{"id":12050,"date":"2014-01-20T02:39:34","date_gmt":"2014-01-20T10:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=12050"},"modified":"2014-01-20T02:39:34","modified_gmt":"2014-01-20T10:39:34","slug":"open-thread1202014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/20\/open-thread1202014\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread–1\/20\/2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m writing for tomorrow, preparing for my two day trip for prison volunteer work this week, and getting ready to meditate upon the Ellipsoid Orb.  By this time this is posted I will be either a Fantabulous Feline or a Pissed Pussycat.<\/font><\/p>\n

Jig Zone Puzzle<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s took me 3:14 (average 4:41).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

Religious High Ecstasy<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

\"0119-Broncos26-Patriots16\"<\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

From CREW<\/a>: <\/font>Campaign contributions follow power, and special interests aren\u2019t subtle about currying favor with the powerful.<\/p>\n

New research by CREW<\/a> shows after control of the House flipped in 2010 Democratic committee chairmen demoted to ranking members saw campaign contributions plummet from industries their committees oversee. Conversely, Republican ranking members who assumed House committee chairmanships in the wake of the shift saw a corresponding increase in contributions.<\/p>\n

CREW\u2019s analysis also found 80% of the chairs and ranking members included in our study reported receiving a growing share of their campaign contributions from industries overseen by their committees. This trend raises questions about whether committee leaders are overly dependent on the campaign contributions of those over which they have regulatory authority.<\/p>\n

In 2011, CREW released its first Funds for Favors report<\/a>, which analyzed campaign contributions to the chairmen and ranking members of ten House committees. Our analysis, which included data from the 1998 through the 2010 election cycles, revealed that as members\u2019 power and seniority increased, the industries they were responsible for regulating steered more and more money into their campaign coffers. This new edition of the report<\/a> compares campaign finance data from the 2010 election cycle to the 2012 election cycle, and shows industries are continuing to shower campaign cash on lawmakers who oversee them. Both editions of the report rely on federal campaign contribution data provided by MapLight.<\/p>\n

Under no circumstances should members of committees, let alone the Chairmen and Ranking Members, be permitted to receive campaign contributions from the companies they oversee and\/or lobbyists for those companies. This must be true for both parties despite the fact that Republicans are more inclined to offer quid pro quo<\/em>.<\/font><\/p>\n

From Daily Kos<\/a>: <\/font>On Wednesday this week, Robert Reich — labor secretary under President Clinton — was a guest on CNN’s "Crossfire" for a segment that asked the question "who’s blocking good-paying jobs?"<\/p>\n

Again, S.E. Cupp was nothing but a huge example of why we can’t have nice things.<\/p>\n