Author: Dave Levinthal

Capital Eye’s PolitiQuizz: Who’s Got the Most Political Horsepower?

Toyota is primed for a collision with Congress, which wants answers as to why the company’s cars are having trouble stopping when their drivers want them to.

So this week’s PolitiQuizz explores the automotive industry’s campaign cash.

Your challenge: Michigan is the home to the U.S. automotive industry, and therefore, it may come as no surprise that candidates running for federal office there receive more than a few dollars from auto manufacturing interests. Among the 20 U.S. House of Representatives candidates that received the most campaign money last election from people and political action committees associated with the auto industry, how many were running in Michigan?

The first person to correctly answer this question by leaving an answer in this blog post’s comments section will win a free copy of The Blue Pages: Second Edition, the new book for which the Center for Responsive Politics provides data and analysis. Answers will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday. Results will be posted as part of next Monday’s PolitiQuizz. (Make sure to provide your e-mail address so we may contact you if you win!)

Now back to last week’s question, when we asked you this: During the 2008 presidential campaign, Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain didn’t share much in common. But both candidates ultimately received significant campaign contributions from the same sources. Specifically, people and political action committees associated with three different (and prominent) financial institutions ranked among both men’s top eight contributors. Name at least two of these three companies.

The answers: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.

Congratulations to “Rhon,” who was the first of two respondents to correctly name two of these three companies. For her effort, Rhon receives a free copy of The Blue Pages: Second Edition.

February 22, 2010
Health Care Reform’s ‘Starting Point,’ Guns in National Parks and More in Capital Eye Opener: February 22

Your daily dose of news and views from the world of money in politics:

WHITE HOUSE, REPUBLICANS READY FOR HEALTH CARE SHOWDOWN: President Barack Obama is slated to today release text of a broad “starting point” ahead of a televised health care reform summit later this week with congressional Republicans. Any good reason to think that lobbyists won’t be hard at work, too, as politicians attempt to restart all-but-dormant reform efforts? Probably not. Consider that in 2009, health care-related companies and special interest groups spent more than $544 million on federal lobbying efforts — obliterating their previous high from the year before. And a number of companies and entities that have lobbied heavily on health care reform — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, AARP, Pfizer, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the American Medical Association — all rank within the United States’ top 10 federal lobbying clients of 2009. While federal lobbying disclosure reports for the first quarter of 2010 aren’t due until mid-April, it’s all but certain the above-mentioned, and other health-related organizations will continue to pour millions of dollars more into this months-old debate.

NEW LAW TRIGGERS GUN FREEDOMS: A federal law takes effect today that allows gun owners to tote their weapons within national parks, so long as they obey local laws. It’s a major victory for gun rights advocates, who argue gun owners should have had such rights decades ago. And it comes as pro-gun forces spent more on federal lobbying efforts in 2009 than in any year since 2002 — all told, nearly $5 million. They targeted at least some of that money at both the House and Senate versions of the “Preservation of the Second Amendment in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges Act,” a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates. Gun control advocates, meanwhile, spent a relative pittance in 2009 on federal lobbying efforts — $180,000. Most of that came from a single organization: Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The decline in gun control advocates’ lobbying power is striking: In 2001, the special interest area spent more than $2.1 million on federal lobbying efforts.

CRP, IN THE NEWS: CBS News‘ Bob Schieffer, in a commentary Sunday on Face the Nation, noted our figures of how much 2008 federal elections cost … Thomas J. Stewart, a food services magnate who died last week in a helicopter crash, was also a prolific Republican campaign bankroller, reports the Arizona Republic in using our data … Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) knows how to cash in when her campaign needs support the most, writes the Houston Chronicle, which quotes us and notes our data … The Tennessean‘s Bill Theobald credits our research in reporting that his home state’s companies engaged in tens of millions of dollars worth of federal lobbying.

Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at [email protected].

