Question

Why do some people think that PACs now have more influence over members of congress and the process of congressional legislation than do individual lobbyists?

Answer 1

Um, no. -____-

Answer 2

Actually it does, its a question in the book. Bye now (:

Answer 3

Because the media and certain politicians encourage them to think it. It plays into the natural fears of people that somebody somewhere must be up to no good, because otherwise things would be better. Naming an actual individual as the villain tends not to work well, because any actual person is...well, a person, and probably not evil, even if he's doing something with which you don't agree. Furthermore, an actual real person, if named, has the opportunity to defend himself, give his side of the story.

You don't want that if you're in the business of scaring people, or trying to lead them around. So if you name an anonymous group, then (1) they can't defend themselves, because they're anonymous -- nobody knows who you mean! and (2) nobody will ever think of them as fellow human beings, so everyone will feel free to think the absolute worst of them.

The President has honed this skill to a high degree. You'll notice he rarely calls out any individual actual person to criticize -- he just talks about how "some people" say this or that outrageous thing, and of course they must be defeated, silenced, stopped.

It's an old trick: in conflict, try to dehumanize your enemy. It's much easier to say "Those darned PACs are corrupting government!" than to say "Joe and Jane, farmers, have paid Bill, a lawyer with a farming background, to go to Washington and ask the government to stop requiring them to pay so much for water from the local water project." You don't want actual real people, Joe, Jane and Bill, part of your argument.

Answer 4

Put simply, Super PACs have become a convenient political vehicle promoting specific views and actions in support of a political agenda by casting a much wider net. They're like lobbyists, only on steroids made out of money.

Super PACs can form around any political party or candidate that they support, raise vast sums of the funds needed, and then blitz the airwaves with whatever they feel are convenient messages to a targeted constituency. Compared to what a lobbyist has to work with in Washington, a super PAC is like a larger version of themselves multiplied by many.

But while a lobbyist is usually more interested in pushing their own agenda on an individual basis through members in Congress, super PACs can act like kingmakers in helping to influence the public in deciding who to vote for. A number of lobbyists have already seen the writing on the wall and have even used super PACs in supporting candidates that they believe will make the changes they feel will benefit their position by donating to them.

Why? A super PAC can solicit far more funds to make their point heard especially during election seasons when they usually storm the airwaves with as much commercial time as they can buy. They work independently of the campaigns as required by federal law which means that they're relatively free to narrate whatever story they choose to tell about their candidate and that of whatever opposition they choose to vilify. A number of the most negative ads on television today are the result of one or another super PAC's fundraising ability.

Because they have been especially active during election seasons in the last few years which can impact who will be elected from the state level (like a local governor or representative) to the the federal (all the way up to the President of the United States) they are often regarded by a number of people as an incredibly influential force in politics as a whole.