Quote Originally Posted by PanzerJaeger View Post
Well, apart from the infeasibility of instituting such an initiative, the resulting effects would be far from positive. Lobbying is a vital element of a pluralistic democracy. It is the glue that binds the people's will and the legislation that enforces it. How, for example, is your average congressman supposed to know the intricacies of the American health care system well enough to regulate it and at the same time be an expert on which of a slate of the latest military weapons systems deserve funding and which do not?
A. It isn't unfeasible.
B. We are not a pluralistic democracy.
C. The glue that binds the people's will is the vote. 99% of the public actually don't involve themselves in lobbying because they are too busy putting food on the table.

You are just wrapping yourself in Americana language that has no basis in reality. The majority of lobbyists are from companies. The rest are from very specific interest groups. Those that own guns and those that are old get more recognition than everyone else. That is pretty much it.

The politicians know just as little about health care and military programs as they would without lobbyists. What do you think the lobbyists are there for? To give an accurate picture of their industry? Watch "Thank Your for Smoking" for heaven sake.

The problem is the political class, and it always has been. They are supposed to act as honest brokers between various lobbying groups - to distill their complex proposals into their main points and then judge which of those will best serve their constituents. This requires a group of people motivated by altruism instead of money and power. They are hard to come by, but they do tend to manifest in times of real crisis. The best policy, however, is to keep as much power as is practical out of the hands of politicians in the first place.
Again, no basis in reality. Honest brokers? Since the country began, John Adams has been calling Jefferson a prostitute with his black slaves while he stripped away rights with the Alien and Sedition Act.

Politicians have never, ever, ever been honest men, doing what is right. There have always been good men in politics, but politicians as a whole have never experienced a time you are describing.