Lobbying and "log-rolling" in 1850 Indiana USA

[Dan Goncharoff]

I know that an 'oyster supper' was originally a form of fundraiser, I
believe an all-you-can-eat affair with an upfront fee, but somewhere
out West, the phrase became something more nefarious, a version of the
smoke-filled room where decisions were achieved behind closed doors by
the powers-that-be.

DanG



On Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 1:18 PM, Michael McKernan <mckernan51 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Michael McKernan <mckernan51 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Lobbying and "log-rolling" in 1850 Indiana USA
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Actually, the full quote from 1850 is:
>
> What is the mode of obtaining a disputed claim under the present system?  W=
> hy
> recourse is had to =93lobying,=94 [sic] =93log-rolling,=94 =93oyster-supper=
> s,=94 and it
> is greatly to be feared, to other appliances still more reprehensible,  by
> which legislators are rendered supple and pliant.
>
> So Goranson's comment on oyster suppers is right on target.  Since my
> interest in this actually IS the oyster suppers, and why they're included
> in this list of political "appliances,"  I need to ask Stephen how he came
> to include them (OS) in his post.
>
> Thanks for the OED entries!  Any other comments/discussion would be welcome=
> .
>
> Michael McKernan
> Benson, Arizona
>
> On Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 8:28 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>> Subject:      Re: Lobbying and "log-rolling" in 1850 Indiana USA
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
>>
>> At 4/7/2012 08:42 AM, Stephen Goranson wrote:
>> >My unofficial guess is that "log-rolling" may
>> >refer to legislators trading votes (in-house
>> >quid pro quo), whereas "lobying" could be
>> >practiced by non-legislators, for instance,
>> >buying legislators "oyster suppers," in hope of getting the vote sought.
>>
>> I don't think an"oyster supper" (although it probably started as
>> turtle suppers) quite qualifies as lobbying by itself.  The event
>> would also have to include button-holding, cajoling, intimidating,
>> etc., and that would be the lobbying, not the supper.
>>
>> Joel
>>
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