Analysis shows that working for a long-serving senator — especially one in a key leadership position — is a very good stepping stone to a lucrative career in lobbying.
Continue readingHow revolving door lobbyists are taking over K Street
Between 1998 and 2012, total lobbying revenue from active contract lobbyists almost doubled. The kicker? All of this new revenue came exclusively from revolving door lobbyists.
Continue readingK Street pays top dollar for revolving door talent
It is a widely accepted truism in Washington that the place to get rich is on “K Street” — that metonymic shorthand for the Washington lobbying business. But how rich?
Continue readingWhat a “Lobbyists’ Lament” doesn’t tell us about lobbying
Haley Barbour and Ed Rogers’ piece, “The Lobbyists’ Lament,” is an unintentionally remarkable example of how lobbying works. It’s lively, persuasive and factually correct. As is most lobbying. Problem is, it’s also one-sided. As is most lobbying.
Continue readingDeMint leads from afar in Obamacare fight
"I personally believe I can do a lot more on the outside than I can on the inside," former Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., (pictured right) told reporters concerning his decision to leave his Senate post for the helm the conservative Heritage Foundation in December of last year.
While he may no longer claim a seat on the floor of the upper chamber, the 62 year old who was a tea partier before there was a Tea Party is still very much at the center of the congressional scrum over the Affordable Care Act and budget negotiations.
In his time ...
Continue readingLobbyists save big businesses from fiscal cliff tax hikes
Congress may have averted the fiscal cliff, raising taxes on households making more than $450,000, ending the payroll tax holiday which will take a bite from workers' paychecks, and leaving the bigger issues of raising the debt ceiling, reforming entitlements and addressing federal spending to the next Congress. While the fiscal cliff deal results in a tax hike for all workers, some special interests preserved their favorite tax breaks the old fashioned way: lobbying and contributing to members of Congress.
Most of the goodies sprinkled through the American Taxpayer Relief Act have been on the wish lists of big ...
Continue readingSnap Decision: DeMint leaves Senate for Heritage
How sudden was Sen. Jim DeMint's surprise announcement Thursday that he'll be leaving his post to head the conservative Heritage Foundation? The Senate Office of Public Records confirms receiving a disclosure form that lawmakers and top staffers have to make when they are negotiating with a potential employer from the South Carolina Republican on the same day DeMint's new job was announced. Ethics rules require the forms to be filed when salary discussions are underway.
Update Dec. 6, 2012, 5:15 p.m.: "I just found out yesterday," said Wesley Denton, press secetary for DeMint. "I know ...
Continue readingMoney’s Influence on Politics Extends Way Beyond Election Day
We have all just witnessed the most expensive election in history–one in which spending by outside groups reached new heights,... View Article
Continue readingStates Take On Citizens United
Frustrated by the inability of Congress to address the Citizens United decision, voters in Montana, Colorado and Massachusetts took the... View Article
Continue readingInfluence Explored: T-Mobile and Metro PCS merge successfully
An article in the New York Times last week reported that T-Mobile USA’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, bought Metro PCS,... View Article
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