Regulations designed to improve food safety have been languishing in an obscure White House office.
Continue readingMayors Against Illegal Guns hits the airwaves in N.H and Pa.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the pro-gun control group backed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is not giving up the fight.
Three weeks after the Senate rejected legislation offered in the wake of the December shooting massacre that left 26 people dead at a Connecticut elementary school, the group is launching what appears to be a high-priced ad campaign to keep the pressure on lawmakers.
The ad seen above attacks Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican who was the lone lawmaker from the Northeast to vote against the gun control measure; another advertisement praises Sen. Pat Toomey, a ...
Continue readingReading the big green tea leaves in Sanford-Colbert Busch race
(Updated 4:45 p.m. ET)
Despite his capacity for self-sabotage and the public shunning of his own party, some well-heeled Republicans continue to believe that it's worth investing in former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's comeback bid in Tuesday's special election for a vacant congressional seat in the Palmetto State.
During the last three weeks of the campaign, the unexpectedly competitive contest in a heavily GOP district between Sanford and Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch has become a magnet for big political spenders. Sanford, attempting a redemption run after a headline-making sex scandal that cost him his ...
Continue readingIn the Kentucky Derby of political giving, one horse laps the field
While bettors will be spending big on the thoroughbreds racing to win Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby, many of the horses' owners have been making their own high-stakes bets — the kind that could pay off in much more than roses.
Continue readingMel Watt’s ties to the banking industry
(CORRECTION: This post has been updated to eliminate the name of the American Bankers' Association's Michael Hunter, incorrectly identified in earlier versions as an alumnus of Watt's office. Hunter worked for former Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla.)
Rep. Mel Watt, President Barack Obama's pick to lead the agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, insurers of most of the country's mortgages, is getting strong support from his party's liberal wing despite close ties to an industry with a big stake in how -- or if -- the controversial quasi-government entities are wound down.
The North Carolina ...
There he goes again: Larry Flynt backs Mark Sanford
If Mark Sanford accepts the endorsement of Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and the $2,600 that goes along with it, the South Carolina Republican congressional hopeful will be joining a list of well-known Democrats and breaking a long streak for the pornographer-turned-political activist.
Continue readingNew appointees are long overdue but is the FEC broken?
Is the Federal Election Commission broken? That's the question a watchdog group asked a panel of experts on the day that the last of the current commissioners' terms expired, leaving the agency that oversees campaign finance law with one vacancy and five holdovers. Campaign finance reformers used the occasion to call on President Barack Obama to appoint new commissioners, something the president hasn't bothered to do since the Senate refused to act on his last nominee.
Continue readingStanley Cup runneth over with political cash: NHL owners scored big for GOP
According to data from Sunlight's Influence Explorer, National Hockey League owners provided more than $3 million to politicians, PACs and independent expenditure groups during the 2012 election cycle.
Continue readingSanford continues to draw big money in S.C. race versus Colbert Busch
How many political lives does former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford have? Even though much of the Republican establishment abandoned him after news broke that his ex-wife is suing him for trespass, a stream of last-minute contribution reports shows that the bottom has not fallen out completely for the once-rising and now badly tarnished political star.
As he heads into the final week of this effort to win back his old House seat in a race against Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, Sanford continues to reel in support from some prominent party mavericks, as well as some deep-pocketed donors. The two ...
Continue readingAs summer growing season starts, produce safety rules delayed
As the nation's farmers enter a new growing season two years after 33 people died and 147 people were sickened in 28 states after eating listeria-infested canteloupe from a Colorado farm, the produce industry has effectively delayed implementation of a law intended to improve food safety.
The United Fresh Produce Association, which describes itself as "industry's leading trade association committed to driving the growth and success of produce companies and their partners" spearheaded the push for more time to comment on a pair of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules toughening safety standards for farms and processors.
The ...
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