Among Sen. Christopher Dodd's top career donors are employees, their family members and PACs of the following players in the nation's financial meltdown: Citigroup ("written off and lost $53.6 billion through the credit crunch so far, which is more than any other bank or broker,") Bear Stearns ("Bear Stearns's mortgage business, a big driver of profits, has been eviscerated,"), SAC Capital Partners (vehemently denies charge that they helped bring down Bear Stearns), American International Group (saved by an emergency $85 billion rescue), Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (each of which are morphing into bank holding companies ...
Continue readingWall Street to Washington
The complete meltdown in subprime mortgages has caused a total makeover of the investment industry. The effect of the makeover... View Article
Continue readingCRP tracks beneficiaries of belly-up banks
Our friends at the Center for Responsive Politics have been doing yeoman's work compiling lists of the politicians who've received the most money over the years from political action committees and employees and their family members of the big financial colossi that are seeking (or having imposed on them) federal help to stave off collapse. Their Lehman Brothers list is here while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are ">here.
To see who in Congress invested in these operations, CRP has compiled an analysis of Freddie and Fannie holdings here; you can also dig into search results for Lehman ...
Continue readingIn Broad Daylight: Rangel’s Disclosure Discrepancies
Like a man sinking in quicksand, Rep. Charles Rangel continues, with every flailing day, to sink further as more discrepancies... View Article
Continue readingGovernment Takeover to Roil K Street
Yesterday, I was thinking about Sen. Jim DeMint’s bill to ban Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from lobbying Congress and... View Article
Continue readingIn Broad Daylight: Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit
The Detroit Big Three are seeking $50 billion in government loans. Their big lobbying push begins as Congress comes back... View Article
Continue readingAround the Corner, September Legislative Agenda
Birds of a feather flock together. On Monday, our nation’s legislators will return, on winged flight, to finish up the... View Article
Continue readingIndustry Influence: Alternative Energy
From Teapot Dome to Ted Stevens, the oil and gas industry holds a special place in imagination of Americans. This... View Article
Continue readingAre the parties over?
Republican presidential nominee John McCain has apparently cancelled all but the most essential official convention activities due Hurricane Gustav's menacing approach toward the Gulf Coast. That means Monday will have none of the normal convention hullabaloo -- the customary succession of speeches (President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney had already cancelled their appearances) will be foregone.
That leaves me with two questions: 1) Will the unofficial parties -- those events sponsored by private interests that occur outside the arena -- still go on as planned? And 2) will curtailing a lot of the rhetoric, including the endless parade of ...
Continue readingTracking Gov. Palin
Apparently, Republican presidential nominee John McCain has selected Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate. For those looking for more information, her 2007 state personal financial disclosure form is online here (via the Center for Public Integrity). Via the excellent National Institute on Money in State Politics, here's campaign finance information from her unsuccessful 2002 race for Lieutenant Governor, her 2006 primary campaign for governor, and her 2006 general election campaign for governor. I'll update with more links as I come across them. I'm not going to dig into these myself today, but others should ...
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