Posts Tagged ‘lobbyists’

January27

Money and Democracy Update: A pact on Super PACs, advice from Scalia

By: Angela Bradbery

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

  • $3.27 billion: Amount spent on lobbying in 2011
  • $3.51 billion: Amount spent on lobbying in 2010

Note: The drop is attributed to political gridlock.

Citizens United anniversary: Everything it was cracked up to be and more
We’ve been telling you for a while about the momentum that built toward protest events slated for Saturday, Jan. 21, the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The anniversary was everything we thought it would be and then some. Citizens and elected officials took to the streets in cities throughout the country to call for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision. Check out these pieces in Mother Jones, Truthout.org and Firedoglake. If you haven’t joined the movement, it’s not too late. Visit www.DemocracyIsForPeople.org.

Candidates say “Enough already with the Super PACs”
It might not work but it’s worth a shot. U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and his opponent Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren have signed a “People’s Pledge agreement” designed to keep Super PACs and the negative ads they pay for out of the race. Under the agreement, whichever candidate is aided by an ad paid for by a third party must contribute an amount worth half the ad to his or her opponent’s charity of choice.

House lawmakers draft new DISCLOSE Act
The DISCLOSE Act, designed to mitigate the harmful effects of Citizens United, fell victim in 2011 to GOP intransigence. Now, some lawmakers are making another run at it. U.S. Reps. Bob Brady (D-Pa.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) have drafted a bill that would, among other things, enhance disclosure by Super PACs, corporations and outside groups, and require corporations to tell shareholders about campaign expenditures.

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January20

Money and Democracy Update: People take to the streets, Citizens United anniversary is upon us, Bain likes Dems

By: Angela Bradbery

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

  • $27.5 million: The amount that Super PACs have spent to influence the 2012 presidential election
  • $8.1 million: The amount Restore Our Future, the Super PAC backing GOP contender Mitt Romney, has spent
  • $5.4 million: The amount candidates have spent on TV ads for the South Carolina primary to date
  • $6.9 million: The amount Super PACs have spent on TV ads in South Carolina

Taking to the streets as Jan. 21 Citizens United anniversary approaches
What a week! Saturday, Jan. 21, marks the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, and activists have been engaged in – or gearing up for – hundreds of events around the country. Public Citizen and other groups held rallies and press events with state officials in Maryland, Vermont and Massachusetts to call for a constitutional amendment to overturn the court’s decision. Another big rally is scheduled Saturday in Sacramento, Calif. In addition, activists are planning about 300 demonstrations around the country. It’s not too late to get involved in your area! Check out www.DemocracyIsForPeople.org. Or if you are a Facebook fan, check this out. Also worth reading is today’s Huffington Post piece by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Public Citizen President Robert Weissman.

CEOs, investors, others call on SEC to require disclosure of corporate political spending
The Corporate Reform Coalition, made up of institutional investors, CEOs, good government organizations and others, is calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to require publicly traded corporations to disclose political spending. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who joined a coalition press call Thursday, released a letter to the SEC from himself and 13 Senate colleagues. “Many shareholders remain in the dark, unaware that their money could be funding political activities, or even political attack ads. The rights of shareholders must be protected and at present, we believe that they are being compromised,” the letter said. A citizens petition to the SEC has already garnered more than 20,000 signatures. Add yours here.

Well, this is a bit awkward: Democrats get more money from Bain than Republicans
Bain Capital has been in the spotlight because of Mitt Romney’s tenure at the private equity firm. But truth be told, Democrats have taken more donations from Bain executives than Republicans over the past three election cycles ($1.2 million vs. $480,000), The Hill reports.

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December16

Money and Democracy Update: Obama rakes in business cash, momentum builds to Citizens United anniversary

By: Angela Bradbery

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

  • $5.6 million: Amount President Barack Obama has raised from business executives this year
  • $5.2 million: Amount GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney has raised from business executives this year
  • $272,000: Amount GOP presidential contender Next Gingrich has raised from business executives this year

The beat goes on …
This week, more than 150 people throughout the country held organizing meetings to build for nationwide days of protests in January surrounding the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling. In that decision, handed down on Jan. 21, 2010, the court said that corporations can spend unlimited amounts to influence elections. Next month’s organizing parties will be the week of Jan. 9. Sign up to host an event in your community on January 21 and help build momentum to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Or, join or host a house party!

30 corporations spent more on lobbying than taxes
This will make your blood boil: Thirty large corporations analyzed by Public Campaign paid more to lobby Congress than they paid in federal income taxes between 2008 and 2010, according to a new report. What’s more, those companies received tax rebates totaling nearly $11 billion.

FEC deadlocks on disclosure rules
In its last meeting of the year, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) this week deadlocked 3-3 over new rules that would tell the public where the big money for political advertising comes from. The law requires disclosure of the names of donors who give more than $200 to support such “independent expenditures,” but FEC regulations have made the disclosure requirement meaningless by limiting it to donors who earmark their contributions to support specific ad buys, which virtually no donors actually do. Thus, many groups that make huge independent expenditures now report none of their donors.

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December9

Money and Democracy update: Billionaires tallied, big players call for constitutional amendment

By: Angela Bradbery

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

  • 42: Number of billionaires who have donated to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign
  • 30: Number of billionaires who have donated to President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign
  • 20: Number of billionaires who have donated to GOP presidential contender Rick Perry’s campaign
  • 12: Number of billionaires who have donated to GOP presidential contender Jon Huntsman Jr.’s campaign

It’s not too late to sign up for Dec. 15 organizing parties
Public Citizen and other groups are coordinating house parties next week to plan for actions around Jan. 21, the two-year anniversary of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that let corporations spend as much as they want to sway elections. The Dec. 15 house parties will feature Jim Hightower, national radio commentator, writer, public speaker and author. Sign up now!

Mass. AG backs constitutional amendment
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley this week became the first state attorney general to call for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

Speaking of firsts: Los Angeles is first big city to call for constitutional amendment
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously called this week for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Los Angeles is the largest of a growing number of municipalities to call for the abolition of corporate personhood.

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November11

Money & Democracy Update: Nationwide organizing parties, Koch database, Newt’s a “historian”? & more

By: Angela Bradbery

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

  • $3.2 billion: The amount one media analyst predicts will be spent on political television ads during the 2012 election cycle
  • $2.1 billion: The amount spent on TV ads in the 2008 election cycle

At house parties around the country, people launched plans to reverse Citizens United"Public Citizen Money and Democracy"
This week, more than 200 groups of Americans gathered in living rooms, university classrooms, interfaith centers, cafes and more than a dozen Occupy sites to join U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Public Citizen and a coalition of organizations working toward a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That’s the decision that unleashed a torrent of corporate money into elections. But they did more than just listen; they began planning how to organize for a nationwide day of action on Jan. 21, 2012, the two-year anniversary of Citizens United.

Outside groups now trying to influence redistricting efforts
Outside groups with no fundraising limits or disclosure requirements are now trying to sway redistricting battles. In Nevada, The Fund for Nevada’s Future is pushing the GOP view while the National Democratic Redistricting Trust is fighting for the Dems.

Amendment to be introduced in California Legislature to overturn Citizens United
California Assembly member Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, is introducing a joint resolution in the California Legislature calling upon Congress to send a constitutional amendment to states for ratification that would overturn the Citizens United ruling. Wieckowski and Public Citizen President Robert Weissman explain why.

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