February 22, 2010
The Politics of Woof, Nukes to Mushroom and More in Capital Eye Opener: February 17

Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

POLITICS, GONE TO THE DOGS: Poodly puffballs, giant hulk-dogs and glorified gerbils alike pranced, danced and yelped their way through New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, with judges at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show ultimately bestowing top honors on a Scottish terrier.

Democratic Blue Dogs and Bo the presidential canine aside, what does man’s best friend have to do with politics? A good deal, it turns out. The American Kennel Club, for one, has spent between $80,000 and $230,000 each year since 2001 on federal lobbying efforts, attempting to influence lawmakers and government officials on a variety of animal related issues. The National Association of Animal Breeders and the Bernese Mountain Dog Club are among other similar organizations that have lobbied the federal government.

Plenty of animal rights and welfare organizations, too, have sought to bend federal politics toward their interests. They include People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Society for Animal Protective Legislation and International Fund for Animal Welfare.

As for political action committees with an animal theme, plenty of them to go around, as well.

NUKES’ POLITICAL INFLUENCE MUSHROOMS AS OBAMA PROMISES LOANS: President Barack Obama revealed $8 billion in loan guarantees to build a nuclear power plant in Georgia, saying such money is “only the beginning.” That’s great news for the nuclear power industry, which in recent years has bulked up its political clout. Trade group Nuclear Energy Institute‘s political action committee, for one, has since 2002 steadily increased its contributions to federal political candidates, Democrat and Republican. (Southern Co.’s nuclear division has also been particularly active in terms of its campaign donations.) The Nuclear Energy Institute has meanwhile become a major lobbying force as well, spending more than $2 million in both 2008 and 2009 to influence the federal government.

CRP IN THE NEWS: Fredreka Schouten of USA Today and Randy Barrett of National Journal on Tuesday cited our own Michael Beckel’s report on the cost of federal lobbying based on the hours Congress is in session … John Stossel of Fox News quotes Center for Responsive Politics Executive Director Sheila Krumholz in a blog item Tuesday about our recent analysis of 2009 lobbying data … Discover, the financial services card company, significantly increased its federal lobbying activity late last year, writes the Chicago Tribune‘s Becky Yerak in a report about the company that cites our data.

Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at [email protected].

February 17, 2010
Good-bye Evan Bayh, Charles Taylor the Lobbyist and More in Capital Eye Opener: February 16

Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

HOOSIER NEW SENATOR? Unclear, thanks to U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) announcing hours after Valentine’s Day that he’s breaking up with government.

“There are better ways to serve my fellow citizens,” Bayh said at a news conference Monday in announcing he wouldn’t seek re-election. “I love working for the people of Indiana. I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives. But I do not love Congress.”

Congress, now dumped, had no immediate comment. Republicans did, however, appear sufficiently jazzed at the prospects of picking up yet another U.S. Senate seat — particularly one that would have been a decidedly difficult pickup had Bayh stayed put.

“[We] have always viewed this Senate race as one that would be competitive. Today’s announcement cements that view, and we really like our chances in the general election,” Indiana Republican Party Chairman Murray Clark said in a statement.

Bayh had been a fund-raising machine throughout his 12-year Senate career. He’s raised more than $26.6 million since 1997. And in 2004, Bayh’s most recent election, he politically eviscerated his Republican challenger in both dollars raised and votes gained.

People and political action committees associated with lawyers/law firms ($2.56 million), securities and investment interests ($1.7 million) and the real estate industry (nearly $800,000) ranked among Bayh’s top career contributors by industry, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

By company, people and PACs associated with Goldman Sachs, Eli Lilly and Conseco Inc. take gold, silver and bronze.

Bayh ended 2009 with almost $13 million in his campaign coffer — a cool 2,100 times more money than the most monied Republican challenger, Marlin A. Stutzman, had as of the new year.

But that appears now to matter a whole lot less than it did a day ago.

