From a certain point of view, the middle and lower class of society, who were supposed to be protected by the state, had instead become the last "bottom line" on certain issues.
The infiltration of capitalists into the upper echelons of the Federation government was shocking. A single thought, a single word, could push a bill through. Perhaps they did not have the "power" in their hands, but capital was far above power.
On the other hand, capitalists and politicians had to consider the image of themselves in the eyes of the people. Sometimes, they had to restrain their scary faces.
The people who were supposed to be protected had instead become the last line of defense to protect the country. Sometimes … life, society, and the world were really f * cking funny!
The day after Lynch and Langdon's dinner, members of the Duncan family's lobbying group came to see him.
They would try their best to lobby every member of parliament, which was the key to their success.
When many political lobbying groups were lobbying, they would only choose to lobby key figures, such as the leader of a small group or some people who could be roped in. For those who could not be roped in or were not important enough, they would not lobby.
In fact, the main reason was that budgets were limited. There were hundreds of members of parliament. If each of them was given twenty to thirty thousand, that would be millions of dollars.
Sometimes, it was not easy for those who pushed for proposals to earn back the money. They could not do it recklessly. They could only do it strategically.
Lobbying required more than just talking. It also required tangible benefits. If lobbying could be done with just talking, the politicians and capitalists would have been replaced by lawyers long ago.
As soon as Langdon arrived at his office, someone came to visit him. He asked his secretary to invite the person into his office.
Members of parliament had offices in the Capitol. They always had their own jobs. For example, as a committee member, they needed to have an office where people could find them during working hours.
Currently, Langdon had joined the Federation's Environment Committee. The committee's role was to protect the environment. It was a committee that could be big or small.
On the big side, as long as a factory was operating, it was equivalent to polluting nature. This matter was under the committee's jurisdiction.
On the small side, as long as the environment was not so bad that even the most tenacious plants could not grow, it meant that the pollution was not serious.
Therefore, there were always people who wanted to use the committee's power to do something. If they wanted to do something, they first had to talk to the members of parliament.
Visiting the members of parliament in the Capitol was obviously the easiest way.
In order to avoid being harassed all the time, the secretaries chosen by the members of parliament were very discerning. They knew who to let in and who not to let in.
"Hello, Senator Langdon, I am …" The man who came in was in his forties and looked very energetic. He was wearing a formal suit and carrying a briefcase in his hand. He looked very experienced.
Langdon would have believed him if he had been told that he was a government employee, but he lacked the lazy air of a government employee.
While Langdon was looking at his business card, the middle-aged man in his forties smiled and introduced himself. "Today, I'm here on behalf of the Duncan family to talk to you about our proposal."
.....
That's right, Langdon put down the business card in his hand. A wave of arrogance swept over him, causing his hair to become a little messy.
He had met the lobby.
Last year, an old city in the north planned to flatten tens of thousands of acres of natural forest for urban development. The local government could not make the decision on such a big matter. After the decision was made, the state government reported it to the Congress for the final decision.
Before the vote, the local lobby group appeared. They used a lot of data and evidence to explain the necessity of deforestation for the local economic development.
In the end, they expressed their hope that Senator Langdon would consider the issue for the sake of the local economy and the people who were anxiously waiting for jobs. Then, they gave a local specialty — a gift from the bottom of society.
Sometimes, it was difficult to judge the behavior of the members of parliament as a crime in the line of duty. They could cover up crimes and criminals without any scruples. They could also accept all kinds of "benefits" without any scruples. They did not care about the eyes of the Bureau of Investigation.
In the end, Langdon reluctantly agreed to the other party's request and voted in favor of this matter, seeing that the people at the bottom of the social hierarchy were indeed very kind.
He spent a little money to become a shareholder of a small company that was obviously not legal. Then, the small company was suddenly bought by a big company. Senator Langdon sold his shares and made a huge profit.
If you say that he didn't break the law, in fact, everyone knew that what he did was really illegal. At least there was enough evidence to prove that he agreed to the proposal because he received money. There was a connection between the two things, and there was a motive. He should be guilty.
However, he did not have a clear concept of duty. He was just a member of the Environment Committee. His job was to raise his hand or not. He was not a key figure.
Based on the voting of eighteen people, one vote for or against the proposal had no impact on the overall situation. It had no effect on the development of the event. A simple crime in the line of duty was not a crime.
In addition, he had just invested in a small company and then it was bought by the company at a premium of hundreds or thousands of times. That was because he had a good eye. It could not prove that this was an extension of other events.
Therefore, he accepted the money and nothing happened. That was what all senators did.
But no matter how "overboard" everyone was, in fact, they all stayed within a certain range. It was like those girls who published photos of themselves in magazines and newspapers to ask for help from kind-hearted people, but they never thought that they were doing a job.
They could do it, but they would never admit it.
No lobby group would admit that they influenced the decisions of others. Their job was to provide more information so that people had more choices.
No senator would admit that they were paid to do things. Their choice of one decision or another was completely based on their own subjective judgment.
The gentleman from the Duncan family was different. He did not hide his purpose in coming here at all. The moment he opened his mouth, he spoke with a tone that said, "You have to be convinced by me." This feeling was actually very unpleasant.
Senator Langdon looked at him. The middle-aged man in his forties smiled slightly. He did not seem to care about the feelings of a congressman at all.
"Have you seen our proposal?"
When Senator Langdon did not invite him to sit down, the gentleman pulled out a chair and sat across from him. He even crossed his legs.
He placed his briefcase on the table and unlocked both ends. He took out a stack of documents.
Senator Langdon was very unhappy. He could not tolerate being offended by someone he had never even heard of.
That was human nature. If Mr. Geronimo had treated him this way, or even more harshly and humiliated him, he would not have thought much of it.
But being offended by a nobody, he couldn't hold it in any longer.
However, he couldn't help but endure it. This was because this guy represented the Duncan family, the most terrifying family known to the Federation at present.
He nodded unhappily. "I've already seen it …"
The middle-aged man sitting across from him nodded satisfactorily. "Then, is there anything in your description of the proposal that you don't understand? Or is there anything that you think is still unclear? I can explain it to you."
The middle-aged man looked up at Senator Langdon with a confident smile on his face.
If they were senators, they would be approached by former senators, former governors, and even former presidents.
They would not be discussing this matter in the Capitol. It would be on a golf course, in an opera house, on a cruise ship, on a private beach, or on a private island.
From the perspective of the Conservative Party or the Progressive Party, replacing a member of the House of Representatives would only require an election or a small accident to adjust the strategy of the House of Representatives to filter out some of them.
Of course, this was on the premise that there were enough interests to support this.
Langdon shook his head. "I don't have anything that I don't understand."
The middle-aged man looked at Langdon a few more times. The smile on his face was a little... unpleasant.
He picked up a business card, placed it on the table, and pushed it across.
"Senator Langdon, I noticed that you're a member of the Environment Committee on the way here. Is that right?"
He fiddled with the name tag on Langdon's table. "Member of the Environment Committee" was written under Langdon's name.
Langdon nodded and said, "It just so happens that one of our companies is a little confused about the Federation's environmental policy. Perhaps you can help us..."
Before Langdon could even agree, the middle-aged man began to remind him of the benefits of promoting this proposal.
There was no doubt that this was a consulting service, and it would bring in a lot of money.
See, this income was completely legal, avoiding all problems, and at the same time, he did not need to do anything. Consulting on environmental pollution and promoting the Overseas Security Act had nothing to do with each other. He could easily accept the money, pay taxes, and use it when he needed to.
People would not associate these two things together, except for themselves.
They had developed a corresponding lobbying strategy for each person's different identity and background.
Seeing that Langdon was still hesitating, the middle-aged man said kindly, "As you know, Mr. Geronimo is very concerned about the changes in the natural environment. We plan to set up a foundation..."
Langdon did not hesitate any longer. He put the business card on the table away. "I've seen the proposal. It's very reasonable. If Congress votes on this proposal, I will definitely support it!"
The middle-aged man did not need to say anything else. He stood up and shook hands with Langdon. "Happy working with you!"