Revolving Door Between The MPAA And The Federal Government

from the how-you-get-laws-passed dept

Via Parker Higgins we learn of a graphical representation of the revolving door between the MPAA and the federal government from geke.us, purveyor of useful visuals to explain economic truths:

Not all of these are current, of course. Dan Glickman left well before Chris Dodd showed up, for example Still, it does give you an idea of why the MPAA always seemed to get its way with the government.
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Filed Under: chris dodd, dan glickman, graphic, revolving door
Companies: mpaa


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  1. icon
    TriZz (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:02am

    Why isn't this illegal?

    It seems like this should be illegal. Like career politicians.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:30am

    Re: Why isn't this illegal?

    it was going to be illegal, but instead of passing laws that banned it, we passed laws that made it effectively mandatory.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:34am

    What a shocker! A lobbying organization hires former politicians and staffers? There's got to be an evil conspiracy here somewhere. Your paranoid ravings get crazier every day

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:36am

    Naturally...

    One of the government positions in the chart is "Dep Chieff of Staff". I find this sort of thing perpetually disappointing.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:38am

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. icon
    A Dan (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:43am

    Re:

    How do you figure? Lobbying sucks, regardless of who's doing it. It's institutionalized bribery.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:44am

    Re:

    Google is a little outnumbered, it seems.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. icon
    lexieliberty (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:46am

    It's time!

    For a real revolution. Any legislation that is passed is a lie effectively, it is always vague therefore it can't be forceable against the government. We are not going to fix jackshit by telling politicians and lobbyists what to do.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. icon
    :Lobo Santo (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:48am

    Re: ___

    Yes, nothing says "honest, legit, and above board" like a six figure salary for doing nothing after having helped slip in "one little law"

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. icon
    Lowestofthekeys (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 9:50am

    Re:

    Here's a good meme visualization for your kind of AC troll, sir!

    http://i41.tinypic.com/efrms1.png

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. icon
    PaulT (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:08am

    Re:

    "Your paranoid ravings get crazier every day"

    Aren't you the one who raves daily about a conspiracy between Mike and Google? At least one assertion has *some* proof, and it ain't yours...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    rubberpants, 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:08am

    Re:

    No, it isn't.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. icon
    gorehound (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:08am

    Re: Why isn't this illegal?

    And we will continue to spiral downwards as a Nation because of Big Money & the Corruption.Legal Corruption is what "Corporations are People" & Money Lobbying Mean.
    At this point I am waiting for the Revolution.Two big Parties and both are Corrupt.
    You can't even Vote these Fuckers out.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. icon
    Jeremy Lyman (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:09am

    Re: Re:

    Or extortion?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. icon
    Nigel (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:10am

    The Mightly Glickman

    My thought was what ever happened to that dolt.

    http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/about/dan-glickman

    lol... that is just rich..

    N.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    TheStupidOne, 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:16am

    Re:

    Well ... It makes absolute sense for anyone attempting to influence politicians to hire a politician to do so. They know the in and outs of DC, they understand the politics behind the scene, and they will almost certainly do a better job than I would. However what the above graphic doesn't tell is the apparent reasons that these people went to work in the MPAA. The members of congress fight hard for unpopular legislation that helps the MPAA and then gets a cushy job with them. Congressional staffers sneak language into legislation with the same results. (I didn't read your article, so perhaps Google and Susan Molinari aren't clean either)

    Hiring former politicians isn't necessarily a problem, hiring a former politician as a reward for behavior that is detrimental to their constituents or the nation at large is.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. icon
    The eejit (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:22am

    Re: It's time!

    I wonder what would happen if we killed all the lawyers....would straightforward laws be passed?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. icon
    PaulT (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:24am

    Re:

    It might well be. What's her history? Did she participate in suspiciously one-sided deals to benefit Google's interests at the expense of others or take bribes or other deals to help kill competition and/or tilt the market in their favour? Did she recently fight tooth and nail to protect the organisation's interests in Washington, only to land in a cushy lobbying position mere months later?

    If so, then this is also bad and we thank you for bringing it to our attention. If not, then it's yet another strawman attempt at misdirection. In that case, please try to understand the actual objection, I know it's difficult for you. It might also help to address objections with something other that "but Google!".

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    TheStupidOne, 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:31am

    The Fix

    2 things that should be done to fix this (apparent) problem of corruption in Congress:

    First: Outlaw campaign donations to incumbent candidates. Fund the campaigns with federal tax dollars. Pay for that by eliminating subsidies for industries that only have them because of their fantastic lobbying efforts and raising taxes on individuals and organizations that have unusually low tax rates.

    Second: Have an automatic ethics review of any politician that gets hired by a private company for a salary greater than what they were making in congress. Create criminal punishments for violations of the ethics rules (I won't define those here), and have charges brought by the ethics review group and a jury trial to determine guilt.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. identicon
    TheStupidOne, 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:33am

    Re: The Fix

    Also that jury should be people the politician was supposed to be representing.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  21. icon
    Jon B. (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:36am

    Re:

    Lobbying, sending a spokesperson to deliver a message to elected officials, is one thing. Having the corporation write the laws is another. I don't think Google is doing the latter yet. I've heard more about Google fighting bad laws than I have about Google helping write them. Of course, it may just be a matter of time...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  22. identicon
    MrWilson, 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:44am

    Re:

    "What a shocker! A lobbying organization hires former politicians and staffers?"

    No, this isn't shocking, but it should be. That's the problem. There's nothing at all surprising about the openness of this form of corruption.

    "There's got to be an evil conspiracy here somewhere."

    There is no conspiracy. It's right out in the open. Parts of the government and large corporations are actively involved in influence peddling.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  23. icon
    Jefferson (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:44am

    if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

    Why don't we hire 10-20 former congressmen / women and former senators to fight for our cause?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  24. icon
    TtfnJohn (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 11:00am

    Instaclone?

    Is it that former politicians, a mutation that really doesn't exist in the wild, and MPAA execs get together and breed. Then in a remarkably short gestation and maturation process give birth to, all intents and purposes, an identical copy of the former politician though lacking, perhaps, the morals and ethics which the former politician occasionally displayed.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  25. icon
    corwin155 (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 11:07am

    corporations are the next fascists

    link to this | view in thread ]

  26. icon
    BentFranklin (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 11:12am

    Re: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

    Got $10-20 million?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  27. icon
    Not an Electronic Rodent (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 11:17am

    Re: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

    What, you reckon a kick-starter project to raise, ooo say around 30 or 40 million to "hire" some on behalf of the public would work? Who knows... but last time I looked the public supposedly already hired them once!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  28. icon
    Baldaur Regis (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 11:30am

    Let's not forget...

    ...our old pal Jack Valenti, who went straight from the Johnson White House to the MPAA. He's the guy with the famous "I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone." quote.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  29. icon
    Ben (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 11:31am

    Re:

    Molinari was a House representative from 1990 to 1997.
    So after 15 years she shouldn't be allowed to lobby? What time limit do you propose? The examples from the graphic are much quicker turnaround. I suspect Dodd was still receiving his paycheck from the Senate when he accepted his position with the MPAA.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  30. icon
    silverscarcat (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 12:12pm

    Re:

    Of course it's okay!

    She' a Republican.

    (Note, I am as disgusted with both sides of the isle, I just poke fun at Democrats more.)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  31. icon
    silverscarcat (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 12:17pm

    Re: Re: It's time!

    Now, now...

    We don't kill ALL the lawyers... We need prosecutors to go after real criminals, like murderers, rapists, Chris Dodd, Cary Sherman, Bank of America, Wells Fargo...

    We need lawyers to defend innocent people who get accused, like a falsely accused rapist or murderer, those elderly grandmothers, the dead, the puppy, that fax machine, and the girl that could barely walk from the MPAA and RIAA

    The other lawyers, however, are fair game.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  32. icon
    Michael Barclay (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 12:17pm

    They forgot Don Verrilli

    They forgot Don Verrilli, who filed the original complaint for Viacom against YouTube, and who is now U.S. Solicitor General.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  33. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 12:29pm

    Re: Re:

    You dope. She's been a DC lobbyist with her own firm for years.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  34. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 12:33pm

    Re: Re:

    Agreed. At least the Republicans admit they love big business, if not in so many words.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  35. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 12:35pm

    Re: Re: Re: It's time!

    By other lawyers, you mean the ones who get paid tens of thousands of dollars to get a rich rapist/murderer off despite overwhelming evidence while the innocent guy who can't afford a lawyer gets sent to prison on almost no evidence?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  36. icon
    The eejit (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 12:45pm

    Re: Re: Re: It's time!

    Well, if the laws werre clear and concise, we wouldn't need legal experts now, would we?

    "This is what you can do"
    "This is what you can't do"

    IOt allows for some rather unorthodox rulesd-lawyering, but at least you'd know where the line was.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  37. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 1:14pm

    Re:

    Molinari has been out of congress for more than 14 years, unlike Dodd who went to the mpaa right after retiring from the senate, also dodd said he would not become a lobbyist.

    Molinari was not a direct lobbyist, instead running a consulting firm that showed you how to lobby congress.

    There are many such firms on K street, just walk down it and see all the different firms, lobbyist and consulting.

    Dodd is the larger of the two whores here.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  38. icon
    Thomas (profile), 17 Apr 2012 @ 1:40pm

    The MPAA and others..

    know full well how to use bribery to get what they want. They simply promise employment to key people to make sure things happen, then when the key people leave the government they get cushy jobs at huge salaries. This might not fit some people's definition of bribery, but the intent is bribery plain and simple. We have a government that is owned by businesses and the rich and money talks and gets results in Congress, the White House, the federal courts and the SCOTUS as well. It's part of the culture that we have come to accept and expect and people aren't willing to do anything about it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  39. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 1:53pm

    Yes, I think that congress and the movie industry should be damned to hire people with no experience. Why hire people who know the system and understand how to get things done, when you can hire perfectly ignorant people who are going to spend time twiddling their thumbs and going in circles?

    /sarc

    Mike, you need to join the real world!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  40. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 3:09pm

    You could make this link between almost any other industry, however.

    Law firms, Sports celebrities, Vietnam vets, Military, etc etc etc.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  41. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 6:16pm

    Re:

    Yeah, we need more people who already know how to bribe the system. What's the use of power if you don't give it to people who know the best way to abuse it?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  42. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Apr 2012 @ 10:37pm

    Re: Re:

    There is always a moron, drunk on the techdirt koolaid, willing to pop this piece of stupidity up.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  43. icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), 18 Apr 2012 @ 2:12am

    Re: They forgot Don Verrilli

    They forgot Don Verrilli, who filed the original complaint for Viacom against YouTube, and who is now U.S. Solicitor General.

    I don't think he ever technically was employed by the MPAA. He merely represented them as a lawyer...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  44. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 18 Apr 2012 @ 8:19am

    Re: Re: Re:

    Yeah, that being this one.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  45. icon
    A Dan (profile), 26 Apr 2012 @ 1:59pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    Exactly.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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