View video of Bayh’s news conference below:

CHARLES TAYLOR THE WARLORD … AND LOBBYING CLIENT: Scholars, journalists and war crimes prosecutors alike portray former Liberian President Charles Taylor as a man bent on power no matter the cost, including the spilt blood of his West African brethren. But as the Washington Post‘s Colum Lynch writes Monday, Taylor also spent millions of dollars during the 1990s attempting to influence U.S. lawmakers and otherwise scrubbing his tarnished international image clean — even hiring lobbyists to do his bidding.

CRP, IN THE NEWS: Since Friday, dozens of publications and news outlets have written or discussed the Center for Responsive Politics’ report on increased lobbying activity in 2009. If you haven’t yet read the report yourself, go here. To see what others are saying about our recent work, read these article from the New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press, CNN, Financial Times, Detroit Free Press, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, The Hill and the National Journal.

Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at [email protected].

February 16, 2010
Capital Eye’s PolitiQuizz: Presidential Love from the Same Sources?

It’s President’s Day (technically Washington’s Birthday), so it’s only appropriate that this week’s PolitiQuizz focus on our nation’s chief executive — and another someone who would’ve loved to serve in the post.

Your challenge: During the 2008 presidential campaign, Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain didn’t share much in common. But both candidates ultimately received significant campaign contributions from the same sources. Specifically, people and political action committees associated with three different (and prominent) financial institutions ranked among both men’s top eight contributors. Name at least two of these three companies.

The first person to correctly answer this question by leaving an answer in this blog post’s comments section will win a free copy of The Blue Pages: Second Edition, the new book for which the Center for Responsive Politics provides data and analysis. Answers will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday. Results will be posted as part of next Monday’s PolitiQuizz. (Make sure to provide your e-mail address so we may contact you if you win!)

Now back to last week’s question, when we asked you this: It may not surprise you that the Portland, Maine, metro area is (geographically speaking) this longtime Republican senator’s most generous campaign cash contributor for her career. But three non-Maine metro areas also rank among Snowe’s top five contributors by metro area. Name at least two of them.

The answer: The Washington, D.C.; New York City and Wilmington, Del., metro areas.

Congratulations to “rewhite,” who correctly identified Washington, D.C., and New York City — and wins a copy of The Blue Pages: Second Edition.

February 15, 2010
Center for Responsive Politics Closed Monday to Observe Washington’s Birthday

In observance of Washington’s Birthday — the official name for Presidents Day — the Center for Responsive Politics is closed today.

Staff members will return phone messages and e-mails on Tuesday. Members of the working press with extremely urgent questions should call 817-917-4141.

Check back this afternoon, too, as the Capital Eye Blog will post a new PolitiQuizz, as well as the answer to last week’s contest.

February 15, 2010
International Olympic Committee Once a Gold Medal Lobbying Force

With the 2010 Winter Olympics having commenced this weekend in Vancouver, politics are hardly a focus of competition waged not in governmental halls, but on hillsides, tracks and skating surfaces.

Once upon an Olympic prelude, however, the International Olympic Committee, tasked then with coordinating the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, vaulted into the rarified echelon of million dollar federal lobbying forces, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

Between 1998 and 2001, the IOC and its subsidiaries spent $3.19 million lobbying the federal government, attempting to influence lawmakers and officials on issues ranging from sports and athletics to transportation, homeland security, health and even postal services.

The committee’s most notable single-year lobbying output came in 1999, when the IOC reported $980,000 in federal lobbying expenditures.

And its registered lobbyists included some major political names, including former U.S. Rep. William Lowery (R-Calif.), former Department of Transportation Chief of Staff Michael P. Huerta, former Environmental Protection Agency Chief of Staff Peter D. Robertson and ex-U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms’ former chief of staff, Darryl Nirenberg.

But since the 2002 Winter Games, the IOC’s federal lobbying presence, like snow in July, has all but melted away: It’s spent just $290,000 during the past seven years, Center research indicates.

Of course, the Salt Lake City games were the last Olympics conducted in the United States, with Greece, Italy, China and Canada hosting subsequent games.

