Maddy Merrill

6/4/18

Puppeteering on the Hill

Washington D.C. is a strange place. It’s a bustling metropolis that attracts thousands of

tourists a year, with a booming food scene and museums for every interest. But Washington D.C.

is also the political hotspot of the United States, and behind the vibrant streets there lies a darker

undertone: government manipulation. Every day, lobbyists and interest groups go to extreme

lengths to get bills passed, or more often, prevent their passage. On Capitol Hill, deals are made

in back hallways, everyone has an agenda, and the demands of political interest groups often get

put above those of the American people. Let’s take a step back to thoroughly understand how we

got to this point. This city has a long history—one that has heavily impacted the country today.

In 1776, when the colonists gained independence from British rule, they were faced with a giant

undertaking: creating a new nation. This nation couldn’t be like those of the past, with tyrant

rulers and a population that had little to no say in what happened in government. Instead, this

country would be founded on the principles of democracy. Citizens would be equal, the

government would follow the will of the people, and civic engagement would be essential. Not a

bad start right? As the country acquired wealth, first through trade of products like tobacco, and

later by industrializing, the power shifted. People with money began to realize that they could

greatly impact the policies that were rolling out of Congress, in a way that would be beneficial to

them. Today, this trend has ballooned. Companies, interest groups, and unions invest millions of

dollars in lobbying and slip members of Congress hefty sums for favors. Some groups complete

this funding through political action committees or PACs, while others pay out of pocket. Often

these investments will have even larger payoffs, especially when bills concern new regulations

on businesses or money related issues like tax cuts. It is clear that the United States’ government
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has veered from its original purpose. Instead of representing the public, lawmakers have been

manipulated to serve the interests of a powerful few. With no clear solution and no break in the

flow of money, there are three important questions that must be examined: Why do politicians

and the government rely so heavily on outside funds?; What is the impact of this money?; Are

the American people really represented in politics, or have they become a pathetic afterthought?

Running for office and staying in office has always been expensive, but in recent years

the cost has skyrocketed. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “corporations could spend

unlimited amounts of money to influence federal elections,” in ​Citizens United v. The Federal

Election Commission ​(Frumin). Since then, most representatives have spent around a million

dollars on their campaigns while senatorial candidates have spent an average of $10.5 million

(Frumin). These are enormous sums, but they make sense. Running for office requires a

candidate to have a staff, create advertisements, and travel between Washington and their home

state, among many other expenses. If a candidate is serious about winning, they essentially need

to make this much money to have a chance. According to ​Represent.us​, a nonpartisan, nonprofit

organization that works to fight corruption in politics, “Just .05% of Americans donate more than

$10,000 in any election,” so the rest of the money that candidates need comes from interest

groups (“One Graph). By funding campaigns, these organizations can later push a member of

Congress to staunchly oppose or support a bill. Money is a form of leverage—a very effective

one. Ultimately, this constant need for funds, along with pressures from 11,000 different

lobbying groups, has led Congress into a dismal downward spiral (Barlett and Steele).

Congressmen and women are forced to balance the interests of their constituents with the

interests of donors, all while preparing for their next campaign, and continuing to fundraise. It’s
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6/4/18

no wonder that Congress’ approval rating dipped down to 17 percent in May of 2018

(“Congress”). When politicians are controlled and indebted to so many outside interests, it

becomes a challenge to prioritize the wants of constituents. After all, money is what really wins

elections.

With so much cash floating around one might think that lawmakers would be more

efficient, passing laws in a frenzy. In reality, the opposite is true. Congress is a gridlocked mess,

largely because of special interests. In fact, a majority of groups actually have the goal of

blocking the passage of laws. For example, big oil companies would prefer inactivity on Capitol

Hill on the issue of climate change, as would hedge fund owners when it comes to taxation of

carried interest (Nichols and McChesney). With so many voices of varying opinions and

volumes, it is becoming increasingly challenging to pass bills. Those that do make it through the

complicated system are filled with “side-bargains” as “large companies are more likely to have

the resources and know-how to push for technocratic tweaks at the margins, usually out of public

view” (“How Corporations”). Another impact of interest group funds are that certain individuals

have more influence than others, namely the rich and powerful. For this reason, laws can end up

getting passed that exclusively benefit a small group. The effects of this phenomena can be seen

in the recent widening of the wage-gap and the issue of wealth inequality. Similarly, many laws

that do get passed don’t actually represent what the country as a whole wants. Take the National

Rifle Association (NRA), which has gotten widespread media attention after a string of high

school shootings shook the nation this year. In February of 2018, ​NPR​ found that 75 percent of

the American population wanted stricter gun laws (Khalid). Fifty-six percent of people from both

parties also agreed that Congress needs to do more to address gun violence, yet no national gun
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6/4/18

law reforms have yet to pass (Khalid). The NRA plays a large part in this, exerting political

control through “long-standing financial relationships” with policy makers who know that

crossing the group would mean giving up their political seat (Kessler). With the continual

influence of single-issue and interest groups, laws that are important to national progress and are

supported by the majority of the population will continue to be blocked from passing. Those with

money benefit, will those without it fall behind.

