When I heard a soundbite with Sen. Hillary Clinton on CNBC’s “Kudlow & Company” last night, it reminded me to check and see if the Center for Responsive Politics had updated its monthly campaign contribution data.
In the speech in North Carolina Thursday, the Democratic presidential candidate said, “…the drug companies have had seven years [...]
Entries from March 2008
March 31, 2008
CNBC: Drug Companies Still “Banking” On Dems With Political Money
March 31, 2008
Washington Post: Pelosi Responds to Clinton Donors’ Threat
Indirectly responding to a threat made by top fundraisers for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged Friday to “do whatever it takes to protect” Democratic House candidates from falling victim to the exceedingly nasty and protracted Democratic presidential primary.
“We can’t allow the tension and pressures of a spirited Presidential contest to [...]
March 31, 2008
CBS News: The Schemes That Renzi Allegedly Ran
While campaigning for his first term in Congress, Rick Renzi introduced the president at an Arizona event.
Even then, Renzi was already on the take, according to a 35-count indictment alleging corruption, extortion and money laundering.
Federal investigators say Renzi “was having financial difficulty,” so he devised a shakedown scheme involving a business partner … and an [...]
March 31, 2008
FCW.com: Contractors could be held to feds’ conflict-of-interest standards
Regulators are considering inserting personal and organizational conflict-of-interest clauses in federal contracts.
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulation Council are interested in determining if, when and how they should address conflicts of interest, according to a March 26 Federal Register notice.
Council members are seeking input from the public on whether the government [...]
March 31, 2008
CBS News: Justice Dept. Seeks Expedited Appeal In Jefferson Criminal Case
The Justice Dept. is seeking an expedited schedule for considering the appeal filed by Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) of the 16-count corruption indictment against him.
With the average appeal case taking roughty nine months to resolve, DOJ has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to consider this case more quickly, arguing the Jefferson’s legal [...]
March 31, 2008
Boston Herald: McCain’s commitment to public financing questioned
Senator John McCain has retreated from his longtime commitment to public financing of campaigns since he started planning his 2008 bid for the presidency, according to nonpartisan advocates who had hoped McCain would be a strong voice for reform during the most expensive presidential campaign in history.McCain, who angered conservatives when he coauthored a bipartisan [...]
March 31, 2008
LA Times: Are Air Force ads recruiting, or lobbying?
Troubling images flash across the screen, showing black-clad terrorists, tsunami-flooded villages and the Chinese army.
“Only the United States Air Force has the speed, power and vision to defend our nation for the century ahead,” the announcer intones as an F-22 fighter jet flies over a snowy mountaintop. “U.S. Air Force, above all.”
There is nothing unusual [...]
March 31, 2008
CQ Politics: Private Equity Firms Seek to Raise Profile in Washington
The fight over taxing private equity fund managers may have calmed down for now but the industry isn’t leaving town.
The buyout firms, which created a trade group and boosted their lobbying spending by 1,000 percent in 2007, intend to continue pressing their case to Congress in the years ahead and broadening the industry’s reach [...]
March 31, 2008
Florida Today: Weldon lists projects
Congressman says earmarks are part of doing his job
Some people call earmarks pork-barrel politics. Others call it bringing home the bacon. U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Indialantic, calls it doing his job.
According to Weldon’s Web site, this year, members of Congress submitted more than 32,000 projects for consideration, with more than 11,000 funded. Weldon submitted six [...]
March 31, 2008
Legal Times: Upward Mobility in Frozen Foods
The American Frozen Foods Institute has made some promotions. Its new legislative affairs director will be Jason Bassett, a former Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee staffer and political appointee in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Bassett will report to AFFI’s Senior VP of Public policy, Robert Garfield.
Lucas Darnell will become the head of the [...]
