The 90-9-1 Rule

Only 1% of users submit almost all of the content:

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/participation_inequality.html

So, one does not receive an accurate understanding of a community simply by reviewing the majority of the community's contributions.

I wonder how that compares to politics in real world? If lobbying firms represent the 1% who contribute most of the content, and most of the rest of us are just here to live, is the government taking that into account when they are "listening" - or are they just "listening" to the top contributors?