I sent a modified version of Jamz email (
I thank you) to my Senators, Barack Obama and Dick Durbin. Absolutely without hope, I know, but at least it was something constructive.
No response from Durbin, but Obama did respond today, with an interesting take on the issue especially since we know he voted the party line as expected.
Dear <Cthulhu>,
Thank you for contacting me regarding your opposition to Section 220 of S.1, the Senate’s recently passed ethics bill. Section 220 would have required “grassroots lobbyists” to disclose fundraising information and activities through quarterly reports to the FEC, in the same manner as “direct” or “classic” lobbyists. As you may know, this provision was dropped from the bill during debate on the Senate floor, and the final version of the ethics reform bill passed shortly thereafter without it.
I would like to take this opportunity to make two observations about the debate over Section 220. First, there has been some confusion over the kinds of groups that would have actually been affected by the deleted section. The provision would apply to any person who is paid anything for organizing or encouraging more than 500 members of the general public to send a message (e-mail, phone call, letter, meeting request, etc.) to their representatives in Congress, but only if that person has also contacted congressional offices directly a minimum of two times, and has spent a minimum of 20% of their time working on direct lobbying and grassroots-organizing.
Second, there was a significant partisan undertone to the discussion of Section 220. It may surprise some to know that a number of "conservative" groups, such as the National Right to Life Committee and the Gun Owners of America, were the strongest opponents of the provision. The political reality is that these groups can help mobilize significant numbers of voters for candidates come election time. Indeed, one prominent Republican presidential hopeful voted against the amendment to strike Section 220 despite having authored a similar provision with even tighter requirements during the "reform" debate last year.
Thank you again for writing. Please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
Aww. He wants me to stay in touch.
In time, I hope he'll sign his emails KIT or BFF and wish me to HAKAS.
Notice the use of quotation marks, particularly in the last paragraph.