July 24, 2012

LINKS — Lawyers Are Making Money Off Of The Campaign Finance System

Bloomberg: Lawyers Raking In Cash As Campaign Spending Hits Records Every four years, a new mix of politicians assembles to compete for the opportunity to run for president. While the candidates’ names and faces change, the lawyers stay the same. Mother Jones: Meet the Front Group Leading the Fight Against Taxing the Rich Often cited
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July 24, 2012

VIDEO: Lee Fang Discusses Failure Of The DISCLOSE ACT

Last night, Lee Fang joined a panel on Thom Hartmann’s television program to discuss the failure of the DISCLOSE Act, legislation designed to bring transparency to the election system. Under current law, much of the electioneering in our political system is undisclosed. The legislation, which was filibustered twice last week, would have forced secretive 501(c)
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July 24, 2012

As NY Gov. Cuomo Faces Fracking Decision, Washington Lobbyists Sip “Fracktinis”

Oil and gas lobbyists at fracking film festival

Last week, the oil and gas lobby group the American Petroleum Institute (API) held a red carpet film screening at the Warner Theatre in Washington. Such fancy film events are held regularly in DC, but few come with as sexy a title as this one: the “hydraulic fracturing event of the summer.” Attendees, presumably there for the
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July 24, 2012

Is Big Pharma Using A Front Group To Exact Revenge On Cheap Drugs Advocate Denny Rehberg?

One of the biggest rip-offs the U.S. government enforces is a ban on cheap pharmaceutical drugs from Canada. Americans are barred from buying perfectly safe pharmaceutical drugs from Canada that can be 20 to 80 percent cheaper than American drugs. Conservative organizations like the Cato Institute and progressive lawmakers like former Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) have
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July 23, 2012

LINKS: Two Years Since Dodd-Frank, What’s Changed?

Associated Press: Democratic Convention Benefits From Corporate Cash Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Duke Energy have all sent checks to New American City Inc., a non-profit entity being run by top officials on the convention host committee. Corporate money is bankrolling operations in direct support of the convention, including paying the salaries of the
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July 23, 2012

Google Goes Out Of Its Way To Help Coal Lobby Target Congress

Google prides itself as a company that goes out of its way to address climate change. An entire website is devoted to Google’s efforts to achieve a “zero” carbon footprint, from energy efficient servers to CO2-reducing investments. But Google’s green PR campaign doesn’t seem to be coordinating its message with Google’s DC advocacy and campaign
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July 23, 2012

Who Has Been Paying GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Pat McCrory? It’s Anybody’s Guess!

As we’ve shown here at Republic Report time and time again, the U.S. political system’s rules for disclosure, well, suck. It’s very difficult to know who is actually lobbying the government — a lot of people do it without ever registering as lobbyists — or exactly how and when money changes hands. That’s a huge
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July 21, 2012

Senators Portman, McCaskill and DeMint Move to Strike Congressman Tom Reed’s Donor-Driven Earmarks

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by freshman Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY), are pushing to violate the congressional earmark ban with a miscellaneous tariff bill that provides special tax treatment to targeted companies looking to import goods. The bill, which provides an uneven playing field for business, is widely viewed as a payback to campaign
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