Archive for the “Lobbying” Category

Why does the beer industry spend so much money on political campaigns in North Carolina? There aren’t nearly as many breweries as, say, auto dealerships but the beer boys pour in the money way out of proportion to their size in the state’s economy. The NC Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association PAC handed out $204,000 [...]

On Monday morning, April 22, Democracy North Carolina’s executive director Bob Hall filed a formal request with the State Board of Elections to investigate possible illegal behavior related to campaign contributions by donors connected with the sweepstakes café industry. The call for investigation follows two research reports released by Democracy NC on March 18 and March [...]

Time is running out to register for the NC Council of Churches’ Legislative Seminar on April 11. As the registration form and program announcement says, “The full day of workshops is led by expert presenters and offers opportunities for progressive people of faith to learn about critical issues facing the General Assembly. Grassroots activists working [...]

The man at the center of a national gambling scandal that caused Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll of Florida to resign last week played a surprisingly large – and mysterious – role in financing North Carolina politicians in 2012, according to new research by the election reform group Democracy North Carolina: ● Chase E. Burns, owner [...]

Because of threats to water supplies, a proposed mining project in Texas faced tough odds for getting the necessary permits. But then cronyism and political money stepped in. Is this the story of how fracking will play out in NC, except with the help of a different party at a different level of government? Or [...]

After a review of the changing landscape in the NC General Assembly, reporter Jordan Green of YES! Weekly provides an in-depth analysis of the NC Republican House Campaign Committee. According to its plan of organization, it is responsible for “recruiting candidates and raising funds for use in electing Republicans to the North Carolina House.” Donations [...]

On the eve of tomorrow’s General Assembly session, you’d like to see your legislators in meetings with their constituents, discussing their concerns about what state government should do. Well, that’s not exactly what you get in today’s General Assembly, where many seats cost more than $250,000 to win and money is always on the mind. [...]

It looks like Speaker Thom Tillis’ squeeze on lobbyists and PACs (described in the LOD two days ago) is working very well. Thanks to his aggressive approach, Tillis is on track to break all records for raising big money from special-interest groups, according to research released today by Democracy North Carolina. Senate President Pro Tem [...]

Despite campaign promises to stamp out “pay to play” politics in Raleigh, House Speaker Thom Tillis is in the middle of what can only be called a shakedown of lobbyists for campaign cash. His political director sent an email to many lobbyists with a clear message: get your PAC to send us a check by [...]

Mother Jones magazine has boiled the history of political money deals in the United States into a clever annotated timeline and a highly readable article, starring a host of shady characters in “a dramatic battle between the forces of reform and influence that goes back more than 250 years before the birth of the super-PAC.”