In case you missed it, last night some-time South Carolina Presidential candidate and super PAC founder Stephen Colbert gave a... View Article
Continue readingOn FIRE: How the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Sector Drove the Growth of the Political One Percent of the One Percent
This piece was prepared in collaboration with Ethan Phelps-Goodman. In the last two decades, finance, insurance, and real estate have... View Article
Continue readingWill Super PACs Determine the 2012 Election?
The Advisory Committee on Transparency is hosting an event, “Will Super PACs Determine the 2012 Election? Should they be more transparent?”... View Article
Continue readingThe Political One Percent of the One Percent
This piece was prepared in collaboration with Ethan Phelps-Goodman. If you think wealth is concentrated in the United States, just wait till you look at the data on campaign spending. In the 2010 election cycle, 26,783 individuals each contributed more than $10,000 to federal political campaigns. Combined, these donors spent $774 million. That's 24.3% of the total from individuals to politicians, parties, PACs, and independent expenditure groups. Together, they would fill only two-thirds of the 41,222 seats at Nationals Park the baseball field two miles from the U.S. Capitol. When it comes to politics, they are The One Percent of the One Percent. A Sunlight Foundation examination of data from the Federal Election Commission and the Center for Responsive Politics reveals a growing dependence of candidates and political parties on the One Percent of the One Percent, resulting in a political system that could be disproportionately influenced by donors in a handful of wealthy enclaves. Our examination also shows that some of the heaviest hitters in the 2010 cycle were ideological givers, suggesting that the influence of the One Percent of the One Percent on federal elections may be one of the obstacles to compromise in Washington.
Continue readingThe Occupation of K Street: Lobbying, Citizens United and the need for reform
Earlier today, protestors from OccupyDC headed over to the offices of the Podesta Group, a high profile lobbying firm, before... View Article
Continue readingInfluence Explored: Coakely Sues Big, Influential Banks
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a lawsuit yesterday against five major U.S. banks for violating the state’s laws to... View Article
Continue readingLobbyist Bundler Data Includes Giving to Super Committee
Of the 12 members of the failed supercommittee that were tasked with cutting $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit, five... View Article
Continue readingVan Hollen Lawsuit vs. FEC Sheds Light on Corporate Campaign Activity
Can corporations and labor unions hide how much money they spend on campaign-related ads by funneling money through other corporations... View Article
Continue readingBack to the Source REDACTED: $52 Steaks on Menu as AT&T Feted Lawmakers During T-Mobile Push
Back to the Source REDACTED: $52 Steaks on Menu as AT&T Feted Lawmakers During T-Mobile Push Do you remember the... View Article
Continue readingThe grassroots campaign on opening the Super Committee
Over two months ago, a special committee was created to offer recommendations on how to reduce the national deficit by... View Article
Continue reading