When Business Gets Political

Corporations are the dominant actors in Washington. Of the 100 organizations that spend the most on lobbying, 95 represent business, and the largest companies now have upwards of 100 lobbyists representing them. How did American businesses become so invested in politics? And what does all their money buy?

In his new book, The Business of America is Lobbying: How Corporations Became Politicized and Politics Became More Corporate, Lee Drutman draws on extensive data and original interviews with corporate lobbyists to provide a detailed picture of what corporations do in Washington, why it matters, and most importantly, how we can make sure that their presence doesn’t undermine our democracy.

Join New America NYC for a conversation with Lee Drutman and Zephyr Teachout about the relationship between corporations and Capitol Hill – and how we might reform it.

Copies of Lee Drutman’s The Business of America is Lobbying: How Corporations Became Politicized and Politics Became More Corporate will be available for purchase. Follow the discussion online using #NANYC and by following @NewAmericaNYC.

Participants:

Lee Drutman
Adjunct Professor of Political Science, The John Hopkins University
Senior Fellow, New America
Author, The Business of America is Lobbying: How Corporations Became Politicized and Politics Became More Corporate

@leedrutman

Zephyr Teachout
Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University
Author, Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United
@ZephyrTeachout