At a fundamental level, congressional oversight is an expression of the American people’s collaborative effort to govern themselves. Expressions of... View Article
Continue readingA look at Open Government in Macon, Georgia
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the guest blogger and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not reflect the... View Article
Continue readingSpending in Wisconsin spikes before debate
As Rep. Tammy Baldwin and former Gov. Tommy Thompson prepare for the first of three debates tonight in a race that will help determine control of the Senate, their campaigns and outside groups are bombarding Wisconsin with advertising to sway the hearts and minds of undecided voters.
An analysis of expenditures and political ad buys shows an increase in expenditures by campaigns and outside groups heading into the last month of the long, politically charged year. Since April, Wisconsin has garnered national attention from its Republican presidential primary, another primary to determine who would run against Gov. Scott Walker in ...
Training Tuesdays: Free webinars every week to get you prepared for Election Day
There are 38 days left before the elections. Whether you are rejoicing the over a month left of punditry or... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 9/28/2012
NEWS ROUNDUP: Government Watchdog groups urge filling ethics seats: With four Office of Congressional Ethics board of directors seats on course to... View Article
Continue readingA half-billion in outside influence: What else could the money buy?
A little less than six weeks shy of Election Day, we've crossed another campaign spending Rubicon: Sunlight's Follow the Unlimited Money tracker has now recorded more than $500 million in a spending on the 2012 campaign by outside interest groups.
For those of you who have a hard time wrapping your heads around all those zeros, Sunlight's Jake Harper has calculated that it's enough to cover 155 football fields with $100 bills.
An indicator of just how rapidly folks who can write big checks are doing so: Our tracker showed a $28 million jump in 48 ...
Continue readingDo business groups’ pre-election forecasts follow their campaign money?
Housing prices and consumer confidence are up but several business groups that have been in town this week have been delivering a distinctly gloomy view of the economy. While the groups have blue-chip reputations in the business world, what's less apparent is their track record of political giving -- one that raises some questions about the forecasts they are presenting six weeks before Election Day.
First out of the blocks: the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Federation of Independent Business. The two groups teamed up at a Tuesday press conference to release a survey conducted by Public Opinion ...
On Legislative Collaboration and Version Control
We often are confronted with the idea of legislation being written and tracked online through new tools, whether it’s Clay... View Article
Continue readingBuzzfeed’s five surprising charts show impact of Citizens United
Buzzfeed offers five surprising charts about political money in the 2012 election cycle, feeding off of this recent release from the Federal Election Commission tallying up contributions and spending through June 2012. What they show--by omission--is how much Citizens United and subsequent court decisions and FEC rulings have changed the way campaigns raise and spend money. A few examples:
The first chart shows fundraising by presidential candidates in the first 18 months of each election cycle going back to 2000. Buzzfeed notes, "...presidential candidates spent more money through the second quarter in 2008 and 2004 — also an election with a ...
Continue readingOpen States API at Hacks for Democracy in Philadelphia
This month, the first Hacks for Democracy event has been ongoing in Philadelphia. A new hackathon idea, #hacks4d hopes to... View Article
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