Ask HN: Why don't we hire lobbyist to fight SOPA/PIPA?

Unqualified answer, but probably not.

Lobbying works because politicians need money for campaigns (and/or private jets, depending on how cynical you are). Companies have a lot of money, and lobbying a bill that is beneficial to your company can save orders of magnitude of money. The internet at large does not really have the sums of money needed to compete. Arguably, it doesn't have the attention span either.

And to be entirely fair, not all lobbying is entirely corrupt. Some lobbying is just putting money into the hands of politicians whose views coincide with the best interest of your company. You want your company to succeed, Politician XYZ generally supports ideas that are beneficial to your company, so you support that candidate financially so he stays in office.

Of course, there is obviously a lot of corrupt lobbying going on too.

Like a "Kickstarter for public policy"?

Instead of making a platform which would further solidify the role of lobbyists in American politics, why don't we make a platform which puts a spotlight on the shady dealings of Washington?

A tool which aggregated all legislation moving through both the House and the Senate along with the supporters and opponents of each would benefit the public's ability to keep an eye on what Congress does.

Done right, giving such visibility to the Democratic process could go a long way toward fixing it.

Cool, thanks, this makes sense.