Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has developed a reputation for being cozy with lobbyists, naming them to all sorts of different positions. In January, he even named a former lobbyist to Florida’s Secretary of State. Yesterday, Scott named Peter Antonacci as the State Attorney for Palm Beach County, and he will serve until January 7th, 2013.
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The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the most powerful corporate front group you’ve never heard of. The group, sponsored by some of America’s largest corporations, writes legislation that tends to benefit its donors and ships these template bills to state legislatures for compliant lawmakers to pass. ALEC has pushed for legislation doing everything from
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To many in the South, Waffle House is a family-friendly restaurant that serves up some of the best grits and hashbrowns around. But behind that iconic sunny yellow sign is a corporate agenda aimed at stripping Americans of their rights. State Senator Don Balfour of Snellville, Georgia — a Waffle House vice president who serves on
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The for-profit college industry  — which runs what some would refer to as “subprime schools” — is facing more and more scrutiny for its abusive practices that leave students drowning in debt and taxpayers on the hook for paying for worthless degrees. That’s why it’s ramping up its lobbying in Washington, demanding that the federal government continue
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As we head into an election year, we’re going to increasingly hear that Democrats and Republicans fight like cats and dogs, that there is a civil war in Washington. This describes the state of play on some issues, but on others there is bipartisan agreement to do the wrong thing: Both parties do what the money
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 The controversial Keystone XL Pipeline has been a flashpoint for debates between environmentalists and oil advocates. But for the company trying to build the pipeline — TransCanada — the issue has always been one of business. Thus the company has spent enormous amounts of money lobbying state and federal lawmakers to approve the pipeline. Nebraska’s Omaha World-Herald
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One of the many ways Big Money runs Washington is by enlisting former legislators to become lobbyists. These former lawmakers have a high level of access that affords their clients expansive influence. The Center for Responsive Politics and Remapping Debate have teamed up on a joint project to identify the new jobs of members of Congress
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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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