- Politicians Score Significant Cash From NFL Owners, Coaches and Players
- WWE Chief Executive Linda McMahon Brings Strong Democratic Ties to Her Attempt to Smackdown Chris Dodd
- Major Obama Campaign Bundlers Nominated for Ambassador Posts in Australia, Luxembourg
- Supreme Court Poised to Overhaul Parts of Campaign Finance System
- Commercial Banks Lobby Federal Government to Save Billions on Derivatives
- States and Municipalities Aggressively Lobby Federal Government for Scarce Aid
Kaiser, who has worked for the Washington Post for 46 years, talked Tuesday night at the National Press Club about the skyrocketing cost of political campaigns and the boom of the lobbying industry. Kaiser shares the body of his observations about politics and campaigns in his new 400-page tome So Damn Much Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government.... (Continue)
Now you can search the Center for Responsive Politics' lobbying database by "covered position," which means you can type in the name of a lawmaker, committee or agency to bring up a list of registered lobbyists who reported working for that lawmaker, committee or agency in the last 20 years.... (Continue)
Although Sallie Mae didn't get the result it wanted out of the House last week, the lawmakers who sided with Sallie Mae by voting against a bill to create a direct federal loan program have collected more money, on average, from the company than those who supported the bill.... (Continue)
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DO IT BETTER: Georgia State University business professor Alan Ziobrowski says lawmakers often have an inside advantage to investments. Ziobrowski has analyzed more than 6,000 stock transactions over the past 15 years. "Senators make significant abnormal returns, some place around 1 percent above the market, 12 percent a year," he recently told National Public Radio. "They do better down market, up market. They just outperform the average." ... (Continue)
Using CRP data, ProPublica and Politico put out a great report today about a 2007 real estate transaction between Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and an Arkansas-based pharmacy, USA Drug. The sale of the property and its assets, plus the negotiation of a noncompete agreement with Ross' wife, Holly, yielded the couple at least $1 million and as much as $1.67 million -- much more than a county assessment said it was worth, according to the report.... (Continue)
