The movement against the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling continues to gain strength across the nation. Twelve states have already introduced resolutions at the state level calling on Congress to overturn the controversial decision, and there are efforts underway to make Wisconsin number thirteen. Similar efforts are underway here in N.C. To date, fourteen [...]
If you haven’t seen this already, here’s a rundown of the wonderful things happening in North Carolina that the billionaire Koch brothers hope to replicate in other states. Not that they’ve given up on controlling the US Senate, White House, several major newspapers, energy policy . . . the list goes on. But their current [...]
Bob Hall from Democracy North Carolina was on the WUNC’s “State of Things” radio show today, talking about the mysteries surrounding sweepstakes moneyman Chase Burns and the unfolding investigation into gambling money in NC politics, including the possible involvement of Gov. Pat McCrory and his former lobby/law firm. The second part of the show moves into [...]
Here’s an assessment from the Guardian of how rightwing mega-millionaires are fueling cultural war in states like North Carolina to gain unusual political power and implement their economic goals (Art Pope is featured). Says the report, “It is no secret that if you want to get large numbers of lower-income people to support a rightwing fiscal agenda, social [...]
Last month, a link took you to an in-depth analysis of political fundraising involved in the 2012 election of the 50 members of the NC Senate. Here’s the link for NC FreeEnterprise Foundation’s analysis of the NC House races in 2012, including the role of outside spending groups, a look at the hottest contests, and [...]
In my last post you may recall that I attempted to answer the question: "What exactly is an organizer anyway?!" I discussed two on-going campaigns against the influence of big money in politics, and I didn’t want to leave readers hanging on how those turned out. The campaign against the Duke-Progress Energy rate hikes rages on [...]
Do you think it’s hopeless to challenge the advantage of big money in politics, especially after the Citizens United decision? Mark Schmitt points out that programs that amplify the power of small donors with “clean” public grants or matching money are effectively giving candidates the resources to wage viable campaigns. And even after CU, the [...]
Back in the mid-1990s, when oil companies were whining about cheap prices and low profits, Congress decided to waive the federal royalties to encourage new wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Now that oil profits are soaring and prices have jumped from under $12 to over $100 a barrel, do you think the oil companies [...]
Soon after donating $100,000 to Obama's 2013 inaugural committee, the Southern Company announced it was “newly optimistic” about prospects for gaining an $8.3 billion loan guarantee from the federal government for building a new nuclear power plant. Is a quid pro quo involved here, asks Public Citizen. Answer: “We need more information to answer that [...]
From Robert Reich's blog on Sunday: Exactly a century ago, on February 3, 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, authorizing a federal income tax. Congress turned it into a graduated tax, based on “capacity to pay.” . . . The 1880s and 1890s had been the Gilded Age, the time of robber [...]