inserthandlehere

This is true. Also, it's not just the access lobbyists have but the detailed experience they bring (if they are good at what they do). Many lobbyists have been working in their fields for years. So they know exactly what questions reps will have, what hesitations they'll have, what talking points will go the furthest - are they religious? are they a parent? are they only focused on the economy? does their vote even really matter for this bill? This is all valuable information that lobbyists learn via years of work. That is why they cost so much. Now imagine they were working for something you cared about - which many, honestly are - that would be money well spent.

Thanks for doing this. I had a friend who was looking into a rehab facility in California and at the last minute her family and I convinced her not to go. The circumstances surrounding it were VERY fishy. There was almost no information about them online. I even called the Better Business Bureau and State Secretary Office (and some others) and could not verify that the company was even an operating business with any documentation with the state. She had contacted them and they offered to fly her out there entirely for free (and her stay there would have been free) which may be normal but I also found suspicious. Anyway, she ended up not going. I was really scared she was going to end up being a victim of sex trafficking or something. She said when she called them to tell them she was not coming after all they literally just hung up on her. Makes me SO scared for other people who may be in her shoes but with less support. Given your background, does any of this sound familiar in terms of the process of how these "rehab" centers get people? Now I am wondering if it was something along the lines of what you have described (sorry for the novel).

The thing is - it's not just corporations that lobby legislators. I worked at my state capital for years working directly with lobbyists for nonprofits to support, and oppose, legislation that directly impacted their constituents - usually surrounding jeapordized access to health care.

So I just want to appologize for the time I met you at a radio station in Louisville Kentucky and had no idea who you were. It was the second day of my first professional job and I was there assisting someone who was being interviewed. I know you don't remember any of this but you walked in to the reception area and you looked really familiar to me. We chatted breifly and then you went back. That's when the receptionist was like "You know that was Micheal Ian Black" and I was like "Who?" Then I got home and told my roomate who instantly made me watch Wet Hot American Summer... which is now one of my favorite movies ever. My friends and I even had a Wet Hot themed party recently. Hopefully I will meet you again one day and this time I maybe I will get a picture with you.

WOW! This is awesome. As someone who used to work in public affairs (which means I worked directly with many lobbying firms) there is so much misinformation about lobbying - what it is, and who is doing it. One thing that is not debatable is the fact that hiring a lobbyist with any real influence is not cheap. Talented people, regardless of their craft, often come with a higher fee. Something like this that helps everyday people get in touch with talented policy influencers is honestly amazing. As a former public affairs professional (I no longer do anything political) there were so many times people would come to me wanting help and my advice was always that public affairs efforts are not helpful (sometimes even harmful) without a good lobbyist to give us direction. My question, given the misinformation that exists, how has the feedback been on this endeavor?