Despite suffering two of the worst gun killings in the nation's history--Columbine and now the "Batman" shootings--Colorado, with its cowboy swagger and reputation for independence, has long been home to supporters of gun rights. And its politicians, mostly Republicans, but some Democrats as well, have been magnets for contributions from gun rights groups, benefiting from more than $3.8 million in political spending since 1989, according to a search on Influence Explorer.
In contrast, gun control groups have spent $140,342 in the state for federal and state campaigns. Of that amount, $48,000 came from the ...
Continue readingPenn State’s powerful political influence
(photo credit: flckr drocpsu)
Penn State University, targeted for unprecedented penalties after NCAA officials concluded that top university officials covered up child sex abuse by an assistant football coach has received more than $6 million in federal earmarks in recent years -- a sign of the school's aptitude at the political influence game.
Some critics have contended that aptitude may have enabled the scandal to go on longer than it otherwise might have. In 2008, Pennsylvania's state legislature debated whether to require the school to disclose police records, email, phone records--information that might have led to earlier detection of ...
Continue readingGun interests spend millions to influence lawmakers
In the wake of the Batman movie massacre, Colorado's second mass killing in recent memory, much is being written about the unlikeliness of the tragedy leading to the kind of gun control legislation that might have prevented another troubled young man from amassing a huge arsenal. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was quoted in the New York Times on Saturday venting his frustration at the inertia of both major party's presidential candidates.
The gun lobby is one of the most influential in Washington -- as well as state capitals -- and figures available on Sunlight's Influence Explorer describe ...
Continue readingSurvey Says… House Republicans Schedule Bevy of Critical Dodd-Frank Hearings
House Republicans are on an anti-Dodd-Frank blitz, but with a populist twist, leading up to the financial reform law’s second birthday later this week.
The Republican-controlled Financial Services Committee has launched an "online survey," which asks users a series of questions about how Dodd-Frank affects “you, not Wall Street.” The survey comes as the committee has scheduled a half dozen hearings over a two-week period focusing on such topics as Dodd-Frank's impact on home mortgages, consumer choice, and access to credit and municiple finance.
We'll be covering one of those hearings — titled "Who’s In Your Wallet ...
Continue readingSupremes hand setback to Obama super PAC bankroller
The Supreme Court on Thursday handed a setback -- and an ominous warning -- to a labor giant that has been one of the most generous bankrollers of the super PACs backing President Obama and other Democratic candidates.
At issue in the case: tactics that the Service Employees International Union, which has bankrolled a constellation of Democratic super PACs to the tune of more than $3 million, used to beef up its political warchest in California during 2005. SEIU imposed a special assessment on its members to fight a pair of ballot initiatives aimed at public service unions. The high court ruled ...
Continue readingDid mystery Romney donors also play in Texas?
A subsidiary of the Reynolds and Reynolds Company--which was apparently behind $1 million in contributions to the super PAC backing Mitt Romney through three shell companies last month--also gave at least $250,000 to super PACs earlier this election cycle through another subsidiary.
Yesterday we noted that three contributions for about a third of a million dollars each that originated from the same post office box in Dayton, Ohio on May 22 all seemed to be related to Reynolds and Reynolds. The company provides software and other services to car dealerships and related businesses. Chief Executive Officer Robert T ...
Continue readingCampaign contributions help companies get more federal contracts, study finds
In 2011, the U.S. federal government awarded $537 billion in private contracts. If U.S. federal contracts were their own national... View Article
Continue readingDo lobbying and campaign contributions help corporate fraudsters?
Though those of us who study money in politics tend to focus on its effects on legislation and regulation, two... View Article
Continue readingCalifornia dreaming: Obama bags big political donations in Silicon Valley, Hollywood
For President Obama, there's gold in the Golden State. According to the California News Service, he's making his 15th trip to the state as president, trips that have included 35 fundraisers. Many of those have oscillated between two important fundraising constituences for the president -- Hollywood and Silicon Valley. With Obama's three fundraisers today and tomorrow, this time it's NorCal's tech community that is getting the chance to shower multi-thousand dollar checks to the president.
There are conflicting signs about which community can be a bigger fundraising draw for the president and his allies. The vast ...
Continue readingFCC requires online posting of political ad files
Handing open-government advocates a partial victory in a better than decade-long battle, the Federal Communications Commission voted Friday to require major network affiliates in the top 50 TV markets to post information about their political ads online.
The move could provide the public with crucial information on who's behind the ads purchased by nonprofit groups that, under new campaign finance laws, can spend unlimited amounts of money advocating for or against candidates without registering with the Federal Election Commission. But the rule will leave out many TV markets in presidential battleground states as our map shows.
Broadcasters had fiercely ...
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