The North Carolina Senate race has drawn the most outside spending in the nation, totaling a massive $37.5 million.
Continue readingCampaign Intelligence: Who’s spending the most to influence the vote
Want to follow the political money beat? We can help.
Continue readingIn Washington lobbying, pro-Keystone XL advocates dwarf pipeline opponents
When looking at inside-the-Beltway influence, pro-Keystone XL advocates dwarf pipeline opponents by a wide margin.
Continue readingTop target list for foreign interests includes some surprises
Sunlight used its new Foreign Influence Explorer to see which members of Congress had the most contact with foreign interests last year.
Continue readingIt’s AMA v. AARP as Senate votes on docs’ Medicare fees
Doctors face a big cut in Medicare fees today, so the Senate, in what's become an annual ritual, scheduled a vote to spare them. The AMA urges a "no" vote, while AARP wants a "yes" - who will win?
Continue readingWhose former staffers make the most as lobbyists? Lott, Frist, Hoyer top the list
Analysis shows that working for a long-serving senator — especially one in a key leadership position — is a very good stepping stone to a lucrative career in lobbying.
Continue readingShutdown spells big gains for nation’s gross political product
While federal workers and beneficiaries are taking an economic hit, the shutdown seems to be proving a financial bonanza for the nation's political consultant class. Both Republicans and Democrats are churning out ads focused on the shutdown. Guess what? Each blames the other for it.
Continue readingWho’s going to blink? Influence profiles of eight who could end the shutdown
If the government shutdown is going to be resolved, it's going to take compromise by some key players who so far haven't shown much willingness to bend. So who might influence these influentials? Sunlight decided to examine some of the monied interests behind key figures in the debate.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, in many cases the special interests are closely aligned with their beneficiaries' positions in the standoff, which largely revolves around the health care debate.
Here's a closer look:
Barack Obama
The president is the most prodigious fundraising weapon in the Democrats' arsenal. His campaign's success in ...
What’s in a name? Republican- versus Democrat-speak on gay marriage
How something is described often affects how people react to it. So it's interesting, as the Supreme Court begins two days of arguments on how to and who can define marriage, to see how the lawmakers across the street have talked about the same issue.
A look through Sunlight's Capitol Words shows a clear partisan divide: Democrats tend to use the term "gay marriage" while Republicans prefer "same-sex marriage." As you can see in the chart above, the latter term occurs more frequently in congressional debate. The full Capitol Words analysis gives us the party breakdown: Democrats account ...
Continue readingThe Senate Should Stay Strong on the STOCK Act
Politico reported today that the Senate is considering voting on the House version of the STOCK Act rather than convening... View Article
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