Earlier this week, Republic Report investigated legislation being pushed by Utah Rep. John Mathis (R) to criminalize the documentation of farm abuse in his state. Mathis has been rewarded lavishly by campaign contributors for the bill, and he even invited them to testify in its favor, calling them his “good friends.” Similar “Ag Gag” bills
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It’s not just NASCAR.  Mitt Romney’s “great friends” tend to be owners of things, owners who can make large contributions to his campaign and associated Super PAC. Large donations are troublesome because they suggest the donor will have outsized influence on the politician if elected. It’s more troublesome when these great friends own businesses that
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Last month, we broke the story about military industry money pouring into the campaign coffers of Patricia McKeon, the wife of Buck McKeon (R-CA), the powerful congressman who serves as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. The McKeons have largely ducked questions about this unusual arrangement. The congressman even fled from Republic Report’s Zaid Jilani
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Ever notice the endless procession of television ads praising the value of fracking, or the amazing number of D.C.-based “institutes” and “foundations” promoting the controversial drilling method, despite growing scientific evidence that this sort of natural gas extraction is poisoning the water table and leaking carcinogenic chemicals into the environment? Many of the pro-fracking think
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 Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) runs the Mountaineer Political Action Committee (PAC). The Mountaineer PAC is a leadership PAC, and is used by Rockefeller to support fellow Democratic Party candidates. Last night, Rockefeller hosted a fundraising party for the Mountaineer PAC at his mansion in Rock Creek Park.  The Sunlight Foundation’s Party Time obtained a copy
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A few weeks ago, Congressman John Kline (R-MN) was confronted by voters over congressional insider trading. Like many lawmakers who have tried to deflect the issue, Kline claimed that no such problem exists. “I don’t know that it’s being done,” said Kline, seemingly unaware of insider trading allegations against Spencer Bachus, Lamar Smith, and other
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Republic Report’s Suzanne Merkelson also contributed reporting to this piece. Last November, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) introduced the Outlawing Corporate Cash Undermining the Public Interest in our Elections and Democracy (OCCUPIED) constitutional amendment, which would effectively ban corporate money in the campaign finance system. “I introduced the OCCUPIED Amendment because …of…corporate control of our democracy. It is
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On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 303-114, passed a bill to block Department of Education rules that would help hold for-profit colleges accountable for abusing students and taxpayers.  The vote represented another effort by the House, under the sway of campaign contributions and intense lobbying from the wealthy for-profit college industry, to
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