(Updated Feb. 8, 5:52 p.m.)
The Emergency Committee for Israel has launched a new ad campaign to oppose former Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination for secretary of defense, after the vote to confirm him was delayed in the Senate.
A decision by the Senate Armed Services Committee to postpone its vote on Hagel's nomination -- made because some committee members said they wanted more information about Hagel's speaking engagements -- gave the groups spending against him more time to place ads. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the committee, said he plans to hold the vote as soon ...
Continue readingAnti-Hagel ad spending tops $200K
(Updated Feb. 6, 11 a.m.)
Outside groups have spent at least $212,000 on television advertisements aimed at torpedoing former Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Obama's controversial nominee to head the Pentagon, with a Senate Armed Services Committee vote on his nomination set to occur as early as Thursday.
The spending was picked up by Sunlight Foundation's Political Ad Sleuth, which tracks political ad buys. The figures almost certainly understate the amount of money being pumped into the anti-Hagel campaign: Political Ad Sleuth relies heavily on ads uploaded to the Federal Communications Commission's online database; currently only ...
Continue readingAmong Hagel attackers: Shadowy group run by aide to Ron Lauder
As former Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's pick for secretary of defense, faces a Senate confirmation hearing today, he's under online attack from a group that's previously been criticized for a "mostly false" TV ad and "laughably bogus" polling. Though the group, Secure America Now, doesn't disclose its donors, and has yet to file a full year's tax return for either of its non-profit arms, Sunlight has learned it is run by a longtime political aide to Ronald Lauder, a cosmetics heir who has become a patron of Jewish causes and Republican candidates.
Dark money group takes aim at potential Obama appointee Chuck Hagel
A committee that spent more than $300,000 in dark money to defeat President Barack Obama this year is now spending more to offer advice on whom he should appoint to his cabinet.
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel, seen at right, hasn't run for office in a decade, but he now is the target of a negative TV ad, thanks to widespread reports that the president is poised to nominate him as a replacement for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who has signalled that he wants to retire at the end of Obama's first term.
MORE: Hagel alumni in defense ...
Continue readingHagel appointment would give some lobbyists a friend in the Pentagon
Reports that President Barack Obama will tap former Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican who had as many arguments with his own party as he did with Democrats, for the top job at the Pentagon has led some special interests to launch an ad campaign against him. But for former aides to the Cornhusker senator working for clients in the defense industry, Hagel winning the top job in the military means having a friend in a high place.
Lobbyists who once worked for the Nebraska lawmaker represent a host of companies that do business with the Department of Defense. Their clients ...
Continue readingEx-Senators Now Eligible to Lobby
Eight former senators are now able to lobby their former colleagues after the expiration of their two year cooling-off period... View Article
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