money in politics

How the Democratic Party Got Lost

Though the political odds still favor Hillary Clinton, her stumbling candidacy and dependence on vast sums of special-interest money reflect the weaknesses of the Democratic Party, which lost its way in the 1980s and 1990s, forgetting its historic role as defender of the little guy, as Michael Brenner explains. By Michael Brenner The Clinton juggernaut…

The Big Issue Is Big Money

The biggest falsehood of Hillary Clinton’s campaign is to call Bernie Sanders a “single-issue” candidate, since he has actually addressed many issues. But Michael Winship says there’s some truth in the charge because Sanders has identified Big Money as the root of many problems – and that is true. By Michael Winship Maybe it’s that 50,000-year-old,…

Lobbying’s Mile-High Plateau

Special-interest money in Washington may have peaked but it looks more like it has plateaued at mile-high altitudes, with hundreds of millions of dollars continuing to fill the coffers of lobbying firms each year as they sign up ex-members of Congress and other well-connected “public servants,” as Michael Winship reports. By Michael Winship Pity poor…

How Can You Tell If A Candidate Is A Progressive Or Not?

DINO Maria Gutzeit has already proven how awful she isSometimes candidates lie about where they are politically to get support. Two of the worst Blue Dogs I ever had the misfortune to see in action-- Chris Carney (PA) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ)-- swore to me on the phone before they were elected that they were dedicated progressives. Both are bare-faced liars.

Democratic Elites Don’t Want to Hear It, But "Hillary Clinton’s In Trouble"

The famous "Yes We Can" theme, just before its conversion to "No I Won't." Why is this painful to watch? Six years of broken promises and a party-wide TPP cave by its leaders have rebranded Democrats for a generation. by Gaius PubliusTPP and Fast Track may be closing down the show and heading home. We may (or may not) know its fate very soon.

Wanna run for president? The Koch brothers have some questions for you, so get a pencil

by KenThere seems pretty general awareness -- certainly among the 2016 presidential wannabes -- that the Koch brothers, Charles and David, are likely to play a major role in arbitrating among the Republican contenders, with a view to getting the biggest bang for the presidential portion of the $889 million they and their network of like-minded contributors are already poised to dump into the 2016 elections.

Corporations Paid a (Very Small) Bundle to U.S. Senators to Fast-Track the TPP Bill

Senators asking big spenders at Monsanto to pony upby Gaius PubliusWhile we're waiting for the Fast Track drama to deliver its next non-final event, I thought I'd offer some background. The big money behind the scenes is paying a lot to get this bill past the goal line (but as you'll see, not a whole lot).The Guardian offers this report (my emphasis):