A Right Gone Too Far?

I guess you could call me a "news junkie".  Every day I read the New York Times.  I always listen to NPR when I'm in my car.  I pay attention to television news, for what it's worth.  I have come to the conclusion that American voters are having their power taken away by professional lobbyists.  Powerful lobbies spend millions to influence the way our lawmakers work.  Supposedly, those in Congress represent us, their consituents.  But when was the last time you were able to walk into your representative's or Senator's office and tell him how you feel about something?  Well, there are highly paid lobbyists who do it every day.

I recently asked what gave lobbies the right to operate the way they do?  It comes from the Constitution, which gives us the right to "petition" our government.  I believe lobbies have gone from "petitioning" the government to "buying" the government.  Can't limits be set on the amount of money lobbies can spend to influence our government?

I found this image on a site called "Emergent Culture".  I think represents the current situation well.