IOC lobbyists may not be observed in Washington, D.C. anytime soon, either, given that the next three games are scheduled for Great Britain (summer 2012), Russia (winter 2014) and Brazil (summer 2016).

That means a 16-year drought (minimum) for the United States in terms of its hosting of sport’s most international spectacle. That’s the longest period for Team USA since the period between 1960 and 1980.

February 13, 2010
For Fourth Consecutive Day, Center for Responsive Politics Closed Because of Snowstorms

For a fourth consecutive day, the Center for Responsive Politics will be closed today because of snowstorms that have largely paralyzed the Washington, D.C., area.

Federal government offices in the D.C. metro area will also remain closed for a fourth day.

Center for Responsive Politics staff will return phone calls and e-mails when the Center reopens.

Members of the working press with urgent requests should call 817-917-4141 on Thursday.

February 11, 2010
Several Federal Lawmakers Financially Invested in Embattled Toyota’s Stock

With automobile maker Toyota facing heavy congressional scrutiny for a series of damning safety recalls, it’s worth noting that several members of Congress last year reported owning stock in the company, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) recorded the largest investment in Toyota with between $116,003 and $315,000 in the company’s stock, according to 2008 personal financial disclosure reports that congressional members file annually. (Filers, by law, may report their assets in broad ranges, hence Harman’s numbers.)

Harman, incidentally, is the second richest member of Congress based on the average of her minimum and maximum reported wealth, as calculated by the Center.

Other members of Congress reporting Toyota stock ownership in 2008 include:

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), $15,001 to $50,000

Rep. Scott Murphy (D-N.Y.), $15,001 to $50,000

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), $3,003 to $45,000

Rep. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), $1,001 to $15,000

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), $1,001 to $15,000

Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), $1 to $1,000

Additionally, Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) reported assets in Toyota Motor Credit Corp. worth $25,384.

Harman and Burgess sit on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is planning hearings later this month on Toyota’s safety problems. The company in recent weeks has recalled hundreds of thousands of models for faulty accelerator pedals and brakes.

Since 2008 filings are the most recent documents available, it’s possible that these politicians have sold their Toyota assets — or purchased more, for that matter — in recent months. Likewise, other elected officials may have also recently purchased Toyota-related assets.

Five other congressional members reported selling Toyota stock in 2008. They are: Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-Ohio), Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Sen. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho).

Wilson earned between $31,003 and $115,000 from his sale of Toyota stock, while Minnick pocketed between $16,002 and $65,000 and Moran between $1,001 and $15,000, according to their personal financial disclosure filings.

Lamar reported earning $728 from the sale of his Toyota holding while Rogers did not report a specific dollar amount or range.

February 10, 2010
Snow, Snow and More Snow in Capital Eye Opener: February 10

Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics, slightly abbreviated today:

SMALLER GOVERNMENT, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT: For the third day running, federal government offices are closed thanks to two separate snow storms that have buffeted the nation’s capital. For someone from Buffalo, N.Y., (your humble blogger) this would be an average winter Wednesday. But in Washington, D.C., the city is effectively shut down, as is the Center for Responsive Politics, as bona fide blizzard warning persist. The federal Office of Personnel Management estimates that the storms have so far cost taxpayers $350 million in lost productivity, the Washington Post reports. Congress isn’t faring much better, with effectively no business being conducted this week.

CRP IN THE NEWS: Writing in the Wall Street Journal, former presidential candidate Ralph Nader is joined by Public Citizen President Robert Weissman in decrying “the disparities between individual contributions and available corporate dollars” as they pertain to U.S. political elections. Nader and Weissman referece our research about how much federal political campaigns cost … Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) is the focus of this article in The Hill by reporter Roxana Tiron, who cites our campaign finance data … The Columbia Journalism Review‘s Clint Hendler quotes us at length in his piece about how the news media will react to the Supreme Court’s recent Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision pertaining to campaign finance law … John DiStaso of the Union Leader of Manchester, N.H., uses our lobbying information in noting how Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte has sought major campaign dollars from special interests in Washington, D.C.

Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us [email protected].

February 10, 2010
Center for Responsive Politics to Remain Closed Wednesday

The Center for Responsive Politics will remain closed on Wednesday because of a second major snow storm to hit the Washington, D.C., area since Saturday.

Federal government offices in the capital region are also closed for a third consecutive day.

Center for Responsive Politics staff will return phone calls and e-mails upon the Center’s reopening.

For urgent requests Wednesday from members of the working press, please call 817-917-4141.

February 10, 2010
Center for Responsive Politics to Remain Closed Tuesday

The Center for Responsive Politics will be closed Tuesday because of a snowstorm that has also caused Washington, D.C.-area federal government offices to remain shut for a second day.

Center for Responsive Politics staff will return phone calls and e-mails when the Center reopens later this week.

Members of the working press with urgent interview requests may on Tuesday call 817-917-4141.

February 9, 2010
Toyota’s Lobbying Power Primed for Test as Congressional Scrutiny Mounts

Toyota’s leadership and army of prominent lobbyists face a monumental government relations battle as Congress primes itself for a series of public hearings regarding the embattled automaker‘s recall of hundreds of thousands of vehicles over accelerator pedal and brake defects.

But they’re likely as ready as any of their ilk: Among foreign car companies, Toyota’s federal lobbying efforts are unmatched, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

In 2009 alone, the company employed 31 federal lobbyists — including a former member of Congress and numerous ex-congressional staffers — and spent nearly $5.4 million to lobby the federal government, according to the Center‘s analysis.

That compares to 19 lobbyists and $3.67 million spent in 2009 for runner-up Nissan. In third place stands Honda, with nine lobbyists and $2.56 million spent last year.

During the past five years, Toyota has spent nearly $25 million lobbying the federal government, followed among foreign car makers by Nissan ($15.54 million), Honda ($10.3 million) and Volkswagen ($5.88 million).

Since 2005, General Motors ($53.1 million) and the Ford Motor Co. ($40.7 million) have spent the most money on federal lobbying, foreign or domestic. Toyota places third overall.

But $25 million is no insignificant amount of money when it comes to directly influencing federal lawmakers and agencies.

And Toyota has proven its lobbying reach is wide, reporting lobbying contacts in 2009 with the White House, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency.

It already has plenty of friends serving on the very congressional committees that are slated to investigate Toyota’s mass recall, including officials whose states and districts have benefitted from the company’s business and job creation.

Furthermore, Toyota’s registered lobbyists include a number or people who used to serve in Congress, work on congressional staffs or play key roles within federal agencies or national political parties.

Among them: former Rep. Bill Brewster (D-Okla.), Sheryl Cohen (Sen. Chris Dodd’s former chief of staff), Michael Lewan (Sen. Joe Lieberman’s former chief of staff), David Garman (former Department of Energy assistant secretary), Richard A. Penna (former National Commission on Air Quality assistant director), Anne Saunders Fabry (Lieberman’s former special assistant), Kristen P. Gullott (former Republican National Committee special events director) and David S. Thompson (ex-assistant to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert).

February 8, 2010
Rep. John Murtha, Popular and Polarizing, Dead at 77

Rep. John Murtha, a veteran Democratic lawmaker as popular with his Pennsylvania constituents as he was polarizing on the national political scene, died this afternoon after experiencing complications from gallbladder surgery.

(Read his office’s statement, via Capitol News Connection, here.)

Murtha was 77. He had served in the House since 1974 and was the first Vietnam War combat veteran to win a congressional seat.

Widely beloved in Pennsylvania’s 12th District, which skirts Pittsburgh to the south and east, Murtha helped secure hundreds of millions of federal dollars for his constituents, often through the contentious practice of earmark sponsorships. Murtha easily won re-election to his district’s seat in all of his recent races.

