June 2012
61 posts
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WatchGov. Buddy Roemer was on The Rachel Maddow Show last night about the corrupting influence of big money on our democracy.
May 2012
86 posts
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Sensitive Donors →
The Courts have given wealthy individuals the ability to tremendously influence our political process—influence that most people can’t even dream of having—and in a free country, we deserve to know about it.
Conservative hero Justice Antonin Scalia once said about a case involving the disclosure of petition signatures, “running a democracy takes a certain amount of civic courage.” Courage...
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“Voters send people to Congress because they think they’ll do what’s in their...”
– Public Campaign Action Fund Communications Director Adam Smith on legislation introduced by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) that would solely benefit a campaign donor.
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Politico: Bill would give single bank a $300M... →
“The bill has drawn no objections so far from bank regulators or the Obama administration, and proponents argue it is narrowly designed to help a community bank unfairly harmed by the controversial Dodd-Frank law.
“But it is also an object lesson in how the rich and powerful — backed by a team of high-powered lobbyists — can get Congress to act on their issues, even as Capitol Hill...
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Rolling Stone: Florida GOP Takes Voter Supression... →
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NYT: Obama Finds Campaigning Rules Clock →
Running for re-election takes up a lot of time—and a lot of that time is being spent raising money.
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Elections of, by, and for the elite
Politico reports this morning:
“Republican super PACs and other outside groups shaped by a loose network of prominent conservatives – including Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – plan to spend roughly $1 billion on November’s elections for the White House and control of Congress, according to officials familiar with the groups’ internal...
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How to save the middle class? End our big money... →
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Political Money Talks
The New York Times looks at Gov. Scott Walker’s comments to a $500,000 donor that his plan was to “divide and conquer” the unions:
Ms. Hendricks is only one of the governor’s big-moneyed and antiunion friends. He has raised more than $25 million since taking office. The first year of his official calendar shows significant access for companies that helped him with large...
How can Florida Gov. Rick Scott steal the election...
think-progress:
Easy enough — he’s created an error-filled list of “ineligible voters”, which targets thousands of Democratic and Hispanic voters.
Here’s how it would work.
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New York Times: Political Dividends →
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For those at the beach this weekend:
While you’re baking in the sun this weekend to celebrate the first days of summer, don’t forget the sunscreen. Also, remember that while you relax, someone in Washington is probably hard at work devising a lobbying strategy on what the label should say. Public health advocates are not happy about the way sunscreen bottles are labeled, and for...
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NYT: Bain strategy may have pitfalls for Obama →
Last week, a few dozen hedge fund and investment executives arrived at the Park Avenue home of Hamilton E. James, president of the private equity firm Blackstone. Each had paid $35,800 to spend two hours at a fund-raiser with President Obama, but the timing proved awkward: A few hours earlier, Mr. Obama’s campaign had begun a blistering attack on Mitt Romney’s career in private equity, the same...
