{"id":413929,"date":"2010-03-10T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-10T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"tag:www.opensecrets.org,2010:\/news\/\/8.1411"},"modified":"2010-03-11T08:43:44","modified_gmt":"2010-03-11T13:43:44","slug":"tsa-nominee-robert-hardings-politics-new-massa-mess-and-more-in-capital-eye-opener-march-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/413929","title":{"rendered":"TSA Nominee Robert Harding’s Politics, New Massa Mess and More in Capital Eye Opener: March 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:<\/p>\n

\"robertharding.jpg\"<\/a>TRANSPORTATION SECURITY CHIEF NOMINEE NO STRANGER TO LOBBYING, POLITICAL DONATIONS:<\/strong> President Barack Obama’s nominee<\/a> to lead the Transportation Security Administration, retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert A. Harding<\/a>, recently ran a defense consulting company that lobbied the federal government a bit last decade. Harding Securities Associates reported spending $10,000 in 2005 to lobby the U.S. House and U.S. Senate on a defense bill, our research indicates<\/a>. Harding made at least one federal campaign contribution while running his firm, giving $1,500 to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner<\/a>‘s campaign in 2008. A man named Robert Harding, listing the same city and zip code as the retired general, also made a $1,000 donation in September to Louis Douglass Huddleston<\/a>, a Republican and former Army colonel who’s running for Congress<\/a> in North Carolina. It couldn’t be immediately confirmed if the two Robert Hardings are indeed the same man. Harding, the general, also served<\/a> on Obama’s presidential transition team.<\/p>\n

\"ericmassa29.jpg\"<\/a>MORE MASSA MESS:<\/strong> Last week, Eric Massa<\/a> was a relatively unknown Democratic congressman from Upstate New York. This week, he resigned his seat. He acknowledged groping<\/a> and engaging in tickle fights and an “orgy” with male staffers who, with a tip to sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, he said he’d like to start “fracking<\/a>.” And last night, he told<\/a> Fox News’ Glenn Beck about fighting — in the nude — with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel while the men showered at a gym<\/a>. (The White House denies this.) Until Massa morphed from freshman back-bencher to nationally-televised disaster, he had been one of the Democrat’s fund-raising success stories, winning<\/a> a seat in a decidedly Republican district and in doing so, raising significantly more campaign cash than the average House seat victor<\/a>. Curiously, none of these folks<\/a> were among Massa’s donors. See Beck’s interview with Massa below:<\/p>\n