Seven key Democrats seen as potential vote-flippers on the health care reform bill are heavily reliant on campaign funds from party leadership and online progressive activists.

According to campaign finance data at the Center for Responsive Politics, all seven Democrats--Reps. Jason Altmire, Suzanne Kosmas, Frank Kratovil, Scott Murphy, Glenn Nye, Michael McMahon and Betsy Markey--list Leadership PACs (political action committees) in the top three career industry donors. Three of the seven members are also heavily reliant on money from Democratic campaign committees or outside progressive fundraising through the web site Actblue.

The seven Democrats were identified in an Associated Press survey of members who previously voted "No" on the House health care reform bill. With pressure mounting to pass the Senate's health care reform bill and the resignation of key members along with the death of Rep. John Murtha, Speaker Nancy Pelosi must round-up lawmakers like these seven to vote "Yes" after a previous "No" vote.

The upper Democratic leadership is particularly active in contributing to these lawmakers. Five of the seven lawmakers--Kosmas, Kratovil, Murphy, Nye and Markey--count the PACs of Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip James Clyburn in their top twenty career individual donors. Rep. McMahon counts two of the three Democratic leadership PACs (Hoyer and Clyburn) in his top twenty.

All of these seven lawmakers are either freshmen or, in Rep. Altmire's case, a sophomore. Freshmen and sophomore lawmakers are often in greater danger of losing their next election and, therefore, more reliant on party and leadership funds to finance their victories. This puts them in a situation where the leadership has significantly more sway over their floor votes than other members.

Similarly, outside activists can push a lawmaker towards a certain vote by contributing or withholding funds. Rep. Scott Murphy, who won a special election in New York to replace appointed-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, is the top recipient among the seven lawmakers of money from ActBlue, the online progressive clearinghouse for campaign contributions. Murphy received $315,807 in individual contributions through the ActBlue site making ActBlue his number one career individual donor. Rep. Betsy Markey also received a significant amount of campaign money through ActBlue with $124,090 coming in from the site.

See below for totals:

Lawmaker	Industry	Amount	Rank
Jason Altmire	Leadership PACs	$220,662.00	3rd
Suzanne Kosmas	Leadership PACs	$201,978.00	2nd
Frank Kratovil	Leadership PACs	$182,115.00	3rd
Betsy Markey	Democratic/Liberal	$263,329.00	1st
	Leadership PACs	$229,248.00	3rd
Michael McMahon	Leadership PACs	$168,300.00	2nd
	Candidate Committees	$122,500.00	3rd
Scott Murphy	Democratic/Liberal	$383,017.00	1st
	Leadership PACs	$203,400.00	3rd
Glenn Nye	Leadership PACs	$190,791.00	2nd

The New York Times printed a really interesting story today about the coziness between the Congressional Black Caucus and the tobacco industry and how that relationship is playing out in a controversy over a potential ban on menthol cigarettes.

Philip Morris over the years has been one of the biggest contributors to the caucus’s nonprofit Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. That financial support, in some years exceeding $250,000, and lesser amounts at times from other cigarette makers, has been the reason some critics perceived an alliance between big tobacco and African-American members of Congress, some of whom were willing to help fend off antitobacco efforts.

Among them, some critics have said, was Charles B. Rangel of New York. Although he supported some antitobacco initiatives, until the last few years Mr. Rangel staunchly opposed federal tobacco tax increases. He has said his stand was based on the disproportionate effect of excise taxes on the poor, not the thousands of dollars he received in tobacco industry political action committee donations.

Some caucus members have always seen tobacco money as a Faustian bargain and refused to take such donations, urging their colleagues to do likewise. One of them, John Lewis of Georgia, once told a reporter, “People are reluctant to criticize the giver, to bite the hand that feeds them.”

Black lawmakers who maintain strong tobacco industry ties include James E. Clyburn, who represents a tobacco-growing region of South Carolina and is majority whip of the House. Last year, Altria, the parent of Philip Morris, donated $50,000 to an endowment he established at South Carolina State University, a historically black college.

The donation to James Clyburn's endowment at South Carolina State University is of particular interest mainly because these are the types of influence-building contributions that fly under the radar. There isn't any dislcosure requirement for entities that are connected to a member to which corporations can donate. Recent controversies have swelled over contributions to the Reform Institute, a non-profit connected to Sen. John McCain, and the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York, affiliated with Rep. Charles Rangel.

The article is worth a read to see how influence takes place outside of typical channels like campaign finance and lobbying.

Sen. Kent Conrad's mea culpa; 2008 Beijing Olympics received a helping hand from the Hammer; and Rep. James Clyburn's family friendly earmarks.

Kent Conrad sought to assuage critics as more information was revealed about preferential loans he and Sen. Chris Dodd received from Countrywide Financial. The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Conrad, after receiving Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo's phone number from ex-Veep vetter Jim Johnson, called Mozilo to directly ask for a loan. How could you not expect preferential treatment when your loan officer is the CEO? In response to the continued criticism and coverage, Conrad declared that he would refinance his loan and donate the estimated amount he saved - $10,500 - to Habitat for Humanity. Conrad has also called on the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate both his and Sen. Dodd's mortgages.

In 2001, Tom DeLay was at the height of power in Republican politics, cutting deals with energy interests, Jack Abramoff, and countless others. DeLay also happened to work with a major Republican contributor in his dealings with the popular conservative bugaboo of 2001: China. During court proceedings into Republican contributor Sheldon Adelson's bid to build casinos in Macau, the billionaire casino mogul revealed that he personally called up then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay to ask him to kill a House measure opposing the awarding of the 2008 Olympics to Beijing as it would help him secure Chinese support for his business venture. DeLay, a cosponsor of the anti-Beijing resolution, consulted with other Republican leaders before telling Adelson he needn't worry about the measure. Days before the International Olympic Committee was to vote on the host city for the 2008 Olympics, the measure disappeared from the House agenda. Adelson subsequently won support from the Chinese government, which intervened to help his bid in Macau at least twice, and Beijing won the 2008 Olympics.

Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina is found to be earmarking money to projects that employ at least four of his family members and to other projects run by or employing former staffers.

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