Former lobbyists working for Congress outnumber lawmakers

Since the start of 2011, 155 lobbyists have become congressional staffers.

County GOP auctions legislators off to lobbyists

The Carver County GOP took heat this week over a fundraiser that featured an auction that guaranteed face-time with legislators for the highest bidder.

Lawmakers and lobbyists celebrate inauguration

President Barack Obama promised that his inauguration would be different from those of previous presidents, but change doesn’t come easily when it requires shaking influence in Washington.

Ad wars: Is Bachmann ‘a lobbyist’s worst nightmare’? Not so much

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s latest campaign tv ad, “Bachmann: A Lobbyist’s Worst Nightmare”, depicts the Republican congresswoman as someone who can’t be bought by lobbyists.

But that hasn’t stopped the 6th District Republican from putting the “for sale” sign outside her office and raking in $843,079 from political action committees through Oct. 15 in this election cycle—at least $182,255 of which came from lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Minneapolis hires high-powered Patton Boggs to lobby for the city in Washington

Recently, the Minneapolis City Council opted to hire the international lobbying giant Patton Boggs to…

Sen. Norm Coleman took contributions from embattled DCI Group

The campaign of Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., took funds from the DCI Group, a lobbying group criticized for its dealings with the oppressive military regime of Myanmar, Federal Elections Commission records show. The Coleman campaign took $6,000…

Media scrutiny forces RNC coordinator to resign

Doug Goodyear was tapped by Sen. John McCain last week to be the manager for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. On Saturday, Goodyear who is also the CEO of DCI Group resigned…

Phony ‘grassroots’ telecom industry group pushes back against cell phone reforms

The telecommunications industry is working hard to kill a cell phone reform bill at the Minnesota legislature that would guarantee customers accurate information about billing and service area coverage. And it’s using an industry front organization masquerading as a grassroots…