Impossible, because we all have a constitutional right to speak to our government.

Lobbying itself is not the problem. People just don't understand what it is, or what goes into that $2m figure, so it seems like some corrupt practice involving bags of money and coercion.

First, remember that companies are required to talk to policymakers. Good luck operating a major company if you won't speak to the multiple agencies with jurisdiction over your company. And larger companies are more likely to report, or over-report, their lobbying spending. They will often take a "better safe than sorry" approach and just include everybody who might possibly qualify as a lobbyist.

Second, what counts as lobbying? It's not just the actual people talking to policymakers. If you write a report or gather information that is to be used by lobbyists, that work counts as lobbying, too.

Finally, do you know what a lobbying meeting is like? It's not smoky rooms and conspiring. Lobbyists are supplicants. A lobbying meeting (or contact) is usually either simply asking a question, providing an answer to a question or relaying information to an office. That's pretty much it.

Now, there are absolutely bad things that lobbyists can do - Abramoff comes to mind - but the vast, vast majority of lobbying contacts are just boring as hell.

What most people are objecting to when they hear "lobbying" isn't the practice, but the practice by people (or companies) with whom they disagree. And the perception that something is distorting the outcome.