February 27, 2012

Romney Boosted By Wall Street Videos Orchestrated By Firm Run By Ex-Clinton Admin Officials

As Democrats rejoice over the sagging Mitt Romney campaign in Michigan, a leading DC influence firm staffed by ex-Clinton officials has quietly orchestrated a media effort that appears designed to defend the beleaguered GOP establishment candidate as he goes into Tuesday’s primary. Two days ago, the Private Equity Growth Capital Council (PEGCC), a lobbying association for private
Continue Reading >>>

February 25, 2012

Predatory Lending Kingpins Quietly Funnel Massive Donations To Romney’s SuperPAC

Ben Nelson, an intern with the crowd-sourced political transparency website LittleSis, has an interesting look at two donors to Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney super PAC. Nelson notes that the donors used third party corporate entities and foundations to donate hundreds of thousands to the group. Roderick Aycox, one of the donors, is head of
Continue Reading >>>

February 23, 2012

Political Consultants Take Advantage Of SuperPAC Cash

We’ve covered how unlimited corporate money in elections transforms our democracy into a plutocracy. Billionaire donors, as well as politically active corporations, dump money into campaigns, buying not only access, but sway over important policy decisions. But the Los Angeles Times has a new piece exploring a different type of corruption created by the Citizens
Continue Reading >>>

February 22, 2012

Romney Promotes For-Profit College Owned By A Private Equity Firm That Does Business With Romney’s Son Tagg

When asked about his plan for higher education, Mitt Romney has taken to endorsing the for-profit higher education industry, even singling out a specific college business, Full Sail University. When speaking with a local newspaper before the Iowa caucus, he volunteered Full Sail and other for-profit colleges as an answer to the rising costs of
Continue Reading >>>

February 22, 2012

Colbert: Obama Using Super PACs to Win Like Lincoln Using Slaves to Win The Civil War

Comedy Central fake news host Stephen Colbert’s best contribution to the Election 2012 coverage so far has been his hilarious and incredibly illuminating takedown of the super PAC: Colbert has started a super PAC, employed a former Federal Elections Commission (FEC) chairman as his lawyer, and even transferred control of his super PAC to Jon
Continue Reading >>>

February 21, 2012

Santorum Seeks To Out-Compete Romney On Fealty To For-Profit College Industry

As Ricksanity intensifies, Mitt Romney’s upstart challenger, Rick Santorum, appears ready to compete on yet another plane. Call it the For-Profit College Primary, with no delegates but lots of campaign cash up for grabs. Romney certainly has staked his claim to be the For-Profit Education President. He has gushed on the campaign trail about for-profit
Continue Reading >>>

February 18, 2012

One Day After Obama’s SuperPAC Reversal, His Campaign Manager Privately Reassured Wall St Obama Won’t Be Populist

Bloomberg’s Hans Nichols reports that on February 7, one day after Obama’s promise-breaking announcement to embrace unlimited corporate donations for his campaign, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina held a private meeting with top executives from Wall Street. According to Nichols’ sources, Messina told the donors that Obama would not demonize Wall Street during the campaign:
Continue Reading >>>

February 16, 2012

The Taste of a Super PAC

At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in Washington last week, Republic Report had the opportunity to attend a very special event: the birth of a super PAC. We joined about 50 others (14 had RSVPed yes to the Facebook event) packed into a small conference room at the Marriott Waldman Hotel, seduced by
Continue Reading >>>