As seen in this year's U.K. elections, data mining and micro-targeting are catching on. Here's why that might be troublesome for transparency advocates.
Continue readingWhy super PACs should have ‘cooling off’ periods, too
Talk about not coordinating: The head of a super PAC gets a job with one of the candidates the PAC helped elect.
Continue readingProminent Democratic advisers join big GOP funder in upping pressure on Argentina
A GOP donor is underwriting some top Democratic foreign policy advisors in an effort to get his money back.
Continue readingPolitically connected nonprofits have long bested the IRS
The Republican Governors Public Policy Committee is a nonprofit organization with a multimillion dollar budget devoted to "promoting social welfare and efficient and responsible government practices" according to the most recent tax return it filed with the Internal Revenue Service. On its website, the group tells a different story: It's "the official policy organization of the nation’s Republican governors."
As House Government Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Darrell Issa, R-Calif., prepares to broaden his investigation of the Internal Revenue Service's admitted targeting of conservative groups ...
Continue readingThere he goes again: Larry Flynt backs Mark Sanford
If Mark Sanford accepts the endorsement of Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and the $2,600 that goes along with it, the South Carolina Republican congressional hopeful will be joining a list of well-known Democrats and breaking a long streak for the pornographer-turned-political activist.
Continue readingObama dedicates Bush library; will he disclose donors to his own?
As President Barack Obama attends today's dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, he's mum about fundraising for his own post-presidential library -- and whether he'll disclose names of donors.
Continue readingDemocratic convention watch: Join the conversation tonight
The Sunlight Foundation is at the Democratic convention, literally and virtually, and you can join us online Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Our colleagues in Charlotte, Liz Bartolomeo and Keenan Steiner, are following the (oops - did we see corporate? And super PAC? yes we did!) money at all the parties. They can't possibly make all 400+ that we've got in our Party Time database. But they are doing their best. See something we don't know about? Let us know!
And we are exposing the Democrats to Sunlight at night via Sunlight Live. This platform enables our team to ...
Continue readingPutting Romney’s tax returns in presidential context
The controversy over what’s hiding in Mitt Romney’s unreleased tax returns continues. But even without the missing filings, putting his 2010 and 2011 tax numbers in context is strikingly informative. It dramatically shows what an outlier Romney is on a few basic tax and income dimensions.
Continue readingWhat does Kerrey bring to the Nebraska race? Ka-ching!
For the latest proof of the importance of money in politics, look no further than the Wednesday decision by Bob... View Article
Continue readingDaily Disclosures
A roundup of what we’re noticing in the Reporting Group as we dig into government data and disclosures: Dark money... View Article
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