This book is not intended to be simply a rehash of old information on lobbying. Instead, it draws upon new information (in the form of direct quotes from lobbyists themselves) to paint a broad picture of lobbying and lobbyists in America. Before proceeding, however, I provide a brief overview of what we know about lobbying and lobbyists in the United States in order to provide you with the background information needed to understand subsequent chapters.

AN OVERVIEW OF NINE FINDINGS

In this section is a discussion of nine well-documented findings that together comprise a sort of “conventional wisdom” on lobbyists and lobbying in America. This conventional wisdom does not include everything there is to know about lobbying, but it does represent a broad introductory overview.

Many Types of Organized Interests Engage in Lobbying

Recent estimates suggest that between 10,000 and 90,000 lobbyists operate in Washington, DC. Many more lobbyists (perhaps as many as 200,000) operate in states and localities throughout the country. The presence of this many lobbyists begs the following question: What kinds of organizations engage in lobbying? The short answer to this question is: all kinds. More specifically, political scientists have found that 12 basic types of organized interests engage in lobbying.

First, large numbers of business firms lobby government. Business firms are commercial enterprises (e.g., corporations) “that exist primarily to make money.” Many of the world's largest companies, including Citigroup, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart lobby extensively. Many medium-sized and small business firms lobby as well.