade/

I do not think anyone can actually know what are trumps stances. He was a piece of shit his entire life and until recently spent all his time very much in line with Democratic Party ideology. It wasn't until he decided to run for President he started to go all conservative spouting.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

When people prattle on about the evils of lobbying do they forget all it's done for minority, women's, and LGBT rights?

Yea but with lobbying the cons out weigh the pros.... gun lobbyists, AIPAC, tobacco lobbyists etc

 

[A Serious Man]

I do not think anyone can actually know what are trumps stances. He was a piece of shit his entire life and until recently spent all his time very much in line with Democratic Party ideology. It wasn't until he decided to run for President he started to go all conservative spouting.

Trumps stance is whatever he thinks will help him the most at the time.

 

[Hubbl3]

And now the big questions still remains - how much of this plan is blustery bullshit, and how much of it does he actually plan on committing to? Is there anything I've missed? Did Trump sneak in any weasel words into this statement? Obviously, it doesn't say anything about lobbyists going in the other direction and working for his administration - something that Clinton has made clear regarding her transition team. Anything else?

“It’s Time To Drain The Swamp In Washington, D.C. That’s Why I’m Proposing A Package Of Ethics Reforms To Make Our Government Honest Once Again.” - Donald J. Trump

A dishonest man says he's gonna make Washington honest again.

In other news, I just saw an ad for this snake oil stuff. Seems pretty promising from the description!

 

[Palette Swap]

It's nice to see he's pushing that war with the rest of the party, considering how reliant on lobbyists all these unqualified lawmakers are.

 

[Makai]

He stole that from Ben Carson

 

[Gavin Darklighter]

then why would he make Pence his running mate?

Because he needed an establishment guy to make the base feel comfortable and get votes from evangelicals

 

[Bruce Springsteen]

It's nice to want things....

such a useless response

 

[G.ZZZ]

More than 500 hundred million dollars for an election? Sweet baby jesus.

Also if there's something i'd bet on Trump not doing, it's this. He's rich , and like all rich people he love money. 0% this would actually happen even if he became president. Not to say the people aren't asking for it anyway because they're dumbos.

 

[ISOM]

Lol, Trump can guarantee everyone a million dollars and I still wouldn't vote for this clown.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

I stopped at "I am going to ask Congress"

That ain't happening

 

[Corpekata]

Yeah, I can't say I mind these suggestions.

I'm not sure he actually would attempt to do this though, and it seems more like posturing against Clinton rather than something he actually aims to achieve. And he's once again promising the moon and being vague about how he'd do it.

 

[Spectone]

Third world : Here policeman is $50 so you don't arrest me.
First world : Here politician is $50million so my company can do illegal things.

 

[Jombie]

Yeah, he would never do any of that.

 

[ClosingADoor]

I'm asking Congress to limit future income of Congress members. That will happen...

But he is right that there should be limitations on this stuff.

 

[Drek]

Trump has directly bribed politicians himself and admits to doing it. He is a serial liar. So why would we expect him to actually effect changes in policy he has been exploiting for literally decades?

I mean, people have concerns that Clinton won't do anything on this front because she has former lobbyists working for her. Trump has lobbied directly without being classified as such. He even did it I think the last five years and is now running for an executive branch position. He has broken literrally every one of his five bullet point policies.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Charlatan says he will do something amazing, you just have to trust him!

 

[Timedog]

I have an idea, instead of extra rules on lobbying, just get rid of it completely.

This is okay though.

 

[emag]

Trump has directly bribed politicians himself and admits to doing it. He is a serial liar. So why would we expect him to actually effect changes in policy he has been exploiting for literally decades?

I mean, people have concerns that Clinton won't do anything on this front because she has former lobbyists working for her. Trump has lobbied directly without being classified as such. He even did it I think the last five years and is now running for an executive branch position. He has broken literrally every one of his five bullet point policies.

That's why he's best suited to solve the problem. Who better to tackle misogyny than a rapist? Who better to tackle lawlessness than a crook? Who better to tackle corruption than a bribing con-man?

In short, who better to guard the hen house than a fox?

 

[TheContact]

Makes sense. Congress won't approve though.

 

[Bruce Springsteen]

I'm asking Congress to limit future income of Congress members. That will happen...

But he is right that there should be limitations on this stuff.

no term limits for congress killed any semblance of a democracy in this country

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Because he needed an establishment guy to make the base feel comfortable and get votes from evangelicals

actions speak louder than words.

