As of this writing, Super PACs, labor unions and political nonprofits have reported spending a hefty $336.5 million to the... View Article
Continue readingIs AFSCME or the Chamber the top political spender?
The Wall Street Journal brings an apple to the orange convention, writing that, “The American Federation of State, County and... View Article
Continue readingDems narrow the outside spending margin
Ten days before the mid-term elections, and left leaning outside groups still lag behind their conservative counterparts, and are being outspent by $43 million. But spending by the two Democratic party committees--the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee--have narrowed the gap, leaving them $23 million behind all Republican spending. Just five days ago, Democrats trailed overall by $37.6 million.
In all, outside groups including party committees have spent more than $322 million, dwarfing independent spending in 2006 which totaled $68 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. A larger percentage of the spending is ...
Continue readingAds Are No More Negative In This Election Than Previous Years
As we approach Election Day, the number of ads continue to increase, but based on recent data from the Wesleyan Media... View Article
Continue readingGetting Serious About Bear Data
Our colleagues at Sunlight have just launched a major new ursine initiative. Naturally, we want to help, so David dug into the data he'd recently scraped from the Catalog of Government Publications to see if there were any contributions we could make from a labs perspective.
The Catalog of Government Publications is a powerful bear resource. It contains no less than 77 records about bears. The most important document in that list, of course, is the Bear Spray Safety Program. Nothing drives humanity more than survival. Therefore, you must familiarize yourself with the all-important Bear Force Continuum:
Republican leaning groups spend heavily on Nevada Senate race
The Nevada Senate toss-up between Majority Leader Harry Reid and Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle is one of the races which has seen close to $10 milion spent by outside groups to influence voters. The stakes are high and the ads are scathing. So far, the spending is skewed in favor of Angle where Republican-leaning groups have spent over $7.8 million, according to data reported to the Federal Election Commission.
The groups that are weighing in on the Nevada battle are big spending conservative-leaning groups including American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS that are part of this "hydra of independent ...
Continue readingSenate Candidates Still Hiding Contributions
A lot of people, including us, are talking about the disgraceful way a huge amount of hidden money is influencing... View Article
Continue readingTools for Transparency: Easy Ways to Organize Your Events
With all the great online resources for progressing the open government movement it’s important to remember the offline element and... View Article
Continue readingDaily Disclosures
A roundup of what we’re noticing in the Reporting Group as we dig into government data and disclosures: Only $874,265... View Article
Continue readingOutside groups are insiders on D.C.’s fundraising scene
Last May Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., raised campaign cash at a reception at the offices of the National Association of Realtors and around the same time, the group's PAC sent his campaign a check for $4,000.
Four months later, in September, the PAC started spending big, but this time on independent expenditures. Three hundred thousand dollars for a campaign ad. Forty-six thousand dollars on Internet ads. By mid-October, the group had spent more than $576,000 in support of Reichert.
When groups make independent expenditures to support or oppose a candidacy, they are not supposed to coordinate in ...
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