The Charleston Post and Courier is carrying story about Eugene Platt and his appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court to protect his free speech rights, and the same rights for the South Carolina Green Party.
Platt had sought the Green Party and Working Families Party nomination in spring of 2008. He was nominated by both parties, and Platt’s nomination by the Democratic Party in a primary would seem to make his election all the more likely. South Carolina is one of the states which permit fusion voting.
However, when the Democratic Party primary was held, Anne Peterson Hutto won the nomination. The South Carolina Green Party assured Platt that he was their nominee, and the November election was expected to be a three way race.
The Democratic Party, in the form of Charleston County chair George Tempel, sued to keep Platt off the ballot. Platt had signed a pledge that he would not seek write-in votes nor seek nomination by petition should he lose the primary. Platt was represented by the Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. Despite the fact that Platt had not violated any of the actual terms of the pledge, as he was not seeking nomination by petition nor write-in votes, the court in Charleston ruled in favor of Tempel.
The state supreme court will hear oral arguments this Wednesday in Columbia. Several members of the South Carolina Green Party steering committee will be in attendance.
April 28, 2010 at 9:35 am |
http://highfive4all.com
Government Officials and corruption:
Campaign funding is only the first step.
Then check out the ear-marks, (pork) that
later correlates dirrectly to the funding.
Of course the staffers relied on would be next.
Then the think tanks listened to, and how it
is related to the donor.
It will then become quite obvious how the
corruption of foreign & corporate lobbyist
control officials on both sides of the isle.
The largest and most corrupt is AIPAC,
Wall Street, big oil companies, Drug
distributors legal or not, realestate fraud,
and insurance companies.
Politicians call it all normal practice. I,
like most citizens, call it CORRUPTION.
IF the media were actually a watch group
for our interest, would it be outed by now,
would it take sixty years to recognize.
I believe the Media has become very much
controlled by the same corrupted sources.
Both republicans & democrats are the same.
Would a third party end up the same??
Reform has to start right smack in the middle of
Washington,D.C. the corruption capital of the WORLD.
NO USA OFFICIAL SHOULD HAVE DUEL CITIZENSHIP
Last week, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell got all 41 GOP senators to promise to oppose Wall Street reform. He thought President Obama would back down in the face of a unified show of force.
He was wrong– but Wall Street lobbyists are still swarming Capitol Hill, trying to trip up negotiations and maintain the gridlock that has defined Washington for far too long.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accepts Wall Street corruption
money. Mitch McConnell’s Homestate Paper Thrashes Him For ‘Unabashedly Courting Wall Street Bankers For Political Money’
We have read that the Republicans have a plan for financial reform, but McConnell isn’t talking up any solutions, just trashing the other side’s ideas with no respect for the truth.
McConnell’s contributions received: $18,079,319
Top 10 Interests Funding:
Interest Contributions
Securities & Investment $1,155,024
Lawyers/Law Firms $915,933
Real Estate $725,130
Health Professionals $723,500
Banks and Credit $571,250
Insurance $564,783
Republican/Conservative $520,358
Lobbyists $509,305
Oil & Gas $464,350
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $425,785
Sen. Mitch McConnell, pushed $25 million in earmarked federal funds for a British defense contractor that is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for bribery. He had taken at least $53,000 in campaign donations from BAE’s political action committees and employees since his 2002 re-election. McConnell’s earmarks included $12.2 million for five-inch Naval gun mount overhauls; $8 million for Naval destroyer weapons modernization; and $4.8 million for ammunition pallets for Naval ships. “Most politicians decide that a scandal is a good time to stop doing business with a company, at least until the scandal is over, particularly when we’re talking about a criminal investigation over bribery.
Senator Richard C Shelby has reported a total of 1,731 contributions ($200 or more) totaling $2,292,372 in the current cycle. To search these itemized contributions for this member, click here.
Top 20 Contributors to Campaign Cmte
Rank Contributor Total Indivs PACs
1 Travelers Companies $55,250 $50,250 $5,000
2 Radiance Technologies $45,750 $35,750 $10,000
3 Blackstone Group $45,200 $45,200 $0
4 FMR Corp $42,650 $37,650 $5,000
5 Sparta Inc $40,100 $30,100 $10,000
6 Goldman Sachs $39,600 $35,600 $4,000
7 Balch & Bingham $37,900 $27,900 $10,000
8 JPMorgan Chase & Co $33,500 $26,500 $7,000
9 Kynikos Assoc $32,800 $32,800 $0
10 Drummond Co $31,000 $24,000 $7,000
11 NASDAQ OMX Group $30,300 $23,300 $7,000
12 Tacala LLC $28,766 $28,766 $0
13 Future Research Corp $28,500 $28,500 $0
14 American Express $26,900 $24,400 $2,500
15 Citigroup Inc $26,200 $26,200 $0
16 Collazo Enterprises $26,100 $26,100 $0
17 CME Group $25,938 $15,938 $10,000
18 Southern Co $24,900 $14,900 $10,000
19 Morris, Haynes & Hornsby $23,600 $23,600 $0
20 Intergraph Corp $23,450 $16,450 $7,000
Download: View Top 20 | Top 100
This table lists the top donors to this candidate in the 2009 – 2010 election cycle. The organizations themselves did not donate, rather the money came from the organization’s PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals’ immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.
