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So Damn Much Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government (2009)

by Robert G. Kaiser

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1253216,987 (3.27)2
The story of the monumental growth of lobbying in Washington, D.C., and how it undermines effective government and pollutes our politics.
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If you're anything of an idealist about the American system of government, this book might just break your heart. Not to say that our government is irretrievably flawed, but it's been significantly corrupted over the decades by the powerful influence of money. It's a well researched book, but it does read much like a research paper. While it detailed the growth, development, and tactics of lobbying in DC since the 1970s, what made the book interesting was the use of the Cassidy & Associates as its vehicle. We see how one individual was able to find a competitive niche, create an industry, and exploit it for over four decades. Insights into Cassidy's personal and professional relationships and the off-camera antics of prominent politicians of years past were also illuminating. Not a great book, but it should be required reading for anyone studying politics in the U.S. ( )
1 vote traumleben | Dec 3, 2012 |
Over the last thirty years lobbying has become a $4 billion industry in Washington, DC. Focusing on the story of Gerald Cassidy, one of the most successful early players in the business, Kaiser looks at the rise of earmarks and the influence of new campaign strategies to explain the interconnection between logrolling, campaign finance, corporate interests and policymaking. He makes it clear that we are collectively responsible for the corrosion of democracy that results from this new system. ( )
1 vote EricAbrahamson | Jul 26, 2010 |
The book was 60% the lobbying firm Cassidy and Associates and 40% about the political climate that allowed them to prosper. My main interest in reading the book was in the political and cultural movements since '75 or so which have caused governance to crash against that huge wall of money, and though I got some information, I got a lot more about the lifestyles of wealthy lobbyinsts.

I found it hard to read because of that, having to slog through personal histories for a political nugget. I don't normally keep on a book for two months, pure hunger for the sparse subject matter kept me slogging away at it.

I have to think there are better books on the abandomnent of governance by our elected officials, but I continue to struggle to find one. My recommendation is that you avoid this one and join the struggle.. ( )
1 vote steve.clason | Apr 16, 2010 |
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Fascinating...[Kaiser] provides a thoroughly researched expose on the modern lobbying industry in America...This is important reading for understanding the relationship between lobbying, legislation, and elections over the last thirty years.
 
Excellent...illuminating...Kaiser's narrative skills are formidable.
 
Fascinating and well told...Kaiser amply demonstrates what [money] has done in Washington...Could not be timelier.
 
Kaiser's account dwells less on blatant corruption than on what is perfectly, depressingly legal. Lobbyists, for all their policy-shaping aspirations, come across as simple bagmen, conveying cash between buyers in the private sector and all-too-willing sellers in Congress.
added by keeper3014 | editThe New Yorker (Jan 26, 2009)
 
A triumph...We're introduced to all the tricks of the lobbying trade; we watch public servants reap private rewards as lobbyists. Is it true elections are bought and sold? It's all here...Not a pretty tale, but essential reading for today.
added by keeper3014 | editThe Providence Journal, Jeanne Nicholson (Jan 20, 2009)
 
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I seen my opportunities and I took 'em.
- George Washington Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, early 1900s
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For Paul Corso and Andy Sumner; who kept me in the game
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In the early hours of February 22, 2004 -- a cool, clear, late-winter day -- copies of the fat Sunday edition of The Washington Post landed on doorsteps and driveways throughout the nation's capital and its booming suburbs in Maryland and Virginia.
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The story of the monumental growth of lobbying in Washington, D.C., and how it undermines effective government and pollutes our politics.

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