--Updated Dec. 18--
Outside groups spent more than $1.3 billion in independent expenditures to influence the outcome of the election, we now get to see just what all that money bought them -- or didn't. Turns out some of the smart money wasn't so smart after all when it came to making political bets. This year, the pro-business GOP Crossroads fundraising combine and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce weren't as good at picking winners as the labor movement, which appears to be one of the surprise winners of Election Day.
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 12/17/12
NEWS ROUNDUP:
- CRS tax report revised: A report by the Congressional Research Service finding no correlation between top tax rates and economic growth has been re-released after it was pulled nearly three months ago. The report, though slightly different, comes to the same conclusion. (Roll Call)
- Performance.gov overhauled: Performance.gov, the website dedicated to showing progress in building a more efficient government, is changing to reflect more information about federal agencies goals, progress toward those goals, and any challenges along the way. (FCW)
- Alarm raised over FCC plans: A growing number of lawmakers are raising concerns about the Federal Communications Commission's plans to relax restrictions on media consolidation. (The Hill)
And the ads go on: 2012’s big campaign spenders keep up the air wars
Think the campaign season was over? Since Election Day, dozens of TV, web and radio ads have been airing in political battlegrounds, many of them directly naming lawmakers. The Sunlight Foundation has been archiving them on Ad Hawk, a mobile app that allows viewers to help flag political advertising that they are seeing and learn about the funders behind ads .
Many of these ads have popped up just this week. Though the ad content often relates to Congress’s handling of the impending fiscal cliff, in many cases they also have an eye on the 2014 election. Big spending groups ...
Continue readingPro-gun groups’ influence on Connecticut politics
Since 1996, the National Rifle Association has invested about $395,000 to influence elections in Connecticut, the state that is home to the nation's latest mass shooting tragedy. Data downloaded from Sunlight's Influence Explorer show that the nation's premier gun rights lobby has given both to federal and state candidates.
Though the NRA has not had good success in Connecticut's congressional contests, at least 15 sitting members of the state legislature received contributions from the NRA. During the most recent session of the Connecticut state legislature, some 40 pieces of legislation were introduced involving firearms, according ...
Continue readingSens. Ayotte, Menendez continue raising money for their defense funds
While candidates and their supporters wooed donors to bankroll their campaign committees in this year’s elections, two senators continued to maintain legal defense funds that attracted thousands of dollars from deep-pocketed supporters and their parties' leadership.
Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., both filed third quarter reports with the Ethics Committee listing donations to funds set up to provide financial support from lawsuits against political opponents. Ayotte has raised $147,000, and Menendez $120,000 since setting up the legal defense fund.
Documents obtained from ...
Sunlight Foundation’s 2012 Annual Report in Video
What a year 2012 has been! We faced an onslaught of unprecedented amounts of political spending. In this post-Citizens United... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 12/14/12
NEWS ROUNDUP:
- Ethics conflicts for departing members: Lawmakers leaving Congress might have to excuse themselves from certain votes due to conflicts of interest as they contemplate their next job. (The Hill)
- Congress cut out of fiscal cliff talks: Most members of Congress are in the dark when it comes to knowing what's being discussed in meetings regarding the so-called "fiscal cliff." (NPR)
- Democrats prepare counter move on net neutrality: House Democrats might introduce new legislation related to net neutrality if a court throws out the regulations. (POLITICO)
Watch dog groups call for Congress, President to fill ethics posts
Government watchdog organizations went to Capitol Hill yesterday to remind the White House and congressional leadership--currently deadlocked in negotiations over avoiding the flscal cliff--that there's a void in some of the critical institutions that police ethics in Washington. 
Representatives from 10 government-accountabilty groups gathered to make sure that House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi maintain the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) by appointing new board members. They also emphasized that the president needs to take the lead in campaign finance reform by appointing new Federal Election Commission (FEC) commissioners.
Full disclosure: Though it did not participate ...
Continue readingNew York Proposed Regulations Move Toward Greater Campaign Finance Disclosure
Yesterday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman attempted to throw down the gauntlet on campaign finance disclosure regulations for New... View Article
Continue readingSitegeist: Uncover the Data Around You
Today the Sunlight Foundation unveils our latest app to reinforce the power of the data around you. It's called Sitegeist, a simple iPhone and Android app that presents a huge amount of information from disparate sources in straight-forward infographics.
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