Much has been made of Barack Obama's decision not to take PAC or lobbyist money. I applaud it.
Others, however, point to his past and call him a hypocrite. Obama, after all, did take lobbyist money earlier in his career--a fact Obama has readily admitted.
But here is the problem, one Obama himself has lamented: if we demonize those who try to improve the system by attacking them for not being perfect in the past, how will we ever achieve the reforms we need?
The APhas a good write up of Obama's history with lobbyists, and I think Obama supporters and detractors would benefit by reading it.
Excerpts after the jump:
Barack Obama played poker and basketball with lobbyists when he was a state senator. He took their campaign donations and worked with them to write legislation. But he also helped pass ethics laws to reduce sharply their influence.
Translation: he wasn't a Saint, but he worked towards that goal.
In some instances, Obama didn't just listen to lobbyists. He worked with them to draft legislation, hammering out the specifics in long negotiations with lobbyists from both sides.
He used this approach to add safeguards to the state death penalty system and to prevent racial profiling in traffic stops, two touchy issues that involved law enforcement. Representatives from both sides say Obama took their concerns seriously and made concessions when they presented a good argument.
Translation: he listened to everyone, but ultimately made the decision he believed was best. In the process, he achieved significant legislative accomplishments.
Obama helped pass two of the toughest ethics laws in Illinois history, and both of them attempted to reduce the influence of lobbyists.
A 1998 law barred lawmakers from accepting most gifts from lobbyists. It also outlawed accepting campaign donations on state property, meaning lobbyists could no longer hand legislators a check just as they were entering the chamber to vote.
''Prior to that bill, if you wanted to give a legislator a car, you could,'' said Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. ''That probably is the most significant curb we've put on in this state, and he was a key part of that.''
Translation: He saw a broken system and he fixed it.
Obama also co-sponsored a 2003 law that, among other things, barred lobbyists from serving on government boards and commissions and further tightened the restrictions on gifts to legislators.
After his election to the U.S. Senate, Obama was a leader in the successful effort to strengthen federal ethics laws. Lawmakers now have to disclose the names of lobbyists who raise money for them by ''bundling'' donations from many people. They also have to disclose special projects they try to add to the budget.
Translation: He didn't stop cleaning up government when he got to Washington; rather, he worked even harder to do so.
''Throughout his career, Barack Obama has fought to reduce the outsized influence lobbyists wield over the legislative process and to give a voice to underrepresented Americans,'' spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement.
He did not respond to questions about why Obama chose to accept lobbyists' donations in Springfield but rejects them now, except to say that Obama's ban is an imperfect solution to the problem of money in politics.
The ban is not absolute.
Obama's presidential campaign takes donations from state-level lobbyists and from the families and business partners of federal lobbyists. And Obama didn't adopt the ban until he ran for president. His Hopefund political committee accepted about $125,000 from PACs after he began serving in the U.S. Senate, and his Senate campaign committee also continued to accept PAC contributions until this year.
Translation: He accepted the money in the past, even while working to curb its influence. Now, in the biggest race of his life, he has stood by his principles and sworn off lobbyist money. Purity trolls may fault him for this, but I like to see some action rather than no action.
The man is not perfect, but he is working towards making our political system a little more so.