The Best Government Money Can Buy was released on DVD October 26 by Cinema Libre Studio. The Best Government Money Can Buy examines the influence of lobbyists on our elected officials. In January 2010, the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to advocate or defeat the election efforts of federal candidates.
There are currently 14,000 officially registered lobbyists working on behalf of special interest groups. That doesn't even include the many unregistered lobbyists or influencers. That averages to 26 lobbyists to every single member of Congress. Lobbyists spent over $6.7 billion in the last two years to influence our elected officials.
The Best Government Money Can Buy is a non-partisan look at the influence of lobbyists. It informs the reader about the vast amounts of money being funneled through lobbyists. Elected officials spend at least 30% of their time fund raising and the largest source of their funds is from lobbyists recommending large corporations.
I understand that elected officials need money. They need to run ad campaigns to get re-elected, and that costs money: billboards, radio spots, print ads. They all cost money. What concerns me is that members of the House get 80 percent of their funding from Washington DC - not from the voters they represent. They spend more than 30 percent of their time fundraising and only three days a week in DC. How can my vote and the few piddly dollars I can afford to donate compare to the millions of dollars special interest groups are paying elected officials?
The Best Government Money Can Buy includes interviews with lobbyists and insiders by film maker Francis Megahy. He explores the influence of lobbyists and the effect they have on the issues that face us today. He also examines whether changes can be made to lobbying, considering it's a constitutionally protected activity. Having been an elected official, I was already very familiar with how lobbying works. I enjoyed seeing the process through the eyes of the lobbyists and I think that this is a valuable documentary for everyone to watch so they understand the influence of big corporations on our elected officials. More information can be obtained at www.thebestgovernmentmoneycanbuy.com.
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