The Washington Independent

Lobbying

WSJ, Tennessee chambers of commerce in spat over school choice bill

By | 05.17.11 | 5:19 pm

The Wall Street Journal has picked a fight with local Chambers of Commerce in Tennessee over their hesitance to support a state voucher program that recently passed the state’s Senate, prompting the business groups to write a strongly-worded letter to the editor in return.

In a May 13 editorial, the More…

FreedomWorks active in Pennsylvania school choice movement

By | 05.17.11 | 12:13 pm

On Monday an installment of Freedom Radio, a podcast production of FreedomWorks, outlined the conservative action group’s involvement in the school choice movement of Pennsylvania.

The Keystone state is in the midst of a heated campaign over SB 1, the state Senate bill that would put the More…

Gov. Scott has until May 21 to act on new voting rights bill

By | 05.16.11 | 6:11 pm | More from The Florida Independent

Gov. Rick Scott has until Saturday to act on House Bill 1355, the controversial elections bill that passed the Florida Legislature along party lines over objections that it would make voting more difficult. #


According to the House’s latest update on bill actions, lawmakers More…

DCCC targets Latham in ‘Drive for 25′

By | 05.16.11 | 5:49 pm | More from The Iowa Independent

With an eye on reclaiming a U.S. House majority in 2012, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has lobbed a series of robocalls into Tom Latham‘s District and also launched a set of tools on a new website for political activists.

The campaign, dubbed “Drive for 25? seeks to educate More…

Prison lobbyists used millions in pressuring state lawmakers to adopt Arizona-like immigration laws

By | 05.16.11 | 12:38 pm | More from The Colorado Independent

Private for-profit prison companies spend millions of dollars every year lobbying at the local, state and federal levels for stricter immigration laws and enforcement.

The largest such company, Corrections Corporation of America, spent more than $18 million on such activities between 1999 and 2009, reports Fox News.

The company is More…

Pawlenty making his presence felt in Iowa

By | 05.12.11 | 11:40 am | More from The Iowa Independent

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who continues to explore a possible 2012 GOP presidential run, will hold events in four Iowa counties this weekend.

A meet and greet will be held Friday morning at 11:45 a.m. at the Marion Public Library and, later that evening at 6 p.m., Pawlenty More…

Rove doesn’t think too highly of President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign manager

By | 05.11.11 | 3:22 pm | More from The Iowa Independent

Controversial political stalwart Karl Rove said that he doesn’t think Iowa and New Hampshire Republican voters need worry about Democratic infiltrators in upcoming primaries or caucuses — at least not as long as the Obama 2012 campaign is being led by a nobody.

Americans United for Life releases 2011 guide for anti-abortion rights model legislation

By | 03.16.11 | 12:20 pm

Image by: Matt MahurinNational anti-abortion rights law and policy group American United for Life, which credits itself with informing anti-abortion and other health-care related legislation, this month released its Defending Life 2011, a comprehensive guide of model legislation specifically for abortion,

Mark Ruffalo & Elected Officials Demand Protection Of NYC Drinking Water

Environmentalists are torn as natural gas comes to the fore

By | 11.12.10 | 6:00 am

Less than two hours after President Obama suggested in a post-midterm press conference that Republicans and Democrats could find common ground on proposals to develop the country’s natural gas resources, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune underscored environmentalists’ love-hate relationship with the fossil fuel.

“To be clear, natural gas More…

Why the DISCLOSE Act failed, and why it’s likely to fail again

By | 11.09.10 | 11:23 am

A poll earlier this year showed that 80 percent of Americans disapproved of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Most people want corporate campaign spending to be limited; even more want it to be transparent. So why can’t Congress pass legislation to require independently funded campaign ads to reveal More…