AOC and Ted Cruz agree on bill banning Congressmen from becoming lobbyists‬

newsweek.com

35 points·doener··7 comments

Wouldn't such a law (assuming it could pass in the first place) run afoul of the First Ammendment? Maybe you could ban payment for lobbying, but I would have thought that "lobbying" and "political advocacy" were essentially the same thing, and thus protected speech. I like Glenn Reynold's (Instapundit) idea: a high tax on any earnings from lobbying in the first X years after leaving government service.

> Maybe you could ban payment for lobbying,

This is really what they mean. "Lobbying" as a term generally connotes getting paid to do it. When people do it for free, it's more frequently called activism or advocacy.

I actually think a limit on pay might be better than an outright ban. Former members of Congress have skills, experience, and connections that could be beneficial for advancing a variety of social causes. It's the big payday, cashing-out part that stinks of corruption and undue influence.

Not a point about the article, but I love how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has come to be referred to primarily by her mono-acronym.

Are there other individuals who have been primarily known by only their initials? (Excluding authors like J.K. Rowling, etc. where pen names are more common).

It used to be common to refer to politicians by their initials. JFK, LBJ, FDR for John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Franklin Roosevelt. It seemed to go out of style when we started knowing them by their diminutives. E.G. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton.

rms -- Richard Stallman

GRRM (George R. R. Martin) comes to mind

DSK for Dominique Strauss-Kahn

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