MAPLight.org Shows Links Between Politicians' Votes, Campaign Contributions

It's no mystery that money has become a key factor in American politics. But until now it's been difficult to show voters just how closely politicians hew to the interests of their political patrons and campaign donors.

MAPLight.org, a non-partisan web site, hopes to change that. The site uses three data sets to illustrate money's influence over elected officials: campaign contributions, voting records, and the supporting and opposing interests of a bill.

Dylan Ratigan lavished praise on the web site during his show Thursday and interviewed MAPlight's Executive Director Daniel Newman.

To show how MAPLight works, Ratigan used it to research Ron Paul's "Audit the Fed" bill. MAPLight showed that banks and others against financial reform donated $9.7 million to oppose Paul's bill. That figure was more than 250 times larger than the $37,000 donated by supporters of the bill.

While MAPLight has been around since 2008, the web site's director Daniel Newman told Ratigan that new tools allow users to drill down deeper for a more detailed look at the links between congressional votes and political donations.

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Comments

[Im4HR4789]

11:31 AM on 03/20/2010

Make sure to check out the related sites

http://www.govtrackinsider.com/
http://www.govtrack.us

Happy Sunshine Week!

[GranE]

10:29 AM on 03/19/2010

What a great website. I knew my Senator was dirty, now I know "how" dirty. Great details provide the whole picture along with links to other great sites.

Thanks!

Never underestimate the good this information will do.

[Rafalsays]

09:56 AM on 03/19/2010

OK Great but what are WE going to do about it?! Even with this information, which wasn't secret in the first place, nothing will change unless the people do something. Congress will not change on their own, its the way the system works and has been working for years.

[MountainPenelope]

10:05 AM on 03/20/2010

1. Write letters to your local newspaper outlining the info.

2. If you have a local talk radio station, call in.

3. Call the senator or congressional representative's office and let them know what you think.

4. Print the info and show it to your friends.

5. Call the local party office and ask when the next precinct meeting is scheduled, and GO.

[dhhh]

09:54 AM on 03/19/2010

http://www.alternet.org/story/146005/we_stand_on_the_cusp_of_one_of_humanity%27s_most_dangerous_moments/

Please read.: this article clearly discusses the issues we now face.

[Sundialsvc4]

09:23 AM on 03/19/2010

You are accumulating prima-facie evidence of national and international crime.

Take Article 2, Section 4 and enforce it. If Congress won't enforce against itself (and it probably won't), let public outcry drive the moneychangers from the temple.

[Carole Huber]

08:38 AM on 03/19/2010

The money trail. Now we can follow the money that goes to Al Quieda and that other major threat to our nation, the crooked pols in our national capital.
Thank you creators of

MAPlight.org

[Troubledwawa]

08:04 AM on 03/19/2010

I've bookmarked this site and will look into it.

Many thanks to the folks who are working on it.

[RRoadrunner]

07:33 AM on 03/19/2010

This is what we've needed for a LONG time.

THANKS to all who worked on this.

[madisonhack]

07:06 AM on 03/19/2010

Great website. I'll be using this a lot.

[serindipity803]

06:54 AM on 03/19/2010

The start of something big? we need tools, this looks like a good one!!

[hgovernick]

07:06 AM on 03/19/2010

Rather the continuation of something fun to play with.

[Tierce]

04:04 AM on 03/19/2010

Take $$ out of politics and this country will reform it's self. No lobbiers, no earmarks, no corporate funding. Individual donations as well as individual votes.

[McGruff]

06:54 AM on 03/19/2010

Agreed ... then all that would be left for politicians is honest debate.

[Needawinner]

07:01 AM on 03/19/2010

It is too late and it will never happen. The only rational sensible solution is to have complete funded public financing for all elections and leave the corporate money and lobbyists out of it. As I said, sadly it is to late and will never happen.

[digeridoo3]

03:23 AM on 03/19/2010

I was interested in this article until I saw Ron Paul. Looks like this is a propaganda piece for that conservative hack. Conservatives are the HIV of America.

[AlanInGA]

06:13 AM on 03/19/2010

And Socialism is the therapy?

[madisonhack]

06:58 AM on 03/19/2010

You guys need a new buzz word.

[HGS111]

07:03 AM on 03/19/2010

Term limits on congress would do nicely.

http://tenurecorrupts.com

[hgovernick]

07:09 AM on 03/19/2010

Ron Paul is less conservative than every one of the Blue Dog Democrats, wholly less conservative than most of his Republican counterparts. And I say this as a progressive Democrat.

[wagwag]

01:56 AM on 03/19/2010

OH! I almost forgot. I do not have the means but, I think another good area where we could use a lot of "MAPlight type" illumination are all those "off-shore bank accounts." There are enough "ill-gotten-gains" there to clear the national debt for years.

[Billl]

01:22 AM on 03/19/2010

What I want to see are prosecutions of the crooks involved with the illegal money and deals that are corrupting our government.

Until we clean out this rats nest no worthwhile reforms will be accomplished.

The President and legislators are not allowing the investigations and efforts to clean house that we should be having.

I never believed this could happen in the United States.

[wagwag]

01:50 AM on 03/19/2010

Bill. I agree. We must clean out this rat's nest or as I call it; "the house of vermin." Since most of the real "dirty work" is done in the dark, MAPLight is just the tool we need to get some illumination into those dark, dank corners of the Senate & House, where the "money changers" work.

I think MAPLight is also going to be an excellent tool (hammer) to get the "attention" of the U.S. Dept. of Justice. They (the DOJ) can start by vigorously enforcing the Sherman Anti Trust Act.

[hgovernick]

07:13 AM on 03/19/2010

There is an old idiom that may help you understand why you will see no prosecutions:

"Honor among thieves."

[Rachel Brownlee]

12:59 AM on 03/19/2010

Funny thing is, AIPAC owns congress, yet America pays Israel?!?
So what power does AIPAC hold over the American government that is more powerful than money?

[icu2b1]

09:53 AM on 03/19/2010

Very simple, with all the corruption and illegal deals as well as politicians negative sexual habits, they are vulnerable to black mail, just like Hoover of the FBI did, there is massive information collected on each of the politicians and if there are any skeletons, they are known to manipulators.