[TheForge] YAK- who really runs the country

[Ries Niemi]

On Tuesday, December 9, 2003, at 01:43 PM, Connsmith722@aol.com wrote:

>   Actually I know a bit about this as I am a Republican Town Chairman 
> and
> active in Connecticut state politics. The fact is that the only time 
> most of
> these lawyers stop lawyering is while they are elected. Many are high 
> salary
> specialty types in Environmental or corporate law or they are senior 
> partners in
> big firms. They then go off to become even higher paid consultants or
> lobbyists...
>
>   As far as the "military types" I meant there is one active duty 
> military
> person serving as a Senator... I do not know which one.
>
>   I do see your point but here is a bit of insider insight for you.... 
> it is
> too damn expensive to get elected on your own with only a few 
> exceptions. Only
> the obscenely wealthy can do it. You have to fundraise like a fool to 
> get
> elected...
>
>
>               Ted Jones
>

High salary Environmental lawyers?
Not hardly. A high school friend of my wife's used to be an 
environmental lawyer, and he made about nothing. Now he works for 
Peabody Coal Co. on the other side of the fence. All that studying of 
environmental law did pay off, but only if you use it for people who 
have money. He does drive a beemer now.

I got plenty of insider info myself- both of my parents were lawyers- 
my father, a professional BS'er, and I dont mean blacksmith- made his 
living as a trial lawyer- he could talk a pig into a ham sandwich. He 
really liked to argue, and found a way to get paid for it.  My mother 
graduated from law school, worked for Legal Services for a couple of 
years, which is free legal service for those who cant afford it. 
Needless to say, we dont have that anymore. She decided she wasnt that 
excited about being a lawyer, and ran for judge. Later became a state 
representative and state senator. I worked on several political 
campaigns- I was drafted- I ran mail rooms, and built yard signs. Her 
campaigns were pretty seat of the pants, mostly self-financed, due to 
the fact that the people in her district still voted for her even 
though somebody else spent more. She isnt obscenely wealthy- but these 
were small potatoes elections. No possiblity of throwing anybody any 
serious pork, so the big boys werent interested. She never ran tv ads, 
or even many big newspaper ads. But she doorbelled every house in her 
district. And got reelected again and again without spending money. 
Says something about how voters in her district felt about her.

But my main point is, yes, it takes a lot of money to get elected. It 
always has. It is no surprise to me that political power follows 
wealth. I just question whether it is the way our system was intended 
to work, and is it the way it should work? Personally I dont think so. 
I dont have any magic bullet solutions, or even know if there is one, 
but in my mind I would prefer to live in a United States where we could 
elect people who werent rich, and didnt sell their souls to the company 
store.

I know, I am a dreamer. unrealistic. and naive. But I have never had 
the slightest interest in being either a lawyer or a politician. So I 
cant be all bad.

ries