 

[FyreWulff]

Most of those are going to get removed in First Amendment tests, though.

 

[FrontalMonk]

So maybe it's just the fact that I grew up in the DC area, but lobbyists aren't 100% awful corrupt enterprises. I tend to think of them as experts in various fields. I mean, there's no restriction on think tanks, right? Why throw the baby out with the bathwater?

 

[Dude Abides]

Another way Trump shows he doesn't care about the First Amendment.

 

[labaronx]

Trump actually has a lot of good ideas that unfortunately get buried under all his bullshit. A lot of people may not know he's pro single payer and strongly defended planned parenthood in the GOP debates.

Hes flipped on both issues multiple times

 

[wenis]

Trump actually has a lot of good ideas that unfortunately get buried under all his bullshit. A lot of people may not know he's pro single payer and strongly defended planned parenthood in the GOP debates.

BEAT^^

Except he's flipped flopped on them more than a fish on a boat.

 

[stanis]

i actually agree with this

 

[Deleted member 80556]

Fourth:
I am going to issue a lifetime ban against senior executive branch officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.

I dunno. This sounds like a way to kill international treaties from being made. Because I'm sure that things like Plan Colombia would receive huge cuts if it weren't from lobbying done by government officials who realize that such a plan might reduce the amount of drug arriving at America.

 

[partyphone]

lobbying isn't necessarily bad in and of itself. campaign finance reform and ending regulatory capture would have much bigger impacts.

 

[King Tubby]

Trump actually has a lot of good ideas that unfortunately get buried under all his bullshit. A lot of people may not know he's pro single payer and strongly defended planned parenthood in the GOP debates.

Trump's current position on almost any issue is utterly fucking unknowable. He will change his opinion at the drop of a hat. He will deny something that is well documented for anyone to read or hear. He denied that he said that global warming was a hoax invented by the Chinese, one of the most retweeted tweets of all time. Trump has no good ideas. He just has a lot of words he pushes out of the asshole in the middle of his face.

 

[nephilimdj]

But he backflipped on guns to get NRA to back him, hes already a victim of a lobby group.

 

[Peltz]

I do not think anyone can actually know what are trumps stances. He was a piece of shit his entire life and until recently spent all his time very much in line with Democratic Party ideology. It wasn't until he decided to run for President he started to go all conservative spouting.

Yep, that's the biggest issue with him if you ignore his character and fitness for office (which is by far his biggest issue).

His stances on issues flip-flop unpredictably, far worse so than his opponent's.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

Trump actually has a lot of good ideas that unfortunately get buried under all his bullshit. A lot of people may not know he's pro single payer and strongly defended planned parenthood in the GOP debates.

His healthcare plan is on his website. I think it's one of the first plans he posted. It's certainly not single payer.

 

[Nipo]

Isn't point 1 unconstitutional? It is essentially a five year non-compete at the federal level. Most states have ruled that a broad non compete is unenforceable and I don't see why this would be different.

 

[royalan]

And now the big questions still remains - how much of this plan is blustery bullshit, and how much of it does he actually plan on committing to?

At this point in the election, if you think that Donald Trump has a single honest bone in his body, you haven't been paying attention.

Donald Trump doesn't have a principled stance of campaign finance and lobbying; he's outright bribed politicians as private businessman. He's lagging behind the Clinton campaign because he's grossly incompetent, racist, and a loser who can't major backers on his side, and he's trying to turn that into a strength. Whenever he does get lobbyist support, he brags to the high hills about it.

 

[youbastards]

A dishonest man says he's gonna make Washington honest again.

In other news, I just saw an ad for this snake oil stuff. Seems pretty promising from the description!

Thanks for the head's up, I've had a rough case of Damplung for a couple weeks that just won't go away. Heading to Walgreens now.

 

[Beefy]

So lobbying is the US version of potential presidents making up what they will do to get votes? A bit like when the Tories said they want to make it s fairer Britain.

 

[Sir Abacus]

Uh huh. Trump can't even keep his own campaign free of lobbyists.

Breaking Rule #1 - Michael Glasner (W campaign manager, AIPAC)
Breaking Rule #2 - Jeff Wood (Jeff Sessions aide, part of Ingram Barge Company)
Breaking Rule #3 - Mike Catanzaro (Koch lobbyist disguised as a transition team member)
Breaking Rule #4 - Mike Flynn (Hello, taking money from Russia!)
Breaking Rule #5 - Paul Manafort (Hello, taking money from Russia!)