In California politicians receive regular gifts from special interest lobbyists completely legally
Political Lobbying articles on Democracy Chronicles
Political lobbying is a legal practice of petitioning the government enshrined in the Constitution but has been supersized in the modern era by well-financed lobbies having outsized impact on government decision making. Efforts to highlight and correct the oversized impact that the powerful few have over government will be highlighted in this section. Also see our sections on American democracy and Money Politics.
Major Political Donor Herbalife Ramps Up Spending
Political donor Herbalife’s spending on election campaigns is very high compared to its competitors
Dark Money Dominates Anti-Environment Lobbying
Climate change denial and anti-environment lobbying is largely financed by enormous amount of untraceable dark money
Should Gift Giving to Public Employees Be Legalized?
Practice of gift giving to public employees is so common that Philadelphia is gonna legalize it
Introducing the Non-Religious Lobby
New non-religious lobby group for Americans supports atheists, agnostics, and others without religion
INFOGRAPHIC: Who Owns Your Congress?
Some of the information on who donates to Congress is public, allowing creation of this cool infographic from Open Secrets. Who Owns Your Congress?
Senator Involved in Local NJ Election SuperPAC
Political SuperPACS: New Jersey Senator launches local NJ Election SuperPAC-led defense of allies
Election Expert Warns of Secret Tide of Dark Money
Influx tide of dark money billions donated by super-rich and big business is threat to democracy in America
Electric Carmaker in Tesla War With Auto Lobby
Startup auto company Tesla War with auto lobby has hints of success but political corruption is main impediment
Tea Party Fights Transparency for Donor Secrecy
Tea Party fights transparency and wants end to campaign transparency to protect identity of donor