Posted in Ethics, Lobbying on February 21, 2008 | No Comments »
The story everyone is talking about today is the New York Times’ exposé, “For McCain, Self-confidence on Ethics Poses its Own Risk,” about John McCain’s relationship with telecom lobbyist Vicki Iseman. As of this writing, the story had more than 2,100 posted comments. When it comes down to it though, the fallout is pretty predictable: [...]
Posted in Ethics, Lobbying on February 13, 2008 | No Comments »
James Oliphant has a piece in the Chicago Tribune that does a nice job of breaking down the whole controversy over whether Sen. Barack Obama has taken money from lobbyists. Oliphant’s article underscores that the debate isn’t always a simple matter of who is and isn’t a registered lobbyist.
Posted in Congress, Ethics, Lobbying on February 11, 2008 | No Comments »
Sometimes, it’s not who you know but who you’re married to that’s important. This time it’s U.S. Rep Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and his wife, Lori, who are in the news after Lori’s marketing firm picked up $300,000 in work from the Dayton Development Coalition, which lobbies the Ohio delegation for funds for [...]
Posted in Congress, Ethics, Lobbying, tagged Congress, Ethics, lobbyists, national convention on February 4, 2008 | No Comments »
Not surprisingly, the Senate Ethics Committee has a different take on whether lobbyists should be allowed to throw parties for lawmakers at this summer’s national conventions. Unlike the House Ethics Committe, which is notorious for its indifference to, well, ethics, the Senate panel says the parties hosted by lobbyists to honor lawmakers are a violation [...]
Posted in Congress, Ethics, Lobbying, tagged Congress, lobbyists on February 1, 2008 | No Comments »
You probably already know that corporate and industry lobbyists are fond of opening their wallets up to their favorite lawmakers. But it seems they’re also quite eager to open up their homes, as well. Ken Dilanian’s story, “Lobbyists find more ways to bond with lawmakers,” in USA Today looks at the practice of lobbyists using [...]
Posted in Campaign Finance, Congress, Ethics, Lobbying on January 29, 2008 | No Comments »
It seems that so far this election cycle, there are already more lobbyists raising cash for candidates than in the entire 2004 campaign. That number spiked last night after some of Sen. John McCain’s lobbyist friends threw a fundraiser for the Arizona Republican over at Charlie Palmer Steak, near the Capitol.
Posted in Congress, Ethics, Lobbying on January 22, 2008 | No Comments »
From Craig Homan @ Watchdog Blog: In what no longer comes as a surprise, the House ethics committee — contradicted by their colleagues at the Senate ethics committee — have poked another gaping hole in the new ethics rules. The new ethics rules ban gifts of any value from lobbying organizations to lawmakers. Both the [...]
Posted in Campaign Finance, Lobbying on January 19, 2008 | No Comments »
Mitt Romney, who is fond of painting himself as a D.C. outsider, is finding it hard to have his cake and eat it, too. He got into it the other day with Associated Press reporter Glen Johnson during a South Carolina photo-op over the question of his ties to lobbyists. Mitt insists he is running [...]
Posted in Congress, Ethics, Lobbying on January 16, 2008 | No Comments »
Not far from the White House is a cozy little neighborhood theater that hosts some of the most exclusive film screenings in D.C. Forget about scoring a ticket, however, unless you’re a member of Congress, the Bush Administration or one of their well-connected buddies. Invitations to one of the theater’s screenings are a long-standing perk [...]
Posted in Congress, Lobbying on January 14, 2008 | No Comments »
Daryl Lease makes an astute observation in his Sarasota Herald-Tribune column. Lease wondered why Congress would give themselves a 2.7 percent pay raise, while passing only a 2.3 percent cost-of-living increase for social security. Then he realized that stricter lobbying rules prevent them from accepting free drinks from lobbyists. “Talk about ‘basic necessities.’ [...]
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