The fiscal cliff might be getting all the headlines, but another battle is brewing in Congress, pitting the recording industry, a traditional source of Washington power, against Internet firms using an upstart technology.
But in a departure from last year's struggle over the Stop Online Piracy Act, better known as SOPA, which favored entrenched media firms like Walt Disney and Time Warner while drawing opposition from technology firms like Google and Reddit, this time the bill at the center of the controversy favors the upstarts. The Internet Radio Fairness Act would lower the royalty fees that sites like Pandora pay out to recording companies and artists.
Continue readingFollow the money from big Dem donors to super PACs to races
Big money won big on Election Day. That is, big money supporting Democrats.
In this year's campaign, many wealthy individuals and groups with large campaign coffers were involved -- directly with contributions to candidates or indirectly through outside spending. Sunlight decided to zero in on five mega-donors who gave the most to super PACs backing liberal candidates. They comprise two millionaires, two unions and a political action committee with strong ties to labor:
- Media executive Fred Eychaner, who gave $12 million;
- Retired hedge fund manager James Simons, $7.5 million;
- The National Education Association (NEA), $8.5 million;
- The United ...
Happy Thanksgiving! How much did your tax dollars underwrite the feast?
Nearly 400 years ago, at the very first Thanksgiving in the Plymouth Colony, Native Americans and pilgrims dined together on a meal of deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. There was no such thing as crop insurance, sugar price supports, dairy subsidies, conservation easements, food stamps, or any other feature of the massive farm bill governing the nation's food policy, which expired on September 30.
Of course there was no such thing as the U.S. Congress either, which stalled on the farm bill last summer. In this country, food is a political issue, and where there is politics ...
Continue readingAfter election, dozens of super PACs shut down
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After an election that saw unprecedented spending from outside groups, more than a hundred super PACs have already hit the self-destruct button. Many of the now-defunct organizations spent more on themselves than they did supporting political candidates.
Stephen Colbert announced on the Monday edition of his Comedy Central program the demise of his super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Inc., on his Comedy Central show. With Trevor ...
Continue readingSo long Twinkie; so long political sugar
While the bankruptcy of Hostess Brands might have Americans worried about where they'll get their Twinkies, some politicians might be looking for new sources of green.
This morning, Hostess, the company that makes the treats, officially announced its liquidation and the subsequent lay off of about 18,500 employees in the midst of a labor dispute with the striking Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM). The bankruptcy filing cited the strike as the immediate cause, but also said its obligations to workers' pension funds made the firm uncompetitive.
While Hostess has offered politicians little more ...
Continue readingElection lawyers say super PACs should shift strategy
Given the underperformance of many outside spending groups in this year's election, some election lawyers suggested they shift strategies to focus more on mobilizing voters on the ground rather than TV ads in a panel discussion today.
The discussion took place at George Washington University Law School during a conference analyzing the 2012 campaign.
Super PACs that spent the most put their money into TV ads, noted Monica Yuan, a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. In contrast, unions and union-affiliated super PACs put much of their resources into get-out-the-vote efforts. The union groups were relatively successful compared ...
Continue readingA revealing glance at the freshmen of the 113th Congress
In stark contrast to the current crop of House freshmen, which we reported on extensively earlier this year, the soon-to-be newly sworn in members of the 113th Congress is considerably more balanced politically; however, analysts warn that it will likely be the most divided class yet.
Of the 89 new House members taking their oaths of office for the first time in January, 2011, after an election marked by a Tea Party tide, just nine were Democrats. So far this year (a few races remain to be called), there are 74 first-timers slated to take office next year, 44 Democrats ...
Continue readingCaffeinated lobbying
A New York Times report that the Food and Drug Administration is investigating the popular energy concoction “5-Hour Energy” in the deaths of 13 people, comes after a strong lobbying effort appears to have stymied congressional efforts to regulate highly caffeinated beverages.
The energy drink industry falls into a regulatory crack between soft drink industries and, oddly enough, the food supplement industry. Some of the makers of these drinks claim that they are not food but a dietary supplement. That classification allows them to avoid listing ingredients on their products.
"These energy drinks, do not have to abide by nutrition ...
Continue readingBig donors to Obama super PAC have lobbying priorities of their own
Priorities USA Action Fund, the third biggest super PAC in the 2012 elections, had 31 donors--individuals and organizations--who contributed $1 million or more to support President Barack Obama's reelection effort. At least 15 of them have business before the federal government, either directly, or through companies they own large stakes in, either from their own efforts or through inheritance.
A Sunlight analysis of these donors' influence profiles in Washington suggest that some of them were thanking the president for favors already accorded, while others may have been donating with the hope of receiving favors in the second term. While ...
Continue readingJohn Kerry: Influence Profile
Sen. John Kerry, now reportedly under consideration for one of two top jobs in President Obama's cabinet, has spent 28 years on Capitol Hill and run for the highest office in land, during the course of which, he has left a considerable money trail.
The Massachusetts Democrat, who saw his 2004 presidential run swift boated away from him, is being mentioned as a potential replacement for either Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, both of whom plan to leave office at the end of Obama's first term. The latter possibility comes as something of a surprise, since Kerry first burst onto the national scene as a Vietnam veteran opposed to that conflict (a position that came back to haunt him in his presidential race) and, as recently as September was criticizing the Republicans unyielding spending on defense.
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