Why do you think the government drops all the bad news late on Fridays?
The Globe wonders why it's tanking?
"PAC money flowing to Mass. delegation; Donations on rise since '08 political power shift" by Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff | April 11, 2009
The Massachusetts delegation in the US House of Representatives is reaping the financial rewards of Democrats' return to power, attracting increasing amounts of campaign cash from Washington's influential business and labor union lobbies.
Since their party regained House control in 2006, the state's 10-member, all-Democrat delegation has secured the chairmanships of one major House committee, one select committee, and five subcommittees. And with those powerful posts comes more fund-raising leverage.
Donations from special-interest political action committees, or PACs, comprised 45 percent of the delegation's campaign collections during the 2008 election, jumping from 33 percent of the total in 2004, the last time Republicans won a majority in the House.
In raw dollars, the increase in PAC money flowing to the delegation also was striking, rising to $4.6 million, from $3.2 million in 2004, a 44 percent increase. The campaign riches have flowed even though no Bay State incumbent has faced a serious challenge since 1996, and those who had token Republican or minor party challengers were able to outspend them by an average of more than 8 to 1.
Not only does this one party state suck, but this is obviously the buying of influence, nothing more!
"Any time power shifts, the money shifts, and we've been seeing that since Democrats took control of Congress in 2006," said Massie Ritsch, spokesman for the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks the influence of money on national politics on its website, OpenSecrets.org.
"Political action committees are keenly interested in getting access to people in power who have influence over their issues, industries, and interests," he said. "Similarly, donors outside of members' states don't have much reason to support them until the lawmakers are in a position of authority."
And GUESS WHOSE OUT in the COLD, Amurkns!!!!
For the Massachusetts Democrats, the percentage of contributions from out-of-state individuals also rose, to 38 percent from 33 percent in 2004. Representatives or their spokesmen said they are not influenced by the special-interest money that helps keep them in office, and see little distinction between PACs and contributions from individuals.
Lying doesn't help you guys at this point!
Representative Edward J. Markey of Malden, the dean of the delegation who is in his 17th term, declined PAC money for nearly two decades. But that changed in 2003. And in the past two election cycles, these contributions, overwhelmingly from corporate sources, have accounted for at least 40 percent of his donations. That is still less than Democratic House incumbents as a whole, who reaped 45 percent of their contributions from PACs.
Markey also leads in the percentage of contributions from individuals who live outside the state, according to tallies by the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2007-08, 70 percent of the $677,000 from individual donors who gave him $200 or more came from outside Massachusetts, up from 56 percent four years earlier.
Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, started the year with $2.8 million in the bank, the most in the delegation.
"Our view is that the public is not so concerned about what percentage of contributions are coming from in state or out of state, but whether the politician is on the side of the special interests or the public interests," said Jeff Duncan, Markey's chief of staff. "Ed has a strong base both in Massachusetts and around the country due to the high-profile work he's been doing on global warming, energy independence, telecommunications reform, and consumer protection."
Pffffft, fart-mister!
"I don't know that giving gets you anything special," said Representative Richard E. Neal of Springfield, an 11th-term incumbent whose $2.2 million campaign chest is heavily stocked with contributions from PACs, mostly from finance, real estate, and insurance interests.
Then why would they give it, duh?
You t'ink we are 'too-pid out here, Dick?
Neal said his budget earmarks, mostly for life sciences research and public works, "stand up under the magnifying glass." Neal has not faced a general election opponent since 1996. He is the sixth-ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax laws and entitlement programs, and chairs its Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, which studies proposed changes in the tax code and other revenue generators.
Representative Michael E. Capuano of Somerville said he has intentionally sought contributions from political action committees rather than local individuals during the economic recession.
Related: Defense Lobbyist Had Ear of Congress
"I make no bones about it: I make a very conscious decision to raise money from people I think can best afford it, and that means PACs," said Capuano. Since his election in 1998, he has faced only one token challenge from a Socialist Workers Party candidate whom he beat by a 10-to-1 ratio after outspending her, $627,000 to zero.
About half the more than $1 million Capuano raised in the past two years came from 166 PACs, including those of PMA Group and two of the lobbying firm's clients,
Capuano said the earmarks were for important defense-related projects in or near his district and not influenced by fund-raising activity. But he said that, in response to "appearances," his campaign committee recently donated to local charities a total of $60,500, representing the amount donated by employees and others connected to PMA, the erstwhile Washington lobbying powerhouse that collapsed after it became the subject of a federal investigation into fund-raising activities.
Representative Barney Frank of Newton spent about $2.8 million, the most of any Bay State representative, to win reelection in 2008 with 68 percent of the vote against two challengers who combined spent only $39,000. Nearly half of Frank's contributions from individuals were from outside Massachusetts, and 46 percent of all donations came from PACs in 2007-2008, OpenSecrets reported on its website.
Memory Hole: Barney and Business
Barney Frank is Bush's Best Friend
Barney Frank Benefited From Bailout Bill
Frank Fiddled With Bailout Funds (And Other Frauds)
As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank plays a central role in legislation dealing with bank bailout programs and regulation of Wall Street. Banking, insurance, and securities and investment firms are major fund-raising sources for Frank, as are advocates for gay rights and affordable housing.
OpenSecrets ranked Frank first in the House over the last two years in donations from accountants and mortgage bankers and brokers as well as third in contributions from savings and loan companies. "Barney took his campaign for his district seriously because he's clearly been targeted by the right wing that doesn't like his attempts at regulating the financial system," said his legal counsel, James Segel, who cited harsh criticisms during the campaign by then-vice president Dick Cheney and talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.
"He's not taking any PAC money or contributions from top executives of those major recipients of TARP [Troubled Asset Relief Program] money," Segel said. "If community banks want to contribute, that's fine." Nearly half of Frank's contributions from individuals were from outside Massachusetts, and 46 percent of all donations came from PACs in 2007-2008, OpenSecrets reported.
Raising the least amount in the delegation in 2007-08 was Representative William D. Delahunt of Quincy, who was unopposed and took in $151,000, about 80 percent in PAC money, well above his 30 percent average for PAC money over the past 12 years when he typically raised much larger sums.--more--"
Why do I feel filthy right now, readers?
Also see: The Liberal Looters of Massachusetts
