Lobbying Can Be Honorable
Thanks to a few bad apples using dishonest tactics and motivated by greed, the whole lobbying profession is under attack. The campaigns of both presumptive presidential candidates have vowed not to take campaign dollars from lobbyists — no matter who they are or what they lobby on. As a lobbyist who has worked for several reputable nonprofit organizations promoting public interest policies and legislation, I find this offensive. Not only are the candidates snubbing their noses at the First Amendment, they are also dismissing a whole profession. Don’t think they’d stop taking money from bankers, stockbrokers and accountants, eventhough individuals in those professions have breeched public trust, committed crimes and done time.
An opinion article in the current edition The Chronicle of Philanthropy, written by David Cohen and Larry Ottinger raises important issues related to lobby disclosure, ethics and lobbying culture. The article titled “How to Guarantee Respect for Public Interest Lobbyists” references a proposed set of ethical principles developed by the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (CLPI). These principles focus on helping charities and other nonprofit groups demonstrate openness, credibility and service to the public good. CLPI is encouraging lobbyists of all persuasions to adhere to these smart practices.
The four principles are: 1) public interest lobbying must add civic value; 2) this lobbying must be inclusive; 3) must be credible, trustworthy and based on factual information; and, 4) must be multifaceted and adaptive, utilizing a variety of advocacy tools.
More on the specific ethical principles in a later post. In the meantime, read the full ethical principles’ document at http://www.clpi.org.
