Candidates Turn To Lobbyists For Fundraising Help

thehill.com:

A number of candidates facing tough re-election bids are turning to K Street for fundraising help.

July 15 was the first time that candidates' political committees had to detail to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) the lobbyists and companies registered to lobby that have been bundling for them -- collecting checks for campaign donations to give to the politicians. Reports have begun to trickle into the election watchdog agency this week, which are required under the ethics law that Congress passed in September 2007.

In the new reports, several prominent congressional leaders in the House and the Senate have listed lobbyists as bundlers for them, bringing in tens of thousands of dollars from their networks for the lawmakers.

Read the whole story: thehill.com

Comments

[Bryan Bowlby]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy...(just kidding on the nice part).

[rabrophy]

Good ol' Harry Reid!

[RandomMandarin]

Memo to photographers in the Capitol building:
Please
Please
Please
Stop agreeing to photograph bloviating congresspersons and other grandstanders from a low angle under that rotunda. It makes them look like saints from a Renaissance fresco, which 99% of them don't deserve.

[instagladiator]

Agree.

[khepri]

Time for real campaign finance reform. Limits on spending; and just as important, limits on what networks using publicly owned airwaves can charge for campaign messages during election season. It would be an opportunity for wealthy communications entrepreneurs to give something back for their use of publicly owned airwaves/channel width.

[instagladiator]

Who would you suggest be responsible for campaign finance reform and limits on spending?

[ObamAtomic]

That B/s must be outlawed,they went to represent the people,turning around *horing*
themselves to the higher bidder.

[instagladiator]

It seems to me as though they have you right where they want you, helpless and with no voice whatsoever and they will continue because nothing is standing in their way.

[ESerafina42]

Change we can believe in? I don't think so - not on the congressional side, at least.

[textynn]

Well we must make sure that we don't vote for these phonies and we must send $$ to people that promise to work for the people. I say we impeach Baucus.

[Deeniwhoo]

Why do we continue to accept the same old B.S. from our elected officials over and over? Why do we continue to put any faith in politicians and their promises to fix the system they've broken time and time again. Citizens voices and concerns continue to fall on indifferent, uncaring ears, as once again lobbyists and special interests stuff the "war chests" of these legislators. Term Limits would help to solve the problem. I feel a Howard Beale moment coming on.

[mudbones]

We desperately need to get lobbyists out of the equation.

[Rudyabdul]

They haven't learned anything from the 2008 election that they can raise more money from private donors than they can from corporations and lobbists.

[nickypoo]

The article only mentions Democrats, but we know the Republicans have been just as vociferous in their lobbyist fundraising efforts. Why the omission?

[1088]

We the people have to stand up and say NO MORE!

[TJCole]

"We have a system of legalized bribery...!"

Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski....

We should Reform Congress and the Senate first, then Health Care and our Banking system, for Real..!

[just saying]

Imagine that! Just when we were hoping that congress would do the will of the people, K street dangles that carrot once again and our leaders ask 'how high?' they need to jump to get the goodies. So once again, they'll hold our leaders captive to do what they want instead of what we want...sad.

[jcwtts1]

We have a chance to change this practice and instead of funding our people we let them languish. We should have dumped tons of money in their accounts by now, millions. Instead we are behind almost every single republican candidate.

J