Money & Politics Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Money & Politics

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  • Debate-bonifaz-schmitt

    Overturning Citizens United: Is a Constitutional Amendment the Best Path to Limit Dark Money?

    On Tuesday, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida introduced a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 landmark Citizens United ruling that cleared the way for corporations and other special interest groups to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. The bill is part of a growing movement to overturn the ruling. Today we host a debate on whether the push for a constitutional...
    Mar 13, 2013 | Story
  • White_house

    Selling the White House? Obama-Linked Group Promises Top Donors Access to President

    The watchdog group Common Cause is calling on President Obama to shut down the outside group Organizing for Action after revelations the group is promising high-end donors access to the White House. According to The New York Times, donors who contribute $500,000 or more will be appointed to the group’s national advisory board, which meets four times a year with the president. Organizing for Action was set up by former Obama campaign officials...
    Feb 27, 2013 | Story
  • John_dunbar

    Donors Trust: Little-Known Group Helps Wealthy Backers Fund Right-Wing Agenda in Secret

    Since 1999, the nonprofit charity Donors Trust has handed out nearly $400 million in private donations to more than 1,000 right-wing and libertarian groups. The fact it has been able to quietly do so appears to explain why it exists: Wealthy donors can back the right-wing causes they want without attracting public scrutiny. The most detailed accounting to date shows Donors Trust funds a wish list of right-wing causes, prompting Mother Jones magazine...
    Feb 19, 2013 | Story
  • Climata-change-earth

    The ATM for Climate Denial: Secretive Donors Trust Funds Vast Network of Global Warming Skeptics

    While the secretive Donors Trust has given millions to a variety of right-wing causes, denying climate change appears to be its top priority. An analysis by the environmentalist group Greenpeace reveals Donors Trust has funneled more than one-third of its donations — at least $146 million — to more than 100 climate change denial groups over the past decade. In 2010, 12 of these groups received between 30 to 70 percent of their funding...
    Feb 19, 2013 | Story
  • Liz_bartolomeo

    The Big Money Inauguration: Obama Kicks Off Second Term with Help of Unlimited Corporate Donations

    At his inauguration four years ago, President Obama refused to accept corporate donations, but this year ExxonMobil, AT&T and Microsoft are among the biggest backers of the festivities. With Obama now accepting unlimited corporate funding, donors have been offered a number of sponsorship options, including the top tier of $1 million for institutions and $250,000 for individuals. In contrast, corporate, lobbyist and political action committee...
    Jan 21, 2013 | Story
  • Assaultweaponsale-3

    Behind the NRA's Money: Gun Lobby Deepens Financial Ties to $12 Billion Firearms Industry

    Throughout its history, the National Rifle Association has portrayed itself as an advocate for individual gun owners’ Second Amendment rights. But a new investigation finds the group has come to rely on the support of the $12-billion-a-year gun industry — made up of firearms and ammunition manufacturers and sellers. Since 2005, the NRA has collected as much as $38.9 million from dozens of gun industry giants, including Beretta USA;...
    Jan 16, 2013 | Story
  • 212_button

    2012 In Review: A Year of Extreme Weather, Mass Shootings, Drone Wars and Dark Money in Politics

    Today we look back at 2012. In the most expensive election in U.S. history, President Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney, forcing the Republicans to reconsider their policies, among others, around women and immigrants. While the major party presidential candidates did not take on climate change in any of their debates, it was a year of extreme weather — from the melting of the Arctic to Superstorm Sandy, to the massive typhoon in the Philippines....
    Dec 31, 2012 | Story
  • Prop_37_yes_no

    Food Fight: Debating Prop 37, California's Landmark Initiative to Label GMO Food

    On Election Day, California voters will decide on Proposition 37, which would make their state the first in the nation to require the labeling of food products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The California Department of Public Health would be responsible for labeling everything from baby formula and instant coffee, to granola, canned soups and soy milk. Many major corporations, including Monsanto, Dow Chemical, Pepsi and Coke,...
    Oct 24, 2012 | Story
  • Elk

    Koch Brothers Among U.S. Billionaires Pressuring Thousands of Employees to Vote GOP on Election Day

    A new exposé raises alarming questions about the ability of corporations to influence the voting decisions of their employees. In an article published by "In These Times" magazine, labor journalist Mike Elk examines the contents of a voter information packet that Koch Industries sent to tens of thousands of employees at its subsidiary, Georgia-Pacific. The packet advised the employees on whom to vote for and warned them of the dire...
    Oct 15, 2012 | Story
  • Rove_article_ok

    Inside Karl Rove's Secretive Effort to Defeat Obama's Re-Election With Help of Billionaire Donors

    Karl Rove, the man once known as "Bush’s Brain," has helped found two groups that plan to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for television, radio and online attacks ads to defeat President Obama and restore Republican control of Washington this November. The groups — American Crossroads, whose donors are public, and Crossroads GPS, a so-called "social welfare" organization whose donors are anonymous —...
    Jul 26, 2012 | Story