As the mid-term elections loomed, Cinema Libre released political documentary The Best Government Money Can Buy?
The film from veteran documentarian Francis Megahy goes behind the scenes of the lobbying system and its influence on elected candidates. According to Cinema Libre’s press materials for the movie, campaign fund-raising now takes up at least 30% of a lawmaker’s time, and the biggest source of campaign funds comes from large corporations, channeled through lobbyists.
The number of lobbyists has more than doubled since 2000, with spending at more than $13 billion. Currently 14,000 lobbyists are officially registered, averaging 26 lobbyists to every member of Congress, and in January, the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the door for corporations to spend unlimited funds to advocate or defeat the election efforts of federal candidates.
The Best Government Money Can Buy? uses case studies of the energy, health care and financial services industry sectors and shows how corporations achieve the legislation they want by funding the election campaigns of the members.
Among those featured in the film are Connecticutt Congressman Anthony J. Moffat, lobbyists for Citi Group and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (which represents more than 3 million businesses and organizations), National Foreign Trade Council senior VP Catherine P. Bennett and AARP legislative counsel and legislative policy director David Certner.
“When members of the House get 80% of their funding from Washington DC – not from their voters – and spend only three days a week in DC, because they spend more than 30% of their time campaigning and fund-raising and then routinely vote for the special interests that fund them,” said Megahy, “how can the average citizen expect their vote to compete with the clout of the special interests? The explosion of money spent on lobbying, aided by the Supreme Court decision, is the most serious threat our democracy has ever faced.”
The DVD of the 76-minute documentary was priced at $19.95.
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The film is bipartisan. If is a balance presentation. The Professor gives it 4 stars.