Personally I am of the opinion that all professional lobbyists should be banned. It is simply a mechanism where the wealthy (including their corporations) can use their wealth to influence our government. It is another path where the wealth of the rich can drown out the voice of the poor. It becomes a path of corruption. We also have pathways for unlimited 'donations' to politicians, again where their wealth drowns out all other voices. We also currently have the major media companies owned and controlled by the very wealthy, controlling everything most people see and hear. If you allow lobbyists, I do not see why one group of people should be banned from an inherently corrupt practice. There can still be unpaid, volunteers, people with a mission and a message seeking the ear of their Representative and Senators. The various politicians can still reach out to businesses in their state for insight into their issues, but we should not formalize and invite corruption into our politics.

I'm in favor of a 5-year ban to reduce the likelihood that members of Congress will be suborned by offers of lucrative employment from parties seeking political favors.

If you say "no," where's your line: one year out, five years, or just disclosure and let voters judge?