You've passed the half way mark! Only 265 member Web sites left to investigate! Of those finished, the average score has crept up to 31.3755...
Continue readingMembers of Congress, Please Fasten Your Seatbelts
Not many planes going back to Washington. Is Congress missing out on all that corporate jet travel they used to enjoy?
Sen. Norm Coleman: Open for Business
The following fax, sent out to PACs, Trade Associations, and Washington lobbyists, speaks pretty much for itself:
You can also view a readable, full-size version. The letter promises access to Coleman in exchange for campaign contributions; the text reads, in part:
As you know, raising money is the first step to winning, and money matters. But early money and support make an even bigger difference in my quest for victory. I am writing to ask you for your full support of my '08 Senate race. ... Continue reading
Small Business Hires Big Lobbyists
At GoodbyeJim.com, a site that closely monitors the member of Congress from my district--Rep. James Moran of Virginia's 8th district--Jonathan Marks has an interesting post about a small government contractor called MobilVox. In the 2004 election cycle, the firm's employees made modest campaign contributions to a trio of lawmakers--Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Rep. John Murtha, and Moran. In fiscal year 2005, according to FedSpending.org, the Navy awarded MobilVox a contract worth $507,092. Marks wonders whether it's worth looking at MobilVox more closely.
Continue readingOnline Committee Transparency: House Edition
Following up on the previous post on committee transparency I decided to take a look at the House committee websites to find out how readily available recordings and/or transcripts of committee meetings actually are. Congressional committees are supposed to be transparent and are supposed to make available to the public the full contents of open committee hearings and mark-ups. This, of course, isn’t always the case as we shall see.
Continue readingObama’s Real Estate Deal and Local Entanglements
In writing about Sen. Barack Obama's real estate dealings with Antoin "Tony" Rezko--a big fundraiser in Illinois politics who's currently under indictmnet for activities including allegedly "shaking down firms" with business before the state--Chicago Sun Times reporter Lynn Sweet draws an important distinction. Local Chicago reporters and columnists--including those from the Tribune (which broke the story), the Sun-Times, local radio and the local Associated Press crew--learn that Obama is involved with Rezko, and start asking hard questions. While other papers pick up the story, they're in essence repeating what the local reporters have dug out.
Continue readingLooking for a Democrat Lobbyist in all the Wrong Places?
The above document, touting the merits of one Stacey Tallitsch, who lost his bid to represent Louisiana's 1st congressional district, is making the rounds of D.C. lobbying shops today:
Looking for a Democrat Lobbyist? My name is Stacey Tallitsch, a candidate for Congress from the '06 election cycle. If you're interested in finding someone who can work easily and is well known among the new majority, I'd be interested in helping out. Continue reading
Permanent (Fundraising) Campaign Continues
Today's mail brought an envelope with a pair of fundraiser fliers, both of which were originally faxed out on November 9, 2006--a scant two days after the election (what, these slackers took Wednesday off?) to Washington lobbyists, association heads, and other special interest folks all over town. The one above, from Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., will be held at the offices of O'Connor and Hannan, a firm that represents the likes of Exxon Mobil, General Electric and Lockheed Martin, to name but a few. The flyer asks $500 for individual contributions, $1,000 from PACs to attend the event.
Citizen Journalists Find Spouses of Incumbents Paid with Campaign Cash
Some 19 current members of the House of Representatives pay their spouses out of their campaign war chests, totaling more than $636,000 in the current election cycle, a study by citizen journalists working with the Sunlight Foundation has found. Phase one of the "Is Congress A Family Business?" investigation is now complete. Using an innovative tool developed by Sunlight Labs, about 40 volunteers investigated anywhere from one to as many as 155 members, uncovering those who, by hiring their spouses to work for their campaign, allow special interest cash to enter their family budgets. While the federal nepotism statute prohibits members of Congress from hiring spouses to work in their Washington or district offices, there is no law preventing members from hiring family members to work for their campaign committees, provided they render bona fide services to the campaign at fair market value.
Continue readingKitchen Table Voting
I don’t know what percentage of the ballots filed every election in the state of Oregon have food stains on them, but I’ll bet it’s higher than the national average.
I say that, having splashed a little spaghetti sauce on my ballot at lunchtime yesterday, as I sat filling it out on the kitchen table. I did the same thing the last time I voted, though that time, as I recall, it was gravy.
Chalk it up as an occupational hazard of voting by mail - which is what all of us do here in Oregon every time there’s an election.
My ballot arrived Monday, about a week after the official voter guides. At lunchtime yesterday, I laid out everything on the dining room table and worked my way through the propositions and the candidates one by one, marking my choices on the ballot as I went. In all, I guess it took about 30 or 40 minutes to read everything and fill it all out. Today I’ll drop it off at the post office and be done with it for another two years.
59063
