Today, an especially sunny and warm day in Washington, D.C., citizens rallied on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court to let the court know that it’s time to overturn its 2010 Citizens United decision, which opened the door for unlimited corporate spending in political races. This comes on the heels of the court’s decision to
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We’ve covered how unlimited corporate money in elections transforms our democracy into a plutocracy. Billionaire donors, as well as politically active corporations, dump money into campaigns, buying not only access, but sway over important policy decisions. But the Los Angeles Times has a new piece exploring a different type of corruption created by the Citizens
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Two weeks ago, Republic Report announced Sell Out Of The Week, a regular feature for the blog. President Obama gained the distinction for breaking his promise, and embracing unlimited corporate money for his super PAC, while refusing to take simple steps to clean up the system. Last week, we highlighted Democratic consultant Joe Trippi, who
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What happens when you leave your job on the Hill? You’re welcomed with open arms on K Street. At least, that was the case for nearly 400 former House staffers who left Congress to register as lobbyists from 2009 to 2011, according to a new Sunlight Foundation study. Sunlight’s Leo Drutman writes: More than two
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One of the ways that Big Money works to take control of the country’s political system is by enlisting former legislators to become lobbyists. These lobbyists, having passed through the “revolving door,” have wide access to their former colleagues in addition to the financial resources that lobbying firms command. While there are some laws regulating
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Last month, Gawker’s Adrian Chen toyed around with Facebook’s new targeted advertising tool to reveal broad information about Facebook users. We we tried as well, and found some interesting results. Around 1,750 people in Washington D.C. “Like” lobbying. For Facebook users who currently work in Congress (staffers in both the House and Senate), 140 people
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When asked about his plan for higher education, Mitt Romney has taken to endorsing the for-profit higher education industry, even singling out a specific college business, Full Sail University. When speaking with a local newspaper before the Iowa caucus, he volunteered Full Sail and other for-profit colleges as an answer to the rising costs of
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The Occupy Wall Street movement has permeated across the country – the 99 percent have changed the dialogue of the 2012 election and our country’s understanding of economics, inequality, and democracy. As organizers start to regroup and set their sites on the spring, groups in 34 cities have agreed to “a day of nonviolent direct
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