Even though the Trans-Pacific Partnership is shrouded in extreme secrecy, that hasn’t stopped interest groups from aggressively lobbying in its favor.
Continue readingRedesign is awful, but USASpending still proves power of the public
The latest iteration of USASpending.gov, which combines all the virtues of clunky design with the frustrations of diminished functionality, is a reminder for this writer of the early days of the Sunlight Foundation.
Continue readingWin or lose, big money still matters in politics
Here are five reasons why big money still matters in politics.
Continue readingTop target list for foreign interests includes some surprises
Sunlight used its new Foreign Influence Explorer to see which members of Congress had the most contact with foreign interests last year.
Continue readingHow TV stations are letting political advertisers play hide and seek
Sunlight and Campaign Legal Center, represented by Georgetown University's Institute for Public Representation, are filing complaints against 11 TV stations for letting political advertisers hide their identites.
Continue readingBig-time political donor General Motors on Capitol Hill to talk about vehicle recall
When GM's CEO testifies before Congress on the company's faulty vehicles, she could be facing a friendlier-than-expected audience.
Continue readingHired guns: K Street revolvers shot blanks against NRA artillery
Gun control groups made a big investment in professional lobbyists after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting but even the K Street top guns were no match for the National Rifle Association.
Continue readingIn South Carolina special election full of characters, donors are just as colorful
As voters go to the polls in today's primary contests for a South Carolina special congressional election that has garnered attention for its share of colorful candidates, the donors appear just as just as worthy of a second look.
That's not just because the donors are, in most cases -- the candidates themselves. They also include a diverse range of out-of-staters from infamous dark money man David Koch to comedian Stephen Colbert's wife, as Sunlight has reported.
In the final days before polls opened, donations continued to pour in. We're keeping tabs using our Follow the Unlimited Money alert service that sends us emails every time one of the committee's we're watching files with the Federal Election Commission.
Most of the late cash has gone to former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who is trying to make the political comeback of a lifetime just two years after departing office in disgrace. Revelations of Sanford's extra-marital affair with his Argentine lover (now fiance) ended his marriage but not, it now appears, his once-promising political career. By late last month, Sanford was already the dollar frontrunner in the contest to replace Tim Scott, a Republican appointed to the Senate this year. That financial momentum has only continued to build with more late contributors jumping on the frontrunner's bandwagon.
In the 20-day period before today's primary, Sanford raked in $80,050 in contributions of $1,000 or more, bringing him to a total of at least $414,447, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Combined, the six leading Republicans and the Democrat most likely to win her primary, Elizabeth Colbert Busch, have raised over $3 million so far in the race.
Continue readingDid campaign spending buy Bush the 2000 and 2004 elections?
Did higher levels of campaign spending buy George W. Bush the presidency in 2000 and 2004? And will all the money being spent on this year’s election move voters too? That’s the conclusion of an intriguing new political science paper that estimates that between 1972 and 2004, 13.6 percent of voters “incorrectly” pulled the lever for Republicans in presidential elections, while 8.7 percent “incorrectly” voted Democratic. Study author Sean Richey (a Georgia State University Professor) found that money was a factor. Republicans spend more of it, and that money often buys convincing and/or misleading ads.
Continue readingMasters of the (golf) universe? Augusta’s first female members wield political influence
Ninety-two years ago to the week after American women gained the right to vote, they finally gained access to the hallowed greens of one of the the nation's premier golf clubs. We tell you why we think the two historic firsts are connected.
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