July 2, 2012

The Associated Press Equates Scott Brown’s Secret Meetings With Lobbyists And Elizabeth Warren’s Heritage

This morning, the Associated Press published an article outlining a “battle over transparency” in the Massachusetts Senate race: Both candidates in Massachusetts’ closely watched U.S. Senate race have championed the virtues of public disclosure — but each has limits when it comes to their own records and history. What are these limits that the Associated Press is
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July 2, 2012

Still Sweating? Here’s Another Reason To Hate Pepco: It Spends Your Tax Dollars Lobbying To Increase Rates For Its Shoddy Services

DC power outage and money in politics

The Washington, DC, area experienced incredibly severe storms on Friday night, the kind that, with an unprecedented number of downed trees, can only lead to extensive power disruptions — 1.5 million were without power for at least part of the weekend. Yet three days later, 25 percent of households and businesses in the area still don’t
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June 30, 2012

VIDEO: McCain Denounces Big Pharma Lobbyists Who Just Killed Cheaper Drugs Again

Imagine you could get pharmaceutical drugs for twenty to eighty percent cheaper. If you’re someone with multiple prescriptions, that could save you thousands of dollars every year. The thing is, you can. Or, you could, if you were allowed to import safe pharmaceutical drugs from Canada. But you’re not, because the U.S. government bars you from doing
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June 29, 2012

Eric Cantor’s Aide Departs For Bank CEO Lobbying Group

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) has led every major pro-bank legislative drive in recent years: He rallied supporters of the bank bailouts, killed efforts to cap banker bonuses, fought measures to allow those under foreclosure to renegotiate the terms of their mortgage, and marshaled opposition to the sweeping reforms known as Dodd-Frank. Now, a
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June 29, 2012

VIDEO: Congressman Tom Reed Gives Earmark-Tariffs To His Top Contributors, Defends Practice

Though Republicans came into power promising a moratorium on earmarks — the special legislative deals that benefit a single company or interest group — Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY) explained to Republic Report that an array of bills he recently introduced that only benefit one or two companies in his district are not, in his opinion,
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June 29, 2012

Senator Sherrod Brown Explains Why Big Business Owns Congress

In a piece about populism and the Democratic Party in Politico, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown (OH) explained how Big Business has, through its ability to tap into an extraordinary amount of campaign contributions, independent expenditures, and other electoral interventions, been able to own Congress: “They own the Republican Party, and they have too much influence
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June 28, 2012

VIDEO: Outside Of Supreme Court, GOP Front Group Funded With Secret Health Insurance Cash Tries To Hide Affiliation

Earlier this month, health insurance company Aetna accidentally leaked a document that revealed that the company secretly funneled $7.7 million to Republican front groups in 2010. The money was earmarked for the Karl Rove’s American Action Forum ($3.3 million) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($4.4 million), two groups that led the charge in fighting
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June 28, 2012

As States Act To Shut Down Deceptive Website, Durbin Says For-Profit Colleges “Own Every Lobbyist” In DC

On Wednesday, 20 state attorneys general announced a court settlement with QuinStreet Inc., a marketing company working for for-profit colleges, that will shut down the deceptive website GIBill.com and turn that web address over to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. GIBill.com, until recently, looked a lot like a government website. But people who went
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