Here are five reasons why big money still matters in politics.
Continue readingAfter loss at SCOTUS, what’s next for reproductive rights groups
Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice blasted SCOTUS' decision in the Hobby Lobby case and vowed to keep fighting. Here's how they have extended their influence in the past.
Continue readingSt. Patrick’s Day pot of gold: Sinn Fein fundraised almost $400,000 in six months last year in United States
Gerry Adams heads up Sinn Fein, an Irish political party that advocates for a united Ireland. From November 2012 to... View Article
Continue readingTale of the tape: Political giving by the Fed frontrunners
The Federal Reserve's Open Markets Committee opens two days of meetings Wednesday amid growing speculation about whom President Barack Obama will nominate to steer the nation's financial policy after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's term ends early next year.
The two presumed frontrunners, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and Fed Vice-Chair Janet Yellen, both have active rooting sections. And there's plenty of handicapping about which one is in a better position to win favor of the president -- and the senators who must confirm the appointment. From our perch at Sunlight covering the political influence game, however, there ...
Continue readingSen. Markey’s IOUs
Long-time Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who will be sworn into the U.S. Senate today, a victory for the left-leaning coalition of bit doors who helped him win a special election last month.
Continue readingTwo Californians duke it out in the Bay State
Thanks to Citizens United, the Massachusetts Senate race is turning into a money slugfest between two deep-pocketed Californians.
Continue readingAnti-Keystone group spends big on DC TV ads
A coalition of environmental groups hit the Washington airwaves during the Sunday morning talk shows with ads pressuring Secretary of State John Kerry to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, which is under review at his agency.
The All Risk, No Reward Coalition spent a total of $28,000 to run a 30-second ad on Fox News Sunday and CBS's "Face The Nation" on Washington TV stations, documents in Political Ad Sleuth show. It follows two other TV ads the group ran in April in Nebraska and D.C. TV markets. The latest ad urges the Kerry to heed the ...
Continue readingIn Massachusetts, Gomez touts credentials as political independent — with help from the GOP
The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a web video Tuesday backing the party's Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez, a political novice who is facing longtime Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in a special election three weeks from today.
Even though Gomez, a former Navy Seal-turned private equity investor, has tried to distance himself from the national party, the ad disclaimer suggests it is a coordinated communication between the national party and the candidate. The disclaimer says it was was paid for by the NRSC and authorized by the Gomez committee.
The definition of a coordinated ad is one that is "made ...
Continue readingCould sequester hit Israel?
When John Kerry takes the stage at the University of Virginia today to deliver his first major address as secretary of state, he'll be making a plea for one of the spending areas likely to draw the least amount of sympathy when the sequester axe hits. In a letter to the Senate, Kerry warned that foreign aid may have to absorb a $2.6 billion hit if a deal to avert the automatic budget cuts isn't reached.
While money U.S. taxpayers sent overseas might be considered a rare appealing target for the budget axe since there is ...
Continue readingTemporary Massachusetts senator an active political donor
William Cowan, a Massachusetts lawyer who will take John Kerry's place in the Senate until a special election can be held to replace the Bay State Democrat, about to become the next secretary of state, has donated more than $36,000 to candidates for state and federal office, according to data downloaded from Sunlight's Influence Explorer.
All of the recipients of Cowan's largesse were Democrats with two notable exceptions: In 2002, he made a donation of $200 to Republican Mitt Romney. The 2012 GOP presidential nominee was then running what would turn out to be a successful ...
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