Why (and How) We Use Donors’ Employer/Occupation Information
METHODOLOGY
NOTE: All the numbers on this page are for the 2005-2010 election cycle and based on Federal Election Commission data available electronically on Sunday, March 21, 2010. (“Help! The numbers don’t add up…”)
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.
Lobbying Database
In addition to campaign contributions to elected officials and candidates, companies, labor unions, and other organizations spend billions of dollars each year to lobby Congress and federal agencies. Some special interests retain lobbying firms, many of them located along Washington’s legendary K Street; others have lobbyists working in-house. We’ve got totals spent on lobbying, beginning in 1998, for everyone from AAI Corp. to Zurich Financial.
You can use the options below to search through our database in several ways: search by name for a company, lobbying firm or individual lobbyist; search for the total spending by a particular industry; view the interests that lobbied a particular government agency; or search for lobbying on a general issue or specific piece of legislation.
Total Lobbying Spending
1998 $1.44 Billion
1999 $1.44 Billion
2000 $1.56 Billion
2001 $1.64 Billion
2002 $1.81 Billion
2003 $2.04 Billion
2004 $2.17 Billion
2005 $2.43 Billion
2006 $2.62 Billion
2007 $2.86 Billion
2008 $3.30 Billion
2009 $3.46 Billion
Number of Lobbyists*
1998 10,403
1999 12,945
2000 12,484
2001 11,767
2002 12,072
2003 12,880
2004 13,103
2005 14,001
2006 14,449
2007 14,795
2008 14,250
2009 13,694
NOTE: Figures are on this page are calculations by the Center for Responsive Politics based on data from the Senate Office of Public Records. Data for the most recent year was downloaded on February 01, 2010.
*The number of unique, registered lobbyists who have actively lobbied.
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.
Lobbying
Top Lobbying Firms
All years (1998-2009) 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998
Lobbying Firm Total
Patton Boggs LLP $352,832,000
Cassidy & Assoc $305,465,000
Akin, Gump et al $287,305,000
Van Scoyoc Assoc $232,423,000
Williams & Jensen $169,164,000
Hogan & Hartson $154,683,907
Ernst & Young $146,935,237
Quinn Gillespie & Assoc $134,443,500
Holland & Knight $118,369,544
Greenberg Traurig LLP $116,678,249
PMA Group $115,950,578
Barbour, Griffith & Rogers $114,680,000
Dutko Worldwide $103,206,766
PriceWaterhouseCoopers $99,734,084
Alcalde & Fay $97,130,660
Carmen Group $95,415,000
Verner, Liipfert et al $88,595,000
Clark & Weinstock $86,885,000
Brownstein, Hyatt et al $85,295,000
Ferguson Group $83,762,291
NOTE: All lobbying expenditures on this page come from the Senate Office of Public Records. Data for the most recent year was downloaded on February 01, 2010.
