Public Campaign Action Fund blogs

Another One Gone

Katie Schlieper — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:00:37 -0500

Sen. John McCain's lobbyist-heavy staff took another loss today in the wake of news about the less than savory folks those lobbyists used to work for. Eric Burgeson, an energy lobbyist, was fired in accordance with the campaign's new conflict of interest policy. He worked for a firm that also handled lobbying for Serbia and Qatar according to Ben Smith at Politico.

To Really Put Voters First

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:54:50 -0500

Public Campaign Action Fund's Executive Director Nick Nyhart reflects on the study of small donors by the Campaign Finance Institute in this piece for the Huffington Post. As the hype about small donation in the presidential race fails to cut in to big donors influence in congressional races, the best hope to put the balance of power in the hands of small donors remains full public financing of elections, which is what we're asking candidates for Congress to show their support for via the Voters First Pledge.

More Miller?

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:50:19 -0500

Well this isn't the best news for the campaign to win Clean Elections in Maryland. Senate President Mike Miller (D), a staunch opponent of Clean Elections who has obstructed passage of the legislation in the last two legislative sessions, is considering running for office again despite having said previously that this term would be his last. Miller has been in the state Senate since 1975. Appropriately enough, Miller may announce his run at a fundraising event.

Fund It

Katie Schlieper — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:35:57 -0500

The Asbury Park Press issues a stern warning to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and the state legislature to restore funding for the state's Clean Elections pilot program and expand eligibility to include primary races, where newcomers have the best chance to mount competitive bids.

More in McCain's Lobbyists

Katie Schlieper — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:23:18 -0500

The past client lists of the some of the lobbyists working for Senator John McCain's presidential campaign have been getting some attention. Here's another, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal. One of McCain's consultants, a lobbyist, was involved in a PR effort to improve the image of the Party of Regions, a Ukrainian political party with close ties to Russia, and a history of not taking well to opposition -- and being opposed by Senator McCain.

Staying Small

Katie Schlieper — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:03:09 -0500

That supposed resurgence of the small donor in today's political campaigns? Not so much happening for congressional races, as the Campaign Finance Institute explains here. Sure, Barack Obama has had great success recruiting small donors to his presidential campaign but high-dollar donors still rule the day and receive special access, as discussed in this piece for Minnesota Public Radio.

Drop Something, Gov. Paterson?

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:22:52 -0500

Hey, we know it's hectic when you start a new job but it seems that in all the chaos of assuming office following Eliot Spitzer's rather hasty departure New York Governor David Paterson forgot his reform agenda. The New York Times reminds him what it looked like.

Money Train

Katie Schlieper — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:23:28 -0500

GOOD Magazine put together this fun "wild west" video representation of fundraising by the three major party candidates for President including how much they're raising and where it's coming from. It's a clever look at the immense amount of fundraising going and the music and graphics are hilarious.

Fire the lobbyists

Adam Smith — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:54:38 -0500

This weekend, word leaked that Doug Goodyear, the man hired by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to run the GOP convention this summer, had represented the brutal military regime in Myanmar.One down, over 100 more to go.

Lucrative Land Swap

Katie Schlieper — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:32:24 -0500

The trouble about running for President on your image as an anti-corruption, reformer kind of guy is that when stories surface that puncture a hole in that image, it's going to be front page news. And that's what happened to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) today in this story in the Washington Post that suggests McCain did a very lucrative favor for one of his campaign's big donors.