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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, once a champion for money-in-politics reform, has been caught red-handed. The New York Daily News has acquired a spreadsheet from the mayor’s administration with a detailed list of potential appointments to city committees and boards—and it’s chock full of de Blasio’s donors. The list is littered with donors to de Blasio’s 2013 campaign,

This is part of a series examining ethics, transparency and campaign finance proposals in the states.  It’s an all-too-common refrain in politics: when Congress can’t pass legislation, the states take command of the issue and create solutions on their own. Campaign finance reform is no exception. A number of states have upcoming bipartisan ballot initiatives or bills pending in their legislatures

Congratulations! You’ve just been elected to Congress! If you want to serve on a good committee, never mind your credentials or your expertise. You better start fundraising. Speaking with the Cincinnati Enquirer, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has come out swinging with a one-two punch against party fundraising schemes that attempt to price committee seats by requiring large amounts of fundraising

House Speaker Paul Ryan, you’re almost there. You said that Republicans hate crony capitalism in an interview with Politico’s Glenn Thrush. You even went one step further and admitted, “Republicans need to do a better job going after crony capitalism.” Heck, you gave a shout-out to democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders! “Cronyism, is in a weird way, what Bernie Sanders

The Washington Post just explained how broken our campaign finance system is in two charts. For background: in 2014, Congress slipped in a few legal changes to adjust how much the Republican and Democratic parties can raise for the 2016 general election and what they can spend the money on, like legal expenses and the party headquarters (as seen in

It’s another dirty not-so-secret in Washington circles: donate to the charity or foundation of a member of Congress or the president, and it helps your chances to meet them. In a new report, Maplight examines how frequently President Obama invites donors to the Barack Obama Foundation into the White House. Hint: It’s nearly 40 percent of the time (15 of

Members of Congress are angry, if you listen to Representatives David Jolly (R-FL) and Rick Nolan (D-MN) this morning at the National Press Club. They’re angry because leadership in both parties have told them it is their first responsibility to raise money, not represent the voters who put them in office. Each lawmaker is just one more body to make

Welcome to Washington, aka a modern tale of two cities. This month’s issue of Washington Life Magazine compares “Old Washington” — one chock-full of deals, politics and personal gain — with “New D.C.” — with a burgeoning startup culture, thriving restaurant scene and more people passionate about fixing their government than seats available at a National’s game. The op-ed was

Before Donald Trump was for accepting donations from wealthy donors, he was attacking it. But as one Republican said, “If there is one thing that unites both parties up here, it’s money.” Today, we’re launching a new resource called “Right on the Money” to highlight conservative and Republican research, polling and statements from elected officials, thought-leaders and voters about what we believe