Heavy Hitters
Top All-Time Donors, 1989-2010
View party split for: All cycles2010 cycle
LEGEND: Republican Democrat On the fence
= Between 40% and 59% to both parties
= Leans Dem/Repub (60%-69%)
= Strongly Dem/Repub (70%-89%)
= Solidly Dem/Repub (over 90%)
Rank Organization Total ’89-’09 Dem % Repub % Tilt
1 AT&T Inc $44,361,209 44% 55%
2 American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees $42,248,261 98% 1%
3 National Assn of Realtors $35,733,073 48% 51%
4 Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $31,660,630 97% 2%
5 American Assn for Justice $31,645,679 90% 9%
6 Goldman Sachs $31,612,375 64% 35%
7 National Education Assn $30,194,067 92% 6%
8 Laborers Union $29,132,400 92% 7%
9 Service Employees International Union $28,134,482 95% 3%
10 Teamsters Union $28,029,624 92% 6%
11 Carpenters & Joiners Union $27,972,183 89% 9%
12 Citigroup Inc $27,179,418 50% 49%
13 Communications Workers of America $27,128,896 99% 0%
14 American Federation of Teachers $27,114,941 98% 0%
15 American Medical Assn $26,318,405 39% 60%
16 United Auto Workers $26,064,102 98% 0%
17 Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union $25,303,277 98% 0%
18 National Auto Dealers Assn $24,559,658 32% 67%
19 United Parcel Service $24,333,183 36% 63%
20 United Food & Commercial Workers Union $24,256,933 98% 1%
21 American Bankers Assn $22,561,966 41% 58%
22 National Assn of Home Builders $21,961,655 36% 63%
23 EMILY’s List $21,644,628 99% 0%
24 National Beer Wholesalers Assn $21,268,345 32% 67%
25 Microsoft Corp $20,221,604 53% 46%
26 JPMorgan Chase & Co $20,129,053 51% 48%
27 Time Warner $20,059,030 71% 27%
28 National Assn of Letter Carriers $19,665,934 88% 11%
29 Verizon Communications $18,868,752 40% 58%
30 Morgan Stanley $18,585,734 45% 53%
31 Lockheed Martin $18,545,123 43% 56%
32 Pfizer Inc $18,355,232 29% 70%
33 AFL-CIO $18,249,596 95% 4%
34 General Electric $18,172,909 51% 48%
35 FedEx Corp $18,134,041 40% 59%
36 Credit Union National Assn $17,548,332 48% 51%
37 National Rifle Assn $17,373,696 17% 82%
38 Bank of America $17,316,442 47% 52%
39 Ernst & Young $17,235,066 44% 55%
40 Sheet Metal Workers Union $17,058,413 97% 2%
41 American Dental Assn $16,710,154 46% 53%
42 American Hospital Assn $16,672,724 53% 46%
43 Blue Cross/Blue Shield $16,670,269 40% 59%
44 Plumbers & Pipefitters Union $16,563,651 94% 5%
45 Operating Engineers Union $16,350,050 85% 14%
46 International Assn of Fire Fighters $16,301,643 82% 17%
47 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu $16,177,720 35% 64%
48 Air Line Pilots Assn $15,835,027 84% 15%
49 PricewaterhouseCoopers $15,705,393 36% 62%
50 UBS AG $15,571,924 40% 58%
51 Natl Assn/Insurance & Financial Advisors $15,155,354 42% 56%
52 AFLAC Inc $15,036,819 44% 55%
53 Union Pacific Corp $14,365,198 24% 75%
54 Merrill Lynch $14,336,680 37% 61%
55 Boeing Co $14,224,472 47% 52%
56 United Transportation Union $13,759,245 88% 10%
57 United Steelworkers $13,689,751 99% 0%
58 Reynolds American $13,417,652 24% 75%
59 Ironworkers Union $13,353,075 92% 7%
60 BellSouth Corp $12,993,782 45% 54%
61 American Institute of CPAs $12,986,114 42% 57%
62 Credit Suisse Group $12,634,176 44% 54%
63 American Postal Workers Union $12,113,973 95% 4%
64 National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn $12,084,871 52% 47%
65 General Dynamics $11,909,089 46% 52%
66 American Financial Group $11,474,005 18% 81%
67 GlaxoSmithKline $11,167,939 29% 70%
68 Altria Group $11,025,201 39% 60%
69 Walt Disney Co $11,002,598 67% 32%
70 Chevron $11,001,354 24% 75%
71 Exxon Mobil $10,779,323 14% 85%
72 KPMG International $10,698,139 33% 66%
73 Natl Active & Retired Fed Employees Assn $10,507,000 77% 22%
74 National Air Traffic Controllers Assn $10,428,938 80% 19%
75 Human Rights Campaign $10,104,985 90% 9%
76 MBNA Corp $10,059,006 17% 82%
77 UST Inc $9,938,811 21% 78%
78 Freddie Mac $9,873,190 43% 56%
79 Southern Co $9,812,494 31% 68%
80 National Restaurant Assn $9,796,145 16% 83%
81 AIG $9,765,662 50% 49%
82 Prudential Financial $9,583,749 48% 51%
83 MetLife Inc $9,504,592 55% 44%
84 American Academy of Ophthalmology $9,404,038 52% 47%
85 American Health Care Assn $9,369,908 53% 45%
86 General Motors $9,323,493 38% 60%
87 National Cmte to Preserve Social Security & Medicare $9,264,357 80% 19%
88 Eli Lilly & Co $9,257,578 29% 70%
89 Wal-Mart Stores $9,256,199 26% 73%
90 CSX Corp $9,197,979 32% 67%
91 American Maritime Officers $9,072,721 46% 53%
92 Associated General Contractors $8,956,941 14% 85%
93 National Cmte for an Effective Congress $8,707,940 99% 0%
94 Amway/Alticor Inc $8,616,721 0% 99%
95 Archer Daniels Midland $8,423,364 44% 55%
96 Seafarers International Union $8,325,644 84% 14%
97 American Airlines $8,199,080 47% 52%
98 MCI Inc $8,093,472 46% 53%
99 National Fedn of Independent Business $7,848,576 7% 92%
100 American Council of Life Insurers $7,695,854 37% 62%
101 Marine Engineers Beneficial Assn $7,421,877 74% 25%
102 Bristol-Myers Squibb $7,288,862 22% 77%
103 Enron Corp $6,546,585 29% 70%
104 Andersen $6,253,477 37% 62%
105 BP $6,186,829 29% 70%
106 Vivendi $4,595,290 66% 33%
Based on data released by the FEC on March 21, 2010.
