April 12, 2012

Hilary Rosen Thinks Moms Don’t Have Real Jobs, But She’s The Corporate Mouthpiece Who Killed Napster

Last night, Hilary Rosen shockingly claimed that Mitt Romney’s wife, Ann Romney, “actually never worked a day in her life,” referring to Romney’s role as a stay-at-home mom. Watch her remarks: Rosen’s remarks have set off a firestorm in the media. As press outlets rushed to cover the controversy, they frequently referred to her as
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April 12, 2012

Lobbying Group For Big Business Boasts Of 100 Meetings A Year With Congress — How Much Access Do You Have?

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) speaks before Business Roundtable lobbyists

Multinational corporations have many options for influencing legislation in their favor, one of which is the Business Roundtable, a trade association with over a $24 million dollar advocacy budget. The Roundtable helps member companies like J.P. Morgan, Wal-Mart, and WellPoint ensure that Washington is making policy that benefits their bottom line. The group is gearing
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April 11, 2012

Conservative Washington Examiner Blasts Bank Settlement: ‘It Doesn’t Redress The Crime Committed’

Two months ago, the Obama administration and 49 state Attorneys General announced a settlement with the Big Banks that engaged in fraudulent lending practices that abused homeowners and often left taxpayers with the bill. This settlement was made final last week. Today, the highly influential conservative newspaper the Washington Examiner editorialized against this settlement, saying
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April 11, 2012

Lobbyists: Unregistered Influence Peddlers Like Newt Gingrich And Tom Daschle Give Us A Bad Name

It’s not hard to understand what lobbyists do: They influence lawmakers on policy that’s important to their (often corporate) clients and employers, in many cases while they or their clients are providing campaign contributions and other benefits to the same lawmakers. But the legal definition of a lobbyist is complicated and leaves out many of
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April 11, 2012

Iowa Gov. Branstad Attacks ‘Shadowy’ Bloggers Exposing Pink Slime, Says Asking About Industry Cash Is A ‘Smear’

Pink slime, the ammonia-treated filler substance made with beef scraps, was once reserved for dog food before corrupted regulators changed the rules. Many Americans are demanding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture force food dealers to reveal which products include pink slime. But the beef industry’s lobbyists are fighting back, as my colleague Lee Fang explained. One
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April 11, 2012

As Donors Flee, Corporate Front Group ALEC Whines That Critics Are Trying To ‘Eliminate Discourse’

At least six major corporations and foundations — Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Kraft, Intuit, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — have now left or have pledged to leave the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a secretive corporate front group that works to pass legislation in all fifty states. The corporations are leaving largely thanks to
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April 11, 2012

Bowing To K Street, Obama Gives Up On Requiring Government Contractors To Disclose Campaign Contributions

President Obama could take action right now to help clean up our election system. Last month, we published a list of different steps Obama could take immediately, including issuing executive orders and using the S.E.C. to require publicly traded companies to disclose political spending for investors. But as The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports, the administration
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April 11, 2012

A Major Oil Speculator Is Bankrolling The Latest Karl Rove Attack Ad Accusing Obama Of Raising Prices At The Pump

The latest anti-Obama ad, which blames Obama for rising gas prices, is being financed in part by a hedge fund manager whose firm has engaged in the type of reckless oil speculation that is causing pain at the pump. Karl Rove’s attack ad network just launched the first major ad campaign of the campaign season
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