After years of bipartisan policymaking, veteran lawmaker Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) is expected to go down in defeat in his primary election today. With the likely defeat of Lugar, political observers are sure to start speculating over the meaning of the election. Is it a rebound for the Tea Party? Is bipartisanship dead? Was Richard
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One of the most powerful lobbies in Washington, D.C. is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The organization, which has opposed everything from the Americans with Disabilities Act to various attempts to fix the American health care system, uses its enormous lobbying dollars to push both Democrats and Republicans to tow its Big Business line. It
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The corporate front group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) likes to claim that it’s about “free market” ideas. But if that were true, it wouldn’t be fighting against conservative lawmakers to manipulate tax policy to harm mom and pop stores in favor of giant corporations (who just happen to be their corporate donors). Here’s how
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Today, Indiana voters will go to the polls to decide the political fate of Senator Dick Lugar. The Republican primary, as many observers have noted, has been rocked by the influence of outside spending groups. Richard Mourdock, Lugar’s right-wing opponent, has been boosted by some $3 million in outside spending by gun industry groups and
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The words “foreign aid” conjure up images of American tax dollars being sent overseas to populations far away from our shores. Critics of foreign aid see this as a transfer of taxpayer money to non-Americans. Supporters see it as a way for America to support struggling people in developing nations, promote our values, and protect
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You pay a hidden premium every time they fill up your gas tank. The prices are high at the gas station, but part of the price you pay is directly caused by commodity speculators. And you can thank lobbyists for why the government has been unable to do anything to solve the problem. Over the
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One way to tackle Big Money’s role in the political system would be to better regulate corporate political spending. Right now, big corporations can engage in widespread political spending and hide much of it behind opaque bureaucracy. Activists are calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue rules that would govern this spending. One
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Just as many Americans who have personally witnessed a UFO think super PACs don’t corrupt democracy. I know, I know…it’s hard to believe anyone believes super PACs aren’t hurting our democracy, as they enable the mega-rich, corporations, and unions to pour unlimited amounts of money anonymously into our elections. And the vast majority of Americans do agree
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