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Sunlight Foundation

Open Data Executive Order Shows Path Forward

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 05.09.2013 | Politics
The Sunlight Foundation

By requiring agencies to publicly list all their data that could be made public, the president is not just reaffirming that decisions about disclosure should be based on the public interest, he's also giving the public (and Congress) tools to enforce them.

Is It Journalism, Or Just A Repackaged Press Release?

The Atlantic | Posted 04.23.2013 | Media

Today, the Sunlight Foundation has unveiled a tool that will help us all with this work. "The tool is, essentially, an open-source plagiarism detectio...

Obama Versus Campaign Finance Laws

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 04.17.2013 | Politics
The Sunlight Foundation

There's a certain conventional wisdom that President Obama wants stronger campaign finance laws, and to protect our democracy from the corrupting effects of money in politics. It's a story that you should no longer believe.

Amanda Terkel

Anti-Hagel Groups Spend More Than $100,000 On Opposition Ads

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 01.29.2013 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- Groups trying to stop Chuck Hagel from becoming the next Defense Secretary have spent $123,000 on television ads against the Republican ...

Corporate Party Favors at the Inaugural Shindig

Michael Winship | Posted 03.20.2013 | Politics
Michael Winship

Despite reports of corporate and other highrollers offended at alleged aloofness and a lack of perks from the White House during the first term, this time, they'll be welcomed with open arms. The president said it himself -- he likes a good party.

Happy Birthday Richard Nixon -- RIP Campaign Finance Reform?

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 03.11.2013 | Politics
The Sunlight Foundation

It was actually Nixon who, in 1971, signed into law the Federal Election Campaign Act, limiting the amount of money that could be donated to congressional and presidential campaigns and requiring that those donations be reported.

"Fiscal Cliff" Casts Shadow of Secrecy

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 01.28.2013 | Politics
The Sunlight Foundation

Just like the debt limit negotiations and super committee process that helped cause it, the so-called "fiscal cliff" of expiring laws is creating another round of secretive negotiations among our political leaders.

Don't Believe the Spin. Dark Money Won.

Timothy Karr | Posted 01.20.2013 | Politics
Timothy Karr

The Obama victory didn't signal the demise of big-money politics. It didn't spell the end of the super PAC, far from it. And the election wasn't a train wreck for political advertising -- even after groups paid billions for spots that supported losing candidate.

What We Learned: 10 Lessons From the Campaign Brought to You by Citizens United

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 11.06.2012 | Politics
The Sunlight Foundation

For the candidates, it's all over except for the voting, but for those of us who follow money in politics, it will take months to close the books on what will be the most expensive election in history.

Outside Money in the Senate: 1 Map, 4 Graphs and 7 Takeaways

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 12.25.2012 | Politics
The Sunlight Foundation

Outside money continues to pour in at a record pace this election cycle, and beyond the presidential race, the biggest general election spending totals are all in Senate races. ll told, outside groups have dropped $189.4 million into Senate races as of October 23.

Cheerleaders, Tequila Make For Big Business In Tampa

Reuters | Posted 10.29.2012 | Small Business

By Andy Sullivan TAMPA, Fla., Aug 30 (Reuters) - Voters watching the Republican National Convention may see Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan an...

Nate Willis

Bipartisan Duo Calls For Public Access To Hidden Reports

HuffingtonPost.com | Nate Willis | Posted 07.11.2012 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan congressional duo is calling for the American public to be given access to the same information that members of Congress ha...

Our Daughters, Moms, and Sisters: Republican Attacks on Women's Choice Should Also Mobilize Men

Hans Johnson | Posted 09.04.2012 | Politics
Hans Johnson

Men should join in rejecting the attack on reproductive health and insisting on candidates who know the issues around access to contraceptives and abortion and promise to advocate and advance coverage, affordable care, and fairness.

Jason Linkins

Lawmakers Delete Tweets In Wake Of Confusing Coverage Of Health Care Ruling

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 06.28.2012 | Politics

Twitter basically turned out be a terrific intoxicant to the news cycle today, with news of the Supreme Court's decision breaking in every possible di...

Jason Linkins

The Sunlight Foundation Will Save Your Politicians' Embarrassing Tweets For History

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.31.2012 | Politics

For as long as politicians have been using Twitter, politicians have been embarrassing themselves on Twitter. This is because they're mostly dimwi...

Members Of Congress Speak Like High School Sophomores

The Huffington Post | Amanda Terkel | Posted 05.22.2012 | Politics

The sophistication of federal lawmakers' speech patterns is on the decline, with members of Congress now talking, on average, at the level of high sch...

Luke Johnson

Corporations Reap Benefits Of Lobbying

HuffingtonPost.com | Luke Johnson | Posted 04.17.2012 | Politics

The top eight companies that spent the most on federal lobbying from 2007 to 2009 all saw their reported tax rates decrease from 2007 to 2010, accordi...

In Spite of New Ethics Rules, 378 Aides Have Registered As Lobbyists Since 2009

Corbin Hiar | Posted 04.25.2012 | Politics
Corbin Hiar

A new study finds that nearly 400 House staffers have moved from Capitol Hill to K Street in recent years, suggesting that recent efforts to curb the revolving door between lawmaking and lobbying are having limited effect.

Andrea Stone

As Senator, Rick Santorum Was Obsessed With Women's Reproduction

HuffingtonPost.com | Andrea Stone | Posted 01.06.2012 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- Surging Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum appeared to have a cause that reemerged repeatedly when he was a United States s...

Mr. Colbert -- Wanna Help Us Make a Better Tomorrow, Today?

Wendy Block | Posted 02.08.2012 | Politics
Wendy Block

Hey Stephen Colbert. There's an existential challenge to your shadowy Colbert Super PAC S.H.H. and I've been trying to give you a heads up. But you're not making it easy.

Haunt the House and Senate This Halloween

Ellen Miller | Posted 12.28.2011 | Politics
Ellen Miller

In less than a month the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction will send Congress their recommendations to cut at least $1.2 trillion. If that wasn't frightening enough, a majority of their work has taken place behind closed doors.

Paul Blumenthal

Obama Bundlers Bring The Big Bucks

HuffingtonPost.com | Paul Blumenthal | Posted 12.15.2011 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- The re-election campaign of President Barack Obama has a wide base of small-dollar donors and a small base of big-dollar bundlers. A tot...

Koch Industries Reportedly Had Inside Man At The EPA

Sunlight Foundation | Posted 12.05.2011 | Green

Koch Industries, the closely held firm led by conservative and libertarian political donors Charles and David Koch, has a long record of entanglements...

Paul Blumenthal

Super Committee Members Still Raising Money For Themselves

HuffingtonPost.com | Paul Blumenthal | Posted 10.30.2011 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- The super committee created by the debt limit deal to plot $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts is set to begin hearings in the next two weeks....

Alex Becker

Corporate Donors Take Aim At Super Congress

HuffingtonPost.com | Alex Becker | Posted 10.26.2011 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- A new report by the Sunlight Foundation, a money in politics watchdog group, reveals that members of the newly formed Joint Select Commi...