Like most folks who follow politics, I was shocked at the recent Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate contributions to political campaigns. But overtly financing individual politicians has its drawbacks (not that it would stop such actions); a far more insidious technique is to back lobbyists, who can then shield the companies from easy public scrutiny. I had written on this subject before, and with the recent ruling, decided to reprise my findings.

If you think you really understand the scale of lobbying and lobbyists in Minnesota and nationally, you are likely wrong — as I was. And once I got into the subject, I realized how uneducated I was about their power, their influence, their resources, their money! Drilling down, the whole subject was an eye opener to me. And I consider myself pretty well informed and attuned to what is going on in the political arena. Why was I so uninformed? Mostly because the subject (and even investigating it) is pretty dry; much information is contained in dull state or federal documents; and so much of it goes on "behind the curtain." So, here are some of the dull — but important — details.

If you believe, as I did, that lobbying in Minnesota was perhaps a few hundred "suits" spending a couple hundred thousand bucks wining, dining and cajoling their buddies at the Capitol, you are wrong. The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Act, and its related report tell a far different story. And that story is stunning.

In Minnesota, 1,486 registered lobbyists in '08
To begin with, there were 1,486 registered lobbyists in 2008 in the State of Minnesota. Given that there are 201 legislators, they seem to be "outnumbered" by a factor of 7 to 1. Or stated another way, each legislator must be bombarded by massive attempts at influence. The registered lobbyists represent about 1,300 entities or special interests, while the 201 legislators represent the general welfare of about 5 million Minnesotans.

However, even more stunning is this fact: In 2008, lobbyists and their principals spent $61,603,289 on lobbying activities (similar amounts were spent in 2007 as well). That figure includes the total various expenditures of individual lobbyists and the special interests they represent.

Again, given that there are only 201 legislators (House and Senate), that is an amazing, astounding, incredible $300,000 per legislator to influence public policy. Indeed, the reports disclosed that 90 percent of lobbying disbursements were made for the purpose of influencing legislative action, 8 percent of disbursements were made to influence administrative action, and 2 percent were made to influence the official actions of metropolitan governmental units. Moreover, despite the astounding amount spent on lobbying activities, and while "gifts" to legislators are prohibited, campaign contributions to a campaign for local office, subject to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 211B, are not a "gift" within the meaning of Minn. Stat. 10A.071.

Biggest categories won't surprise you
So, who were these lobbyists, and whom did they represent? Well, the three biggest categories will not surprise you: business, health, and insurance (probably health and insurance have some replication).  In fact, the biggest lobbying group was the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce (about $2 million), and undoubtedly it was highly interested in affecting tax policy. If so, its investment paid good dividends, most certainly with our governor.

As for health, well, you simply have to see what is going on at the national level (more about that later), to understand their motives. Among other notable special interests were casinos, regulated industries such as power companies, and groups representing Minnesota cities (with Pawlenty's unallotment to the cities, they sure did not get their money's worth).

So, what is this really about?  First, in the battle between the common good and special interests, clearly, the special interests have a big edge; the Supreme Court just exacerbated the issue immensely. But mostly it is about things I uncovered about the power of lobbying: the incredible amounts of money spent to influence our public officials, well beyond anything I imagined; the vast number of lobbyists roaming the halls of our state and national Capitals; the policies that are crafted behind the curtain; the obfuscation and lack of transparency on the facts of lobbying (unless you want to read through a bunch of dull state and Federal reports); the ignorance and lack of motivation by most of us in ferreting out these facts (including me). In short, this was about educating myself about how potent and pervasive these lobby powers are — and now you know, too.

Myles Spicer of Minnetonka has spent his business career as a professional writer and owned several successful ad agencies over the past 45 years.