#10 - Website on blog topic

http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/

This site is the section on lobbying on the web site for the Center for Responsive Politics.  According to the “About” page, “OpenSecrets.org is the nation’s premier website tracking the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens’ lives.”  This site is sponsored by the Center for Responsive Politics, which, according to Wikipedia, is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks the effects of money and lobbying on elections and public policy.”  The fact that the organization is non-profit and non-partisan indicates that bias should not be a problem with this site.   

Also there are “testimonials” on the site from many different sources, which indicates that the site provides good information; for example: One of the "most interesting and credible nonprofit, online publishers in the United States,” American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop; "The Center for Responsive Politics is a rare thing in Washington. It does the heavy lifting of true research, not just spinning information,” Ian Urbina, The New York Times; "The nation's top money-in-politics research organization." Julian Brookes, Rolling Stone.  

Based on the organization sponsoring the site and the testimonials, the information on this site should be reliable.  Also, the site contains a number of news stories on lobbying, one of which was published today, so updates on lobbying regulations should be available on this site. 

#9 - Author credentials and curency of book in post #4

My book in blog post #4 is Congressional lobbying: issues and reform, by Peter N. Almande.  I couldn’t find any information about this author using Google, but each chapter of the book is authored by someone other than Almande, so I suspect he merely edited the work by these writers, which doesn’t necessarily require expertise in the subject.  The four chapter authors are R. Eric Petersen, Jack Maskell, Sandy Streeter, and Mildred Amer.  All four of these authors are analyists for the Congressional Research Office.  According to the Library of Congress web page:

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves as shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities.  CRS approaches complex topics from a variety of perspectives and examines all sides of an issue. Staff members analyze current policies and present the impact of proposed policy alternatives.

Considering that the Congressional Research Service serves the U.S. Congress, this already shows that their analysts must be reliable.  The four authors: Dr. R Eric Peterson (apparently he has a PhD), has the title of Analyst in American National Government; Jack Maskell is a Legislative Attorney in the American Law Division; Sandy Streeter is also an Analyst in American National Government; and Mildred Amer is a Specialist in American National Government.  Given their titles and the fact that they work for the Congressional Research Service, I conclude that these authors have good credentials for writing about the law as it pertains to the U.S. Government, including lobbying regulations.

Regarding my book's currency for the topic: My book was published in 2007.  This is roughly 8 years ago, which is long enough that the information it contains may be somewhat inaccurate, given changes in lobbying regulations that may have occurred since 2007.  Still, the book may discuss larger issues that are still relevant, and much of its information might still be accurate, so it is probably still a good source of information on lobbying regulations, though for a college-level paper it should be supplemented with more current information.

#8 - CQ Researcher Bibliography Books and their Subject Headings

1. Abramoff, Jack, Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth about Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist, WND Books, 2011.

Descriptor:

Lobbyists -- United States. Political corruption -- United States. Lobbying -- Washington (D.C.) -- Biography. Political corruption -- Washington (D.C.) Lobbyists. Political corruption. Political science.

Not available at LSU

2. Holyoke, Thomas T., Interest Groups and Lobbying: Pursuing Political Interests in America, Westview Press, 2014.

Descriptor:

Pressure groups -- United States. Lobbying -- United States. POLITICAL SCIENCE / General. POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / National. POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General. POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Freedom & Security / General. POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Cultural Policy. Lobbying. Pressure groups.

Not available at LSU.

3. Kaiser, Robert G., So Much Damn Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government, Knopf, 2009.

Descriptor:

Lobbying -- Corrupt practices -- United States. Political corruption -- United States. Korruption. Spendensammlung. Lobbyismus. Ethics. Lobbying -- Corrupt practices. Political corruption. Political science.

4. Vance, Stephanie, The Influence Game: 50 Insider Tactics from the Washington D.C. Lobbying World That Will Get You to Yes, Wiley, 2012.

Descriptor:

Lobbying -- United States. BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- Negotiating. Lobbying.

Not available at LSU.

5. Waterhouse, Benjamin C., Lobbying America: The Politics of Business from Nixon to NAFTA, Princeton University Press, 2013.

Descriptor:

Lobbying -- United States -- History -- 20th century. Pressure groups -- United States -- History -- 20th century. Political action committees -- United States -- History -- 20th century. Corporations -- Political activity -- United States -- History -- 20th century. Business and politics -- United States -- History -- 20th century. Business and politics. Corporations -- Political activity. Lobbying. Political action committees. Pressure groups.

Not available at LSU.

#7: NY Times article found using LexisNexis

The New York Times
January 19, 2006 Thursday
Late Edition - Final
Democrats Claim a Better Idea on Controlling Lobbying

BYLINE: By CARL HULSE

SECTION: Section A; Column 1; National Desk; Pg. 19

LENGTH: 836 words

#6 - Article citation, Cited Reference, and Citing Reference from Web of Science

Original article:

Regulating lobbyists: A comparative analysis of the United States, Canada, Germany and the European Union

 

By:Chari, R (Chari, Raj); Murphy, G (Murphy, Gary); Hogan, J (Hogan, John)

POLITICAL QUARTERLY

Volume: 78

Issue: 3

Pages: 422-438

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-923X.2007.00870.x

Published: JUL-SEP 2007

Cited reference:

Interest niches and policy bandwagons: Patterns of interest group involvement in national politics

 

By:Baumgartner, FR (Baumgartner, FR); Leech, BL (Leech, BL)

JOURNAL OF POLITICS

Volume: 63

Issue: 4

Pages: 1191-1213

Published: NOV 2001

Citing reference:

The Limits of Normalization: Taking Stock of the EU-US Comparative Literature

 

By:Tortola, PD (Tortola, Pier Domenico)^{[ 1,2 ]}

JCMS-JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES

Volume: 52

Issue: 6

Pages: 1342-1357

DOI: 10.1111/jcms.12143

Published: NOV 2014

#5 - Scholarly article in Academic Search Complete

Lobbying Regulations and Political Equality in the American States.

Authors:

    Flavin, Patrick1

Source:

    American Politics Research. Mar2015, Vol. 43 Issue 2, p304-326. 23p.

Document Type:

    Article

Subject Terms:

    *LOBBYING -- Law & legislation

    *EQUALITY

    *RESEARCH

    *POLITICAL participation

    *LOBBYISTS

    *DECISION making in political science

    *CAPITOLS

    *REPRESENTATIVE government

    *U.S. states -- Politics & government

    UNITED States

    LAW & legislation

Author-Supplied Keywords:

    lobbying regulations

    political inequality

    political representation

    public policy

Abstract:

    Laws that regulate the conduct of professional lobbyists in statehouses across the nation are one attempt to ensure that citizens’ opinions receive more equal consideration when elected officials make policy decisions. Do states with stricter lobbying regulations actually display more egalitarian patterns of political representation? Using public opinion measures from the National Annenberg Election Surveys and data on state policies, this article first demonstrates that state policy decisions are consistently more proximate to the opinions of affluent citizens. I then evaluate the relationship between the stringency of state lobbying regulations and representational equality across the states and find evidence that states with stricter regulations weigh citizens’ opinions more equally in the policymaking process. These findings suggest that lobbying regulations can play an important role in promoting greater political equality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]