Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., says he recently utilized the Sunlight Foundation's Politwoops site that monitors deleted tweets from politicians to stage an elaborate trick on the media (or ethics lesson, depending on how you see it), saying, "The best way to get a message out is to tweet and delete." The quote, documented by Washington Post and Politico reporters, came during the press conference Cohen held on Friday afternoon to discuss the recent deleted tweet that read: "@cyndilauper great night,couldn't believe how hot u were.see you again next Tuesday.try a little tenderness. http://t.co/zz4Orccryf"

In a press release issued following the news conference, Cohen said:

“On Tuesday night, the President and Mrs. Obama, along with the Grammys and PBS, hosted a musical tribute to Memphis Soul at the White House. Wanting to promote this great program, which will air this coming Tuesday on PBS, I realized the best way to do this was to tweet and delete. I knew the Sunlight Foundation would highlight the deleted tweet as a Politwoop and knowing how some in the media report deleted Politwoops as nefarious, it occurred to me that a perfectly innocent, factually-correct tweet, once deleted, would receive great media attention. And that is exactly what happened [...]"

We're flattered Politwoops is becoming more a part of the political message machine, but this is hardly the first time deleted tweets surfaced by Politwoops were deleted specifically to appear in Politwoops. Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif.,  gave a holiday greeting by politwooping "Merry Christmas to Byron and the politwoops crew" and Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Penn., once deleted "This one is for Politwoops." House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Rep David Schweikert, R-Ariz., even tried to turn Politwoops into a hashtag, saying "You know what else has been deleted? Jobs in the Obama economy. Where are the jobs? #politwoops" and "Wish #politwoops would hold Obama and Holder accountable for their missing facts on #FastandFurious just as it does missing tweets." As members of Congress learn about the existence of Politwoops, we've seen tweets simply reading "test" which may imply they are checking if the site tracks their particular accounts. Politwoops is a project to document messaging changes from politicians and it's fascinating to see how the site's role has developed since launching last May, including being named one of the 50 Best Websites of 2012 by TIME Magazine.

For things politicians can't delete, check out their Influence Explorer and Party Time profiles to see who gives them money or holds fundraisers for them.

Update: Cohen's statement on deleted tweets is surfaced by Politwoops after the tweet was deleted:

My statement on deleted tweets http://t.co/xkg8Ub9Vek #CyndiLauper #MemphisSoul

‘Tis the season for application programming interfaces. Sunlight is in a festive mood. Not only are we hosting a pretty rad open house this week, but we have the perfect present for the open data developer in your life: a Sunlight Labs API key!

Here are our “12 days of APIs,” with a few bulk data sets thrown in to round it out. No singing required! Be sure to also check out some new additions and better accessibility we’ll have available in 2013.

12 minutes spent researching our API offerings on Sunlight Academy, which includes a brief tutorial video.

11 television markets reported more than 1,500 political ad filings this election. Download data about who bought more than $3 billion in political ads in 2012 from Political Ad Sleuth.

10 methods provided in the Sunlight Congress API. Our most popular API includes basic information on members of Congress, legislator IDs and lookups between places and the politicians that represent them.

9 political races had more than $20 million in outside spending this election. Download the bulk data on the money spent by super PACs, unions, corporations, nonprofits and other groups this cycle at Follow the Unlimited Money.

8 data sets covered by the Influence Explorer API (neé TransparencyData), which includes federal and state campaign contributions, federal lobbying, government grants and contracts, EPA violations, federal regulations and more.

7 collections presented in the Real Time Congress API. Get as close to real-time data as possible on bills, votes, amendments, videos, floor updates, committee hearings and documents.

6 standard arguments to query in the Capitol Words API. Search the Capitol Record since 1996 and filter your results by state, party, chamber, date, start date or end date.

5(0) states available in the Open States API, which also covers D.C. and Puerto Rico. Use the RESTful API or bulk download to access the only comprehensive collection of state legislative data in the U.S.

4 ways to get Political Party Time data. Use the JSON feed, CSV file, RSS feed or relational zip file to know when politicians are fundraising and who is hosting the events.