Defense contractors and lobbyists also held Murtha in high esteem, filling his campaign coffers with millions of dollars during his political career. For this, along with his frequent use of federal earmarks and lingering ethics rows, political opponents frequently derided Murtha.

Capital Eye will take an extended look at Murtha’s career Tuesday morning.

February 8, 2010
Capital Eye’s PolitiQuizz: Let it Snowe!

Since Washington, D.C., today is covered by nearly three feet of white stuff, and the city is effectively shut down, who better to highlight for this week’s PolitiQuizz than Sen. Olympia Snowe?

The challenge: It may not surprise you that the Portland, Maine, metro area is (geographically speaking) this longtime Republican senator’s most generous campaign cash contributor for her career. But three non-Maine metro areas also rank among Snowe’s top five contributors by metro area. Name at least two of them.

The first person to correctly answer this question by leaving an answer in this blog post’s comments section will win a free copy of The Blue Pages: Second Edition, the new book for which the Center for Responsive Politics provides data and analysis. Answers will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday. Results will be posted as part of next Monday’s PolitiQuizz. (Make sure to provide your e-mail address so we may contact you if you win!)

Now back to last week’s question, when we asked you this:

“With a dozen lobbyists on my payroll last year, and my cash in the pockets of dozens of federal lawmakers, I’m out to make sure my favorite product isn’t marginalized despite some folks’ concerns that it isn’t healthy. (We think it’s downright tasty.) In recent years, Democratic such as Harry Reid, Max Baucus and Charlie Rangel, as well as Republicans such as Mitch McConnell, Steve Buyer and Jim DeMint, have received thousands of dollars from me. In 2008, I spent more money lobbying the federal government — $450,000 — than in any other year that decade. What organization am I?”

Answer: The Cigar Association of America. Learn more about this group here and here.

Congratulations to “Politicalpartypooper,” who proved to be the first and only respondent to correctly identify the Cigar Association of America. Our winner receives a free copy of The Blue Pages: Second Edition.

February 8, 2010
Richard Shelby’s War for Defense Dollars, NFL Love for Louisiana Pol and More in Capital Eye Opener: February 8

Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

MY EARMARKS FOR YOUR NOMINEES: The White House wants the U.S. Senate to approve dozens of its federal agency nominees. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) wants a tanker jet-load of federal cash for defense-related projects he considers crucial to his state’s financial fortunes — and he’s holding up President Barack Obama‘s nominees until he gets it.

Commence not-very-in-the-spirit-of-bipartisanship bickering.

“It boggles the mind,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday of the row. “Unaddressed national security concerns,” is how Shelby spokesman Jonathan Graffeo described the reasons behind his boss’ action. Argue both sides’ motivations. While doing so, consider this: Shelby loves his federal earmarks, and he has a cozy relationship with the defense industry, which has filled his campaign coffers with a seven-figure sum for his career, according to a Center for Responsive Politics analysis.

Over the past 20 years, employees and political action committees associates with the defense aerospace, defense electronics and miscellaneous defense industries each rank among Shelby’s top 15 campaign contributors when grouped by industry. For the miscellaneous defense industry, Shelby is its fourth all-time favorite campaign cash recipient among federal candidates. For the defense aerospace industry, he’s fifth. Defense electronics? Sixth. Taken together, they’ve contributed more than $1.2 million to the veteran senator.

As for federal earmarks, Shelby in fiscal year 2009 sponsored 160 earmarks totaling more than $322.3 million, according to a joint study last autumn by the Center for Responsive Politics and Taxpayers for Common Sense. That ranks Shelby ninth in earmark sponsorships among his 100 Senate colleagues. Shelby also ranked first among his Senate colleagues when it came to directing earmarks to entities whose associates had contributed money to him.

UPDATE (9:50 p.m.): The Washington Post is reporting that Shelby has lifted the hold on the Obama administration’s nominees.

