Billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg is asking prominent Democratic donors in New York, a key source of funds for candidates across the country, to stop contributing to the four Democratic senators who voted to block a bill that would have strengthened background checks for gun buyers, the New York Times reported.
Continue readingStudy finds link between who gives to judicial candidates and how they decide
A rising tide of campaign contributions to candidates for states' top courts appears to be influencing the way those courts mete out justice, a new academic study finds.
"Justice at Risk," a report from the American Constitution Society, examined more than 2,300 business-related cases decided between 2010-2012 by the Supreme courts of the 50 states and compared them to 175,000 records of campaign contributions obtained from the nonpartisan National Institute on Money in State Politics. The conclusion: "There is a statistically significant relationship between campaign contributions from business groups and justices voting in favor of business interests."
The ...
Continue readingFAIR continues TV ads against immigration reform
As the Senate launches an immigration debate that could last the rest of the month, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) drops at least $36,000 in its latest round of advertising against the bill, while a major labor union begins advertising in favor of passage.
Continue readingSenators who write farm bill fine print reap agribusiness campaign cash
As senators cast their votes today on the 1,139-page, $955 billion farm bill, the unseen backdrop is the more than $26 million in campaign cash that agribusiness has pumped into their political campaigns. All but two members of the current Senate have received money from these donors who represent every possible agriculture concern, from sugar growers to dairy farmers to chemical manufacturers and more.
It’s an axiom of agriculture politics that agribusiness interests concentrate their generosity on members of key committees who write and fund the farm bill. As the graphic below shows, the current Senate is no ...
Continue readingAnti-Keystone group spends big on DC TV ads
A coalition of environmental groups hit the Washington airwaves during the Sunday morning talk shows with ads pressuring Secretary of State John Kerry to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, which is under review at his agency.
The All Risk, No Reward Coalition spent a total of $28,000 to run a 30-second ad on Fox News Sunday and CBS's "Face The Nation" on Washington TV stations, documents in Political Ad Sleuth show. It follows two other TV ads the group ran in April in Nebraska and D.C. TV markets. The latest ad urges the Kerry to heed the ...
Continue readingFractious fracking debate continues
Environmental groups have inundated federal officials with comments about proposed fracking regulations but they say industry is still getting its way.
Continue readingVerizon lobbyists host fundraisers for Intelligence Committee members
Lobbyists for Verizon Communications, which is refusing comment on a now-confirmed report that the telecommunications giant turned millions of its customers' records over to the National Security Agency, have thrown fundraisers for members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, records compiled by the Sunlight Foundation show.
According to the Political Party Time database, which tracks candidate fundraising events, lobbyists for Verizon Communications have hosted at least five fundraising events for Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Susan Collins, R-Maine. Louis Dupart, of the lobbying firm The Normandy Group, hosted at least three events, two for Mikulski and one for Collins, while Wayne Berman hosted two more for Collins, including a birthday reception in 2010. Both senators voted in 2008 in favor of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which shielded telecom companies, including Verizon, from lawsuits related to an earlier wiretapping controversy.
Lobbyists for Verizon have also hosted a fundraiser for Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., an ex officio member of the Senate committee, and Rep. Thomas Rooney, R-Fla., a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Continue readingBefore closing up shop, Lautenberg campaign committee has a debt to pay
New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died Monday at age 89, leaves behind many accomplishments, from laws fighting drunk driving to preventing people convicted of domestic violence from obtaining guns.
Continue readingAs Middle East boils, Jordan press crackdown may be strategically ignored
With much of the Middle East a cauldron, seemingly stable allies in the region can get free passes from Washington. Consider longtime U.S. ally Jordan.
The Hashemite Kingdom blocked access to perhaps as many as 300 "unregistered" media websites without any public comment from Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who has more pressing human rights issues: trying to prevent a "complete and total Syrian implosion."
To that end, the U.S. is weighing an extended stay for Patriot missile batteries and F-16 combat aircraft currently in Jordan for military exercises.
And that's not the only American assistance that the government of King Abdullah II is anticipating: there is a total $670 million in U.S. aid promised to Jordan this year, according to foreignassistance.gov. The greatest share, $310 million, goes to “peace and security” programs, most of which go to counter-terrorism efforts.
In Massachusetts, Gomez touts credentials as political independent — with help from the GOP
The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a web video Tuesday backing the party's Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez, a political novice who is facing longtime Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., in a special election three weeks from today.
Even though Gomez, a former Navy Seal-turned private equity investor, has tried to distance himself from the national party, the ad disclaimer suggests it is a coordinated communication between the national party and the candidate. The disclaimer says it was was paid for by the NRSC and authorized by the Gomez committee.
The definition of a coordinated ad is one that is "made ...
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