August 22, 2012

Congressman, After Hometown Criticism, Pulls Out Of Event At For-Profit College Owned by Big RNC Donor

While his House GOP colleagues are getting publicity for spouting bizarre ideas about rape and pregnancy, or jumping into the Sea of Galilee, Representative Marlin Stutzman of Indiana was planning to head today to the Fort Wayne campus of National College for an event promoted as a chance to inform unemployed veterans about new federal
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August 9, 2012

Who Did Pete Hoekstra Lobby For? We May Never Know

Last night, former congressman Pete Hoekstra won the Michigan GOP Senate primary, securing his spot as the party’s nominee. He will be competing the Senate seat this November. In between his stint as a congressman and this current race, Hoekstra raked in nearly half a million dollars as “a senior adviser with Dickstein Shapiro LLP,
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August 8, 2012

Another Chamber of Commerce Member Is Caught Bribing Foreign Governments

In late 2010, the foreign-funded U.S. Chamber of Commerce, perhaps Washington’s most powerful corporate front group, unleashed a lobbying blitz to weaken the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The FCPA is designed to punish U.S.-based corporations that bribe foreign officials abroad. Earlier this year, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart — which is a Chamber member —
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August 7, 2012

Political Advertisements Advance The Media’s Profits

Industry analysts are predicting that upwards of $3 billion will be spent on political advertisements in the 2012 election. This is an increase of more than $500 million from 2008. But who will benefit the most from this cash infusion? Not President Obama. Not even Mitt Romney. Rather, the National Association of Broadcasters, a lobbying group
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August 7, 2012

LINKS: Who Are Super PACs Helping The Most?

Politico: Myth of the Small Donor Roughly 2.5 million people have kicked in $200 or less to the various committees helping their candidate win the White House. But those 2.5 million people account for less than 18 percent of the total money haul. NY Times: Romney Team Outpaces Obama in Fund-Raising Again The fund-raising machine behind Mitt
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August 7, 2012

Amgen Leaves ALEC

The American Legislative Exchange Council, one of America’s most powerful corporate front groups, has been taking a beating since their role in promoting voter suppression and “Stand Your Ground” laws was exposed. Dozens of corporations have left. Today, the labor federation AFSCME, along with a group of socially responsible investors, informed Republic Report that drug
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August 7, 2012

Education Profiteers Gather In New York To Cheer Privatization Of American Schools

Reuters has the scoop on an event that took place earlier this week where nearly a hundred education profiteers — ranging from executives at testing companies to private equity moguls eager to invest in education technology — met at a swanky Manhattan club to cheer on the privatization of the U.S. education system: The investors
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August 6, 2012

VIDEO: The Constitution Is Pretty Clear — It’s ‘We, The People,’ Not ‘It, The Money’

We all know how the Founders wanted lawmaking to work — but lately, the democratic process has been upended by a flood of Big Money. From our friends at unPAC, here’s how a bill(ionaire) becomes a law(maker)…and what we can do to take back our democracy!