3 mobile apps powered by our APIs: Real Time Congress for iPhone, Congress for Android and OpenStates for iPhone and iPad. (And check out Call on Congress if you don’t have a smartphone.)

2 options to get Scout alerts, by email or via text message. Scout uses a variety of Sunlight APIs—Capitol Words, Real Time Congress and Open States—to deliver real-time policy alerts on state and national issues, as well as has special user option for developers.

And a listserv to follow what’s happening in Sunlight Labs.

Flickr photo of partridge in a pear tree light display by K. van Santen.

There are 38 days left before the elections. Whether you are rejoicing the over a month left of punditry or silently cursing the five more weeks of what feels like the longest election cycle ever, we have a series of webinars to get you prepared for Election Day (when that day finally arrives).

While much of the national focus on the presidential race, there are 453 congressional races also up for election this fall, too. Join us on Tuesday, Oct. 2 to learn how to follow the money in your congressional contest from finding the latest campaign finance totals to up-to-the-minute reports filed by super PACs and other outside groups.

The five week webinar series also provides a new training every week on topics such as how to uncover the spending behind political ads from TV stations, get data from political fundraisers, research political ads and a special edition cram session to prep you for Election Day.

All the webinars will be archived, but be sure to sign up so we can save you a virtual seat.

Two point five. That’s the numbers of hours I slept Tuesday night and just about the percentage of convention events in Party Time I attended since August 27.

The political conventions are a whirlwind for all participants: delegates, speakers, journalists … two Sunlighters. As Party Time shows, there are events happening morning, noon and night. As the Democratic National Convention prepares for its final day, I wondered when prime time for parties really was.

Looking at both the Republican National Convention in Tampa last week and the Democratic convention this week in Charlotte, the best time to attend an event is in the 10 o’clock hour. Breakfast was on the menu at these mid-morning events for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the American Association for Justice and nearly 100 others. The least popular time was 7:00 a.m. (Speaking from experience, early start times here are not so fun.)

However, Sunlight is rising with our namesake to share with the media our experiences following the money and influence at the political conventions:

• Keenan Steiner spoke with local NPR station WFAE about the political influence in Charlotte this week.
• Ellen Miller spoke with ABC News about the special treatment received by big political donors.
• Bill Allison spoke with the Today Show about corporate money at lavish convention events.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Just like in Tampa last week, there is a vast array of unofficial events taking place around the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, many of them sponsored by special interests aiming to influence the party faithful. On Party Time, we've compiled a list of more than 400 breakfasts, briefings, fundraisers, parties and more.

Click through the map below to explore the events. Be sure to zoom in and out to see them all. You can also browse the full list.

To embed the map on your site, just copy this code: <iframe frameborder="0" width="590" height="400" scrolling="no" src="http://assets.sunlightfoundation.com/blog/party-time-maps/dnc-2012.html" style="overflow: hidden; margin=5px"></iframe>

Well, I thought we escaped the rain. The Sunlight Foundation is covering convention influence once again this week, this time from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

As I write, it’s a downpour outside. The weather may be the same as some days in Tampa but the DNCC couldn’t be more different than the GOP’s gathering. It took nearly 24 hours to even spot a delegate or non-media person last week. In Charlotte, Obama for America and the DNC host committee make it well known that this is their party for the week, from the airport to hotels way outside the city.

There is a celebratory mood here in Charlotte. Personally, it feels very similar to how Washington, D.C., was leading up to President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009. The city seems honored (and prepared) to host this convention. Not only are the sidewalks actually open to the public — as opposed to the constant concrete barriers in Tampa — but the community was encouraged to visit the Uptown area on Monday for CarolinaFest.

Covering a few city blocks, the street fair was just plain fun and surprisingly void of politics.  Yes, you saw the ubiquitous Obama font everywhere. Yes, there were numerous corporate sponsors since the host committee didn’t directly organize it. But the thousands of people enjoying a beautiful Labor Day afternoon were more than I saw in Tampa (outside of sitting in the Forum for evening speeches).

We will see if this celebration continues beyond what the public sees; at private and exclusive events reserved for donors and political power players. Follow our convention reports here, check out our pictures here and tune into the Kojo Nnamdi Show this afternoon at 1 pm. I'll be a guest on the show talking about what we are seeing so far at the Democratic National Convention.