We have established that members of Congress need money to succeed, and that this

money has a certain impact that benefits a select few. When a politician receives money from an

organization with a certain legislative agenda, they have entered into an unspoken yet

omnipresent trade-off. These dollars are the strings that interest groups pull to control our

lawmakers, and the more money, the thicker the string. All of this information leads to the final

question, and perhaps the most important. Does the government of the United States really serve

the interests of the general public? The answer may be clear by now—a resounding no. In 2012,

Martin Gilens, a professor of politics at Princeton University, and Benjamin Page, professor of

decision making at Northwestern University, published a study entitled ​Testing Theories of

American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens,​ in which they attempted to

answer this multifaceted question. To do so, the researchers first examined why interest groups

have such a large influence over politics. They found that the “chief aim of the framers of the

U.S. Constitution was to protect private property, favoring the economic interests of wealthy

merchants and plantation owners…” (Gilens and Page). Because our country was built on this

idea, it’s no surprise that it persists today. While this information interested the two men, what

they later discovered would shock the entire country. By looking at data from public opinion
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6/4/18

polls of the last 20 years and comparing these numbers with which bills were actually signed into

law, Gilens and Page realized that the “The opinions of the bottom 90% of income earners in

America has essentially no impact at all” (“One Graph”). In other words, even if 100 percent of

the population supported a bill, it would have the same probability of passing as a policy that

garnered close to no enthusiasm from the public. This is a glaring fault in the current political

system, leading to increasing distrust from citizens and the spreading sentiment that one person’s

voice does not matter. About half of Americans believe that there is not much they can do to

influence the government, but 55 percent think that compared with elected officials, they could

do a better job of solving issues (Fingerhut). On the other hand, the Pew Research Center finds

that both parties have lost trust in the public’s political wisdom since 2007 (Fingerhut). This

mutual sense of distrust, along with the fact that “two-thirds of the public say their government is

controlled by a handful of powerful interests,” has led to a legislative branch that is unable to

pass laws that will benefit the people (Nichols and McChesney). Although some lawmakers,

particularly members of the Republican Party, claim that the system should not be reformed

because contributions made by interest groups are a form of political speech, the overall impact

is detrimental (Berman). In order for power to be returned to the people, ties to special interests

must be cut, and members of Congress must reorganize their priorities, making sure that citizens

always come first.

While the official motto of the United States reads “In God We Trust,” the real idea that

this country was based on is that a regular person can have an impact on the government. Money

has corrupted both this essential principle, and those who are tasked with carrying it out.

Politicians need funding to get elected, but once in office they are bound to this money. Each
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member of Congress is pulled in many different directions, leading to gridlock and disapproval

from the public. A system where only the elite have a say in what policies turn into law is a

system that is broken. The amount of money involved in politics is absurd, but it cannot be

removed all at once. Little by little, politicians should expunge the money of interests groups,

and the public must urge them to do so. Without this collective effort, the idea that the people

have an impact will remain an illusion, and little will change. The show is over, the lights are on,

and it’s time to draw back the curtains for everyone to see: puppeteering on The Hill.
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6/4/18

Works Cited

Barlett, Donald L., and James B. Steele. “How Special-Interest Groups Have Their Way with

Congress.” The Inquirer , Philly.com, 28 Oct. 1991,

www.philly.com/philly/news/From_the_archive_How_special-interest_groups_have_thei

r_way_with_Congress.html​.

Berman, Russell. “How Can the U.S. Shrink the Influence of Money in Politics?” The Atlantic,

Atlantic Media Company, 16 Mar. 2016,

www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/fix-money-in-politics/473214/​.

“Congress and the Public.” Gallup.com, May 2018,

news.gallup.com/poll/1600/congress-public.asp

Fingerhut, Hannah. “Beyond Distrust: How Americans View Their Government.” Pew Research

Center for the People and the Press, 23 Nov. 2015,

www.people-press.org/2015/11/23/8-perceptions-of-the-publics-voice-in-government-an

d-politics/.

Frumin, Aliyah. “How Much Does It Cost to Win a Seat in Congress? If You Have to Ask...”

MSNBC, NBC Universal News Group, 13 Sept. 2013,

www.msnbc.com/hardball/how-much-does-it-cost-win-seat-congre.

Gilens and Page, “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average

Citizens,” Perspective on Politics, 2014.

“How Corporations Turned into Political Beasts.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 25 Apr.
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6/4/18

2015, ​www.businessinsider.com/how-corporations-turned-into-political-beasts-2015-4​.

Kessler, Aaron. “Why the NRA Is so Powerful on Capitol Hill, by the Numbers.” CNN, Cable

News Network, 23 Feb. 2018,

www.cnn.com/2018/02/23/politics/nra-political-money-clout/index.html.

Khalid, Asma. “NPR Poll: After Parkland, Number of Americans Who Want Gun Restrictions

Grows.” NPR, NPR, 2 Mar. 2018,

www.npr.org/2018/03/02/589849342/npr-poll-after-parkland-number-of-americans-who-

want-gun-restrictions-grows.

Nichols, John, and Robert W. McChesney. “'Dollarocracy': How Special Interests Undermine

Our

Democracy.” BillMoyers.com, 8 Nov. 2013,

billmoyers.com/2013/11/08/dollarocracy-how-special-interests-undermine-our-democrac

y/.

“One Graph Shows How the Rich Control American Politics.” Represent.Us,

represent.us/action/theproblem-3/.