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.
Called ESPIONAGE and SABOTAGE
Our tax dollars given to Israel in the form of
foreign aid and military aid come back through
the acts of Espionage and Sabotage by mossad
agents and foreign lobbies such as AIPAC.
Wake up America, our bought out government
and university think tanks sure won’t come to
any realization of the links to our destruction.
Foreign competitors who criminally seek economic intelligence generally operate in three ways to create their spy networks:
1. They aggressively target and recruit susceptible people (often from the same national background) working for U.S. companies and research institutions;
2. They recruit people to locate economic intelligence through operations like bribery, discreet theft, dumpster diving (in search of discarded trade secrets), and wiretapping; and,
3. They establish seemingly innocent business relationships between foreign companies and U.S. industries to gather economic intelligence including classified information.
In an effort to safeguard our nation’s economic secrets, the Economic Espionage Act (EEA) was signed into law on October 11, 1996.
Last week Sweden’s largest daily newspaper published an article containing shocking material: testimony and circumstantial evidence indicating that Israelis may have been harvesting internal organs from Palestinian prisoners without consent for many years.Call for an international investigation to discover the facts.
At a time of financial crisis in the United States in which thousands of Americans have lost their jobs and homes, an Israeli news service reports that President Obama has just signed a presidential memo eliminating a tariff on Israel that protected American dairy farmers and that raised money for the American economy.
Why don’t Americans Know what’s going on in Israel/Palestine? The answer is unclear at this point, but some disturbing patterns are beginning to emerge. They implicate some of our major news media, and, perhaps most of all, the Associated Press, the oldest and largest wire service in the world. Most American editors and journalists have no idea what is occurring under their watch. To date, there is little indication that they care.
No one bothers to report on the Israeli atrocities against its neighbors. A search of the nation’s largest newspapers turns up nothing in USA Today, the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Chicago Sun-Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Houston Chronicle, Tampa Tribune, etc.
Our media is controlled by AIPAC members, the Associated Press covers-up Israel’s long-standing practices of International crimes.
We see the money accepted by our officials from
a foreign interest lobby. We see the amount of our sons
& daughters killed in wars fought for all the
wrong reasons. We see our financial system,
and media controlled by the Zionist political
movement.
What we do not witness from our government
officials from either political party.
A) Moral values. B) Ethics. C) Integrity. D)
Accountability. E) Oversight. F) Commitment
to American TAX-PAYERS. G) Fiscal responcibility.
Our national security is at risk more and more
do to the completely disfuctional government.
A government never held to any reasonable
standard. A government occupied by foreign
interest.
Is the media controlled by Jews? No. It’s controlled by Zionist Jewish Apostates who’ve done to Judaism exactly what Radical Jihadists have done to Islam. The American media is 100 percent controlled by them, as is international banking, the dollar, and the United States. They are international gangsters, falsely hiding behind a usurped Jewish identity, nothing more. Their six pointed star’s origins are not even Hebrew but Babylonian. The Star of Moses has five points. They’re not “Semites”, nor does being a real Jew require one to be a Semite. It requires obedience to the Torah. “Antisemitism” is “newspeak”, a lie. “Israel” as a Jewish national state, is blasphemous under Jewish law. What can stop them. Wrong question. They are the most hated nation on earth. The outrage around the world against them grows on their murderous fascist imposition like a cancer.
Israel can not possibly survive. They can kill as many people opposing them, as their superior technology allows them to, but they can not kill the contempt it grows.
A large amount of Americans strongly support an
Independant candidate, hopeful that Ron Paul
will run on such ticket.
Ron Paul should distance himself from the Republican Party.
Dennis Kucinick should distance himself from the Democrat Party.
They should run together on an Independant Party ticket.
Call it the American’s Party, the party of choice for and by the American only citizens of the USA “only”.
Americans need a NEW party, an agenda that is developed in AMERICA for America and Americans
only. No duel citizenship candidates that end up in many conflicts of interest.
Demand a UN Investigation of the Military Cover-Up of the Civilian Killings