Two short years ago I invoked the words of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, who observed, "Government is itself an art, one of the subtlest of the arts. It is neither business, nor technology, nor applied science. It is the art of making men live together in peace and with reasonable happiness."
As we enter the rough and tumble political cycle of a presidential election year, one is compelled to consider Justice Frankfurter's insight while examining today's Beltway "pilot fish." This is the industry that makes billions of dollars as lobbyists, consultants, advisors and political influencers seeking access to the Biden Administration along with the myriad of federal agencies that currently direct our lives.
It is not a new business sector. Justice Frankfurter long ago recognized them as "those who pursue self-interest through politics." But they have become far more powerful, far more influential, and part of a revolving career door in the nation's capital that sees many of these consultants enjoy a unique and intimate relationship with those in government.
Should we seek to put a dollar figure on the pursuit of self-interest through politics, consider how much was spent on Washington lobbying last year. According to one watchdog group, during each quarter of 2023, the spending on federal lobbying was over $1 billion. That's one billion dollars every four months. The mind staggers at that amount and what it hopes to accomplish.
One can only imagine how Justice Frankfurter would have responded to that purchase of access and power. And that doesn't include the amount of "dark money" that may have benefited the current White House occupant with those dollars advocating on behalf of issues, policies, regulations and executive orders.
With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), technology giants are investing a stunning amount of money into the lobbying process as they seek to direct how, or even whether, federal regulations will govern their actions. Given the escalating power of AI, it is akin to handing nuclear weapons to Silicon Valley moguls whose allegiance is to profits.
In the meantime, Chinese entities are buying up farmland in remote parts of America's heartland that just happen to be adjacent to strategic United States Air Force bases. It begs the cynical question, why risk using spy balloons when you can report back on the departure of B-52 bombers while sitting on your front porch?
But then, there is no multimillion-dollar lobbyist advocating on behalf of our national security. That individual is supposed to be the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
One suspects Justice Frankfurter would weep in recognition that his warning has not only gone unheeded, but is now a celebrated industry in a nation in danger of losing its future to those who "pursue self-interest through politics." It will be a tragedy beyond measure if that becomes America's epitaph.
Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
Gerald