November 21, 2008, 1:24 pm

POLITICS: Gambling on Obama

By Joe Eaton

Native Americans bet heavily on the Obama administration, and they’re now expecting a big return. During the 2008 federal election cycle, Indian gaming interests contributed almost $8 million, 73 percent to Democrats. Obama raked in more than $68,000 from the groups as compared to $5,000 for McCain, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

“The reservations went deeply blue,” said Patrick Spears, president of the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy. Spears said Obama won with Indians because he visited tribal leaders during the campaign and