Center for Responsive Politics
Senior Fellow at the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics; co-author of After the Revolution: PACs Lobbies, and the Republican Congress and Risky Business?: PAC Decision-making in Congressional Elections; former staffer at the Federal Election Commission for 30 years
'Dark Money' in the 2012 Presidential Campaign With billions of dollars flowing more freely than ever before into the nation's political process, has the US reached the point where money is all that matters when it comes to elections? The balance of power between big money, much of it anonymous, and the average voter is stretched more tightly than ever before thanks to recent court rulings that have chipped away at campaign finance reform and transparency.
Big Money and Secret Money in the 2012 Campaign It's a game-changing year in the election business. This is the first presidential campaign season operating under new rules about donations, which allow unlimited funds to flow in from corporations, unions and individuals. It's being called "dark" money, because much of it remains anonymous. Throw in all the costs related to this year's elections, both presidential and congressional, and some observers are putting the price tag at between six and twelve billion dollars. Whatever happened to campaign finance reform?
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.