With the new Congress, many former members and staffers are now legal to lobby. But the law's so full of loopholes that it hasn't stopped many from entering the influence game before their "cooling off" period expires.
Continue readingOutside groups dump nearly $11M into four primary states
Almost all of the money has been spent in Republican primary elections, reflecting the party's continuing, costly rift.
Continue readingThree more Dems retire; more than $1 million in flux
Three retiring House Democrats have more than $1 million in campaign cash leftover and lots of leeway about how to spend it.
Continue readingDeMint leads from afar in Obamacare fight
"I personally believe I can do a lot more on the outside than I can on the inside," former Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., (pictured right) told reporters concerning his decision to leave his Senate post for the helm the conservative Heritage Foundation in December of last year.
While he may no longer claim a seat on the floor of the upper chamber, the 62 year old who was a tea partier before there was a Tea Party is still very much at the center of the congressional scrum over the Affordable Care Act and budget negotiations.
In his time ...
Continue readingSenate Conservatives Fund raises pressure, dollars over Obamacare battle
The Senate Conservatives Fund, a political action committee founded by former North Carolina senator and current Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint, has released a slew of radio spots, Internet ads and a website--Don't Fund Obamacare--that accuse some Rebublican senators of supporting the Affordable Care Act rather than trying to stop it.
Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Thad Cochran, R-Miss., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., all oppose the tactic of blocking implementation of healthcare reforms by launching a budget fight that could result in a shut down of the federal government. The strategy ...
Continue readingSenate Conservatives Fund targets Lindsey Graham
A group founded by former Sen. Jim DeMint is targeting fellow South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, charging the two-term Republican with being insufficiently hostile to President Barack Obama's health care law.
The 61-second radio ad by the Senate Conservatives Fund popped up on Sunlight's Political Ad Hawk days after a tea party challenger announced she is entering the primary against Graham. The ad cites Graham's refusal to join Senate Republicans, such as Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, in an effort to cut off funding for the law. Graham, along with a number ...
Continue readingWho’s on top in June fundraising?
Sunlight looks at fundraising by political parties and political action committees and provides a sortable .csv of the data.
Continue readingHow ex-Det. Guy Bowers became the biggest campaign donor of all
One of the most prolific donors to political candidates running for federal office has no idea that’s his status.
Guy Bowers, a 66-year-old ex-detective who says he owes his fortune to an inheritance and some savvy investing, is not your typical corporate executive often associated with fattening politicians’ campaign accounts.
Yet Bowers was such an enthusiastic donor that he tops a list of perhaps hundreds who appear to have broken a campaign finance law that caps the total amount of money individuals can give federal political candidates and committees in the course of a two-year election cycle. For 2011 ...
Jim DeMint’s possible successors: influence profiles
Rep. Tim Scott, the frontrunner to replace retiring Sen. Jim DeMint, owned an AllState insurance branch before being elected to congress. His biggest campaign donor has been the conservative Club for Growth.
Continue readingDeMint blocking secret hold bill
There seems to be a recurring theme with transparency legislation. Senators just love to block these types of bills. There... View Article
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