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Oct 20, 2011

Comments

jim freema

power breeds corruption
more power breeds more corruption
if money can't buy happiness why are they all smiling

Michael Iverson

That's right guys on the super committee never miss an opportunity to cash in on your position to do good for "others" and oh, by the way those "others" you are doing good for have lots of nice green cash to send your way....which we ordinary citizens do not have to send to you....WHY might you ask....BECAUSE YOU AND ALL YOUR FAT CAT BUDDIES HAVE FLEECED IT FROM US.

Scott Brickner

Ben, do hope you do the follow up. I fully understand the FEC rules that pretend that Senators: are not capable of filing electronically in the 21st century, shouldn't have their multi million dollar campaigns burdened by an additional expense of electronic bookkeeping by their expensive campaign Treasurers and wouldn't really be hiding anything. Since there is no penalty for filing incorrect reports (an alarmingly regular act) not hitting filing deadlines and the FEC allowing the public to be kept in the dark is something for which the specifics should be acknowledged. I've been working with FEC data since the 70's and it is stunning that as data becomes easier to analyze the FEC is still allowing transparency to be thwarted by the political actors behavior they are suppose to regulate.
If you won't tell us who hasn't filed electronically and why do replicate what you did to House members regardless of finding something amiss.

David Mathiasen

This is, ironically, good news. Given the hundreds of millions of dollars routinely spent to influence members of congress, and the billions at stake in the super committee's recommendations, amount of (relatively) small change reported here indicates either that most special interests don't thinks these folks can be bribed effectively through direct campaign contributions, or that campaign financing laws are actually, in this case, effective.

Emile Zola

This is just the recycle of all news, I mean, really old, like a hundred years old. If this frail democracy of ours is a democracy, I would like to see what is behind the curtain. Reporting that special interests buy our elected representatives is like reporting that sands, dunes were discovered at the Sahara desert.
This super committee is like a fixed fight, where two sides go at each other, but in reality, they are going through the motions, to make believe that they are for, and by the people, but the check is already in the mail by this nation's true owners. In other words, this democracy of ours is up the creek w/o a paddle and the only thing that is going to save us is a second coming of Jesus, and He hasn't hinted when that might be.

Karen Corbman

The Boston Globe reported Senator Kerry's - and he kept the promise he made to NOT raise money while on the committee. http://www.boston.com/Boston/politicalintelligence/2011/10/john-kerry-keeps-word-fund-raising-while-budget-deficit-supercommittee/trXtNhwhtzjc3eLqfh3GfO/index.html

Angelo Onorato

Surprise-surprise. Disgraceful! www.getmoneyout.com/ Sign up and get others to sign up.

brad giordani

I do not understand why anyone would be surprised at this money issue. This is how DC works. Why do members keep secrets that are not secret and should be public? Because lobbyists do not want their handywork front page since it reveals how the pay to play works.

As long as there is a troff, there will be little pigs standing in line waithing for their share. Transparecy equals honestly, is why most members keep secrets that are not secrets

Ben Freeman

Scott, thanks for the comment. The Senators, unlike their colleagues in the House, do not have to file electronically. So, their filings often take longer for the FEC to process and post. Currently, they are not all available, hence our focus on just the House side. Rest assured that when all the Senate filings become available we'll conduct an analysis of them and write a follow-up to this if we find anything that looks amiss.

Scott Brickner

List who didn't file. Quit punishing those who do the right thing by being transparent because you then have data to talk about. (I lost my keys over there but I'm looking here because the light is better) Who gave the money? Who is financing this exercise in minority rule?

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