Sunlight's Party Time site is a great tool for journalists and bloggers to know when politicians are fundraising and with whom. At the political conventions, many media outlets are using it as a guide for determining their coverage of how delegates, special interests and big donors are spending their time. Below are some recent reports on events and political influence here in Tampa. We will report on similar occurrences in Charlotte for the DNC convention next week.

ABC News — "Romney Party Yacht Flies Cayman Islands Flag"

Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign toasted its top donors Wednesday aboard a 150-foot yacht flying the flag of the Cayman Islands.

The floating party, hosted by a Florida developer on his yacht "Cracker Bay," was one of a dozen exclusive events meant to nurture those who have raised more than $1 million for Romney's bid.

A shift of power from the official Republican party apparatus to an informal coalition of megadonors, super PACs and nonprofit advocacy groups is underway here, as a rising shadow party increasingly drives GOP politics.

Mel Sembler, a Florida shopping mall magnate and a key member of the Romney campaign's finance team, is planning to open his home Tuesday for a few hours to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future to let the group's leaders chat up potential donors on their plans, according to GOP fundraisers who requested anonymity to preserve their relationship with the groups.

The formal business that happens on a convention floor—nominating a candidate, approving a platform, tweaking party rules—is mostly a formality these days. But in hotel-conference centers around Tampa, a different kind of business takes place as party officials check in with colleagues from across the country on races that will determine who controls Congress.

For delegates, conventions are a week of raucous parties, inspiring speeches, and late nights. But for party officials plotting election strategy, conventions are far from a booze-filled vacation.

USA Today — "Editorial: At party conventions, real business is off-camera"

Just about everything wrong with money and politics is on garish display at the Republican and Democratic conventions this week and next: pay-for-access parties for big donors and corporations; not-very-subtle influence peddling; and equally un-subtle grubbing for campaign donations from special interest.

We are dubbing what's happening here in Tampa the "Pyramid Convention." That is the events for wealthy donors and influences outside of the official proceedings. For our take of what is going on each evening during the main speakers, follow along at SunlightLive.com. Here is our recap from Tuesday.

At the national political conventions, most of the action takes place not in the arena where the TV cameras roll, but in a host of outside events morning, noon and night. From breakfasts and briefings to fundraisers and soirees, they are often sponsored by lobbyists and special interests.

On Party Time, the Sunlight Foundation has complied an extensive list of such events planned this year, with more than 200 in Tampa alone. Though some may have been postponed or canceled due to Tropical Storm Isaac, plenty of partying continued uninterrupted.

Click through the map below to explore all the events in Tampa slated around the GOP's convention. Be sure to zoom in to see them all. Many are clustered around the Tampa Bay Times Forum where the official convention takes place, but there are gatherings all around the city of Tampa, St. Petersburg and the nearby beaches to the west. We are continuing to add more events to the map as they are sent to us.

Next week we'll have another map for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. You can browse all the events in our database for both conventions on Party Time.

To embed the map on your site, just copy this code: <iframe frameborder="0" width="590" height="400" scrolling="no" src="http://assets.sunlightfoundation.com/blog/party-time-maps/rnc-2012.html" style="overflow: hidden; margin=5px"></iframe>

Official Republican National Conventions proceedings were cancelled on Monday due to the threat of Hurricane Isaac, but press interest in what was happening in Tampa was strong. As Sunlight reports on the influence and special interests at the GOP convention, we spoke to a few media outlets about what we are seeing in town.

I was interview by Kojo Nnamdi who hosts a show on WAMU in Washington, D.C. about Sunlight's Party Time site and the events scheduled in Tampa this week and Charlotte next. Listen to the interview here.

Sunlight Reporting Group writer Keenan Steiner appeared on DemocracyNow! this morning about his experience in trying to follow the money at convention parties.

Get real-time coverage of our days in Tampa on Twitter. We're using #SUNgop this week. And check out all our reports at SunlightFoundation.com/conventions2012.

Here's what we saw yesterday and this morning: