Phone Polls
In his Feb. 17 speech, President Clinton called for lobbying reform and the requirement that all lobbyists be registered. What I wonder is what can be done about the unregistered lobbying that goes on under the name of “phone calls to your congressman,” and “call the White House and let us know what you think.” There is no way to know whose opinions are being registered or who these phone calls represent. Thousands of them, coming too fast to reflect any serious thought, are the emotional responses to a sound bite or buzz-word. Worse still, thousands of them may come from a single unnamed source, an organization or even one individual. What is scary is that our representatives are being influenced by this massive anonymous outpouring; and as they chalk up the numbers of pros and cons, they seem to consider it democracy in action.
HILDA BOHEM
Los Angeles
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