WHO DAT? NFL LOVES AT LEAST ONE LOUISIANA POLITICO: If you’re finding out from Capital Eye that the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday to win the Super Bowl, we humbly recommend a remedial course in sports fandom. What you may not know, however: Louisiana also beats Indiana, 1-0, when it comes to donations from the National Football League’s political action committee. That’s because the NFL’s PAC, established in 2008, has contributed $1,500 to Rep. Charles Melancon (D-La.), who’s running for the U.S. Senate this year. Indiana politicians? No love from the NFL just yet. But similar to football, the 2010 political season is long.

CRP, IN THE NEWS: The New York Times‘ David D. Kirkpatrick notes our research that indicates Obama received $89 million during the 2008 presidential campaign from people and political action committees associated with the securities and investment industry … Disclosure must be a federal priority in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, writes Jonathan Riskind of the Columbus Dispatch, who quotes us in his column … Sean Treanor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal quotes CRP Executive Director Sheila Krumholz in this piece about U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl‘s nephew, himself a rising political star … Politics Daily columnist David Gibson mentions our September study about the NFL’s political donations in his Saturday dispatch about how Republicans are attracted to football, and perhaps, vice versa.

Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail [email protected].

February 8, 2010
Center for Responsive Politics Closed Monday

The Center for Responsive Politics will be closed Monday because of a snowstorm that has also prompted the federal government to close its Washington, D.C., offices.

Phone and e-mail messages left with the Center will be returned Tuesday.

For urgent requests from members of the working press, please call me Monday at 817-917-4141.

February 7, 2010
Federal Election Commission Fines Arlen Specter’s Senate Campaign, Treasurer For Donation Violations

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican-turned-Democrat facing a contentious re-election bid, will do so with less campaign cash after the Federal Election Commission fined him for accepting “excessive contributions from individuals and political committees.”

The FEC decision, announced Thursday, names both Specter’s campaign committee and former committee treasurer, Stephen Harmelin, as respondents in the case. The FEC ruling states that they must pay a $10,900 civil penalty and refund or pay $37,950 for excessive contributions to the U.S. Treasury.

An FEC audit report from 2007 states that in 2003 and 2004, Citizens for Arlen Specter accepted contributions from 892 individuals and nine political action committees that exceeded federal limits. The excessive contributions initially totaled more than $1 million, the report states.

In December, Citizens for Arlen Specter, and Harmelin individually, submitted a conciliation agreement to the FEC in which they acknowledge the campaign received more than $741,000 in excessive contributions.

Because of the agreement, “the Commission has made no conclusions of findings that U.S. Senator Arlen Specter engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with the findings described in this Conciliation Agreement,” the signed document states. “In addition, the Commission has made no conclusions or findings that CFAS accepted contributions from prohibited sources, such as corporations, government contractors or foreign nationals in violation” of federal regulations.

An FEC general counsel report from December stated that the FEC lawyers met in May with Specter, the senator’s attorney and Harmelin.

During that meeting, “Senator Specter advocated for no, or a substantially reduced, civil penalty on the ground that any violations in this case are technical in nature,” according to the report. “He and the CFAS treasurer also advised us that the illness of a key campaign staffer contributed to the failure to send the appropriate redesignation/reattribution notifications to contributors.”

It’s not uncommon for political contributors to give candidates more than the legal limit, which in 2004 was $2,000 per election for an individual and $5,000 for a PAC. But the campaigns receiving the donations are legally obligated to keep track of excessive donations and refund amounts above the election cycle’s maximum level.

A phone call and e-mail by Capital Eye to Specter’s campaign seeking comment weren’t immediately returned Thursday evening.

Rep. Joseph Sestak (D-Pa.) is challenging Specter this May in a Democratic primary, the result of which is anything but certain.

