ABSTRACT
American politics is very expensive. The 1992 political campaigns reported a total cost of almost $3.2 billion, and the actual amount may be much higher. Herbert Alexander estimated that campaigns at the federal level cost $2.2 billion and state and local contests another $1 billion, including $175 million spent on ballot issues. 1 On the lobbying levels, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PMA), seeking to kill a prescription drug bill, <hired the lobbying firm of Bonner & Associates for a month's work and paid a fee of $3 million.2 Hedrick Smith in his 1988 book, The Power Game. notes the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) budget for lobbying increased from $750,000 in 1978 to $6.1 million in 1987; that the insurance industry spent $5 million in 1985 to protect billions of dollars in tax exemptions; and Blue Cross-Blue Shield also had $4 million in lobbying expenses protecting its tax-exempt status.3 The American Petroleum Institute (API), long a fixture as one of the powerhouse lobbies in Washington, D.e., had a budget of $56 million in 1995, a staff of 400, 6 registered lobbyists in Washington, 48 other registered state council lobbyists who periodically come to Washington to help out, and over 30 state councils organized around the country. The API and other oil lobbyists are reportedly ready to spend tens of millions of dollars to promote or kill a single bill.4
