Category Archives: lobbying
“Mayer Brown, DOJ Fight Over Fees in Lobbyists’ Case”
“Invest in Smarter Government”
Lee Drutman for Cato:
Congressional offices are thus stretched thin. They lack resources to develop and execute policies. What this means is that to get its work done, Congress has to rely significantly on lobbyists representing some very narrow interests,… Continue reading
In Glenn Reynolds’ Proposal for a “Revolving Door” Surtax Unconstitutional?
Glenn Reynolds in USA Today proposes six bills for the new Republican Congress to pass, including this:
6. Institute a “revolving door” surtax on those who make more in post-government employment. Leave a Treasury job making $150,000 a year… Continue reading
More on FL AG Pam Bondi’s Relationship with Lobbyists Via Eric Lipton NYT
“Capitol Book Club, With a Bonus”
NYT:
It’s the first Tuesday of the month, and the book club is in session. Between bites of their lunch buffet, two dozen members leaf through classics, best sellers and the latest nonfiction.
The scene, though, seems more country… Continue reading
How to Use Negative Ads to Preserve the Status Quo
Another Rick Berman nugget: “You get in people’s minds a tie. They don’t know who is right. And you [, the energy industry, win] all ties because the tie basically insures the status quo.”
As a reader wrote: “Or in… Continue reading
Read the Entire, Eye-Opening Rick Berman Speech on Undisclosed Money to Influence Public Opinion
Following up on this quote of the day, the NYT has posted it here. There is lots in here that didn’t get in Eric Lipton’s excellent story, including how Berman demonized the Humane Society.
“At fast-growing Brookings, donors may have an impact on research agenda”
“Lobbyists, Bearing Gifts, Pursue Attorneys General”
Must-read A1 Eric Lipton for the NYT:
Attorneys general are now the object of aggressive pursuit by lobbyists and lawyers who use campaign contributions, personal appeals at lavish corporate-sponsored conferences and other means to push them to drop investigations, change… Continue reading
Role of Lobbyists Issue in AZ Governor’s Race
“My One Minute of Campaign Finance Fame”
“In Wisconsin, Dark Money Got a Mining Company What It Wanted”
ProPublica and the Daily Beast track a mining company’s donations to conservative nonprofits lobbying and launching state legislative campaign ads operating to the company’s benefit. It’s not clear whether the story laments the lack of disclosure or the spending and… Continue reading
California Political Reform 40 Years Later
Bob Stern, co-author of the California Political Reform Act of 1974, calls out his former boss over recent vetoes. The picture of 1975 Jerry Brown alone is worth the clickthrough.