[xordon]

> Are lobbyists in control of congress?

Effectively, Yes.

> Who passes bills?

Technically the elected officials, but the bills themselves are usually written by lobbyists.

Pressure from campaign donors, either directly or through lobbyists, or through "party" channels influence votes.

[gormandizer]

"Congress should wear jackets like NASCAR drivers so we can know who bought them."

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/north_...

[rdevsrex]

Yet another reason I wish the US were a real democracy. For all the good that checks and balances do, let's not forget that the founders were trying to entrench the power of their class.

[themaninthedark]

Yes because having a Twitter mob rule the US would be such a great improvement../s

I know there were issues that precipitated the direct election of Senators but I think we would be better if we went back to State Senate control of the Senate, that would force people to focus more on their state and local politics where they have more power rather than ignoring them and shouting how the US Senate is doing nothing.

[atlasunshrugged]

I think usually is a stretch but some bills certainly are written by lobbyists (or think tanks/do tanks)

[thayne]

Even if they aren't written by Lobbyists I'd be surprised if most bills weren't influenced at least a little by at least one lobbyist group.

[atlasunshrugged]

Hmm, probably depends on what you define as a lobbyist. If you're writing a bill about education reform and including more tech in the classroom (just a hypothetical example) and ask the teacher's union, Brookings, and a major education company about what would be important to include or not include, would that be influenced by a lobbyist group?