There's no legitimate reason for wining and dining our lawmakers

Not everything that people do in public life is speech. So it follows that not everything is protected by the constitutional protections of "free speech."

The distinction seems to be lost on Salem lobbyist Fred VanNatta, who cites "free speech" as the basis for going to court and challenging the Oregon limits on making gifts to legislators.

The rules bar anyone who works to affect legislation from giving lawmakers more than $50 or treating them to drinks, fancy meals and trips to resorts.

John DiLorenzo, one of the lawyers who filed the suit, was quoted to the effect that gift giving and entertainment were integral parts of lobbying. He is mistaken. Giving gifts is not integral on the part of people who know the difference between lobbying and an attempt to influence legislation with material goods, a form of bribery.

Nobody in a position to make decisions affecting other people ever has any justification for accepting any kind of gift beyond the purely incidental, like a plaque or an award. Even those harmless gifts have to be examined to see if they were given with an ulterior motive, the idea that they will influence the decision maker in the giver's favor.

The gift ban enacted by the last legislative session was overdue. It should be upheld.

Lobbyists have all kinds of advantages over ordinary citizens: They are at the Capitol. They have an opportunity to know all the legislators personally. They have long and deep backgrounds in whatever legislation they try to affect. They get paid to do their work. All these factors make them effective. And they do fulfill an important function, that of informing lawmakers, especially those who are new. Lobbyists know more about an issue than most legislators, especially those who haven't been there long.

With all those advantages, why would any lobbyist also want to spend his clients' money on wining, dining and gifting the people who make our laws? Instead of challenging the rules, lobbyists ought to be glad at being able to save money because the gift ban is in place. (hh)