The winner will likely face former Rep. Pat Toomey, a Republican who narrowly lost to Specter in a 2004 Republican U.S. Senate seat primary. Toomey vacated his House seat in 2005, later serving as president of the Club for Growth, a conservative Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

February 5, 2010
Peyton Manning, Jonathan Vilma Foes Both in Super Bowl, Politics

Come Super Bowl Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning will find himself perched inches away from New Orleans Saints’ Pro Bowl linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who’s tasked, in part, with dislodging the all-galaxy quarterback’s head.

But the outcome of professional football’s most glorious game isn’t the only point on which Manning and Vilma disagree.

In a teeny, tiny Super Bowl subplot, the two rivals are political foils, too.

That’s because Manning, the evermore political National Football League‘s most valuable player in 2009, is a dedicated Republican bankroller, having contributed to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush ($2,000) and Fred Thompson ($2,300), a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates. Manning has also contributed $5,200 to the campaign of U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).

Vilma, meanwhile, has donated $4,800 to Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), who’s now running for the Democratic nomination in an atypically crowded U.S. Senate race.

Manning’s patterns of political giving — to an extent — mirror those of Colts owner Jim Irsay, who has donated to Republican candidates and interests for years, including Bush, the Republican National Committee and U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar.

Players, employees and executives associated with the Colts slightly favor the GOP in their political giving, with 53 percent of their cash going to Republicans, the Center found. In all, Colts associates have contributed more than $121,000 to federal-level candidates and committees since the 1990 election cycle.

But Irsay, who has himself donated more than $86,000 to federal political candidates during the past two decades, has also lined Democrats’ pockets, as well. U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) are among the left-leaning recipients of his wealth, according to the Center‘s research.

That stands in stark contrast to the Saints’ political giving history, which is overwhelmingly Republican.

That’s largely thanks to team owner Tom Benson, who’s cut checks to GOP politicos from presidential candidates Bush and Rudy Giuliani to Sens. David Vitter and John Cornyn.

Former Saints head coach Mike Ditka also contributed thousands of dollars to Republicans, including Bush, John McCain and the Republican National Committee. Another former Saints head coach, Jim Haslett, also donated $2,000 to the RNC.

If Vilma — a rare Saint who bucks his team’s Republican leanings — feels lonely with that designation, maybe he’ll find solace in the fact that at least one of his athletic enemies is a political compatriot: Colts defensive end Raheem Brock gave Barack Obama $2,300 during the 2008 presidential campaign.

To see the Saints’ and Colts’ political contributions during the past 20 years, click here: superbowldonors.xls

CRP Senior Researcher Doug Weber contributed to this report.

February 4, 2010
Capital Eye’s PolitiQuizz: Sin and Politics?

Like some (arguably) sinful indulgences? Then you’ll love this week’s Capital Eye PolitiQuizz.

Your challenge: “With a dozen lobbyists on my payroll last year, and my cash in the pockets of dozens of federal lawmakers, I’m out to make sure my favorite product isn’t marginalized despite some folks’ concerns that it isn’t healthy. (We think it’s downright tasty.) In recent years, Democratic such as Harry Reid, Max Baucus and Charlie Rangel, as well as Republicans such as Mitch McConnell, Steve Buyer and Jim DeMint, have received thousands of dollars from me. In 2008, I spent more money lobbying the federal government — $450,000 — than in any other year that decade. What organization am I?”

The first person to correctly answer this question by leaving an answer in this blog post’s comments section will win a free copy of The Blue Pages: Second Edition, the new book for which the Center for Responsive Politics provides data and analysis. Answers will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday. Results will be posted as part of next Monday’s PolitiQuizz. (Make sure to provide your e-mail address so we may contact you if you win!)

Now back to last week’s question, when we asked you this:

“I’m not only a large American company, but in 2008, my stock ranked as the favorite investment among members of Congress. I’m partial to planes and trains, but venture into the financial and health care realms, as well. Name me.”

The answer: General Electric.

Two readers correctly named GE, although “Jeff” logged his answer first. He, therefore, wins a free copy of The Blue Pages: Second Edition. Congratulations, Jeff!

February 1, 2010