Giving Crazy Uncle Ernie a Job in the Family Business?

Most people know that kid in college who never really worked that hard, partied a lot and never really seemed to care about his/her future because they knew they had a job locked up with their family's business. Personally, I was jealous of that kid back then. That was the way I wanted to go through college; damn the luck of being born to a single mother who is a teacher.

On some levels, I could never fault a parent for wanting to give their child every opportunity in life to succeed. If I owned a family business, I would want my children to work with me. It's just that when our elected officials start to treat our government like their own business and use it to enrich their family members, I start to get upset.

Most Americans who do not call themselves members of Congress agree. An overwhelming majority of Americans believe it's wrong for lawmakers and their staffs to have contact with relatives who are lobbyists regarding government matters. But a survey of lawmakers suggests they don't see a problem. USA Today PollA USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows that 80% of respondents believe such actions are inappropriate. By contrast, few members of the House and Senate appropriations committees say they have policies that prevent lobbying by relatives.

For example, Karen Weldon, an inexperienced 29-year-old lobbyist from suburban Philadelphia, seemed an unlikely choice for clients seeking global public relations services.

Yet her tiny firm was selected last year for a plum $240,000 contract to promote the good works of a wealthy Serbian family that had been linked to accused war criminal Slobodan Milosevic.

Despite a lack of professional credentials, she had one notable asset - her father, U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), who is a leading voice in Washington on former Eastern Bloc affairs.

It is easy to pick on the Republicans since they have held power for the past several election cycles, but since Democrats took control of the House and Senate, we haven't been hearing a whole lot about campaign finance reform from them either, and they ran on a platform of addressing corruption. Lobbying reform seems like a good place to start. Talk is cheap, action counts.

It doesn't take an act of Congress for an individual member of Congress to adopt a policy that she/he will not do business with lobbyists that employee family of Members of Congress. We can put pressure on our individual members of Congress to do this. Call your Congressperson and see if they have such a policy. If they don't, ask why. Let us know what they say?

Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? is a movie about the power of individuals to take back our government from powerful special interests. Here is something each of us can do that will help move us in that direction.

"It would only take $3.25 per person a year to fund every House and Senate campaign in America. Thats a small price to pay to get your Democracy back." From Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?