[wyldfire]

> Why is lobbying even a thing?

There is a legitimate or at least semi-legitimate function of having businesses educate legislators on what impact their existing, proposed or "needed" legislation has on their business. e.g. what would happen to Disney, Universal, et al if Copyright term were reduced to 1 year-after-first-publication? "OMG end of days and we will fire all your constituents!"

Sorry, to be a bit more serious: other groups like EFF, AARP, etc can also lobby legislators to tell them "our members would suffer greatly if you passed H.R. 9999 because it would restrict our access to Xyz and cause them harm. Could you amend your bill to include exclusions for these purposes?" The details of these things can be subtle and it's worth paying someone to hound the legislator to make sure all of the details are covered and they don't try to sweep your group's needs under the rug.

[BeefySwain]

To expand on this, calling and complaining to the intern at your local reps office is lobbying. Asking your school board member to consider adding more snow days when you see them at church is lobbying. Lobbying is any time anyone seeks to influence an elected official. It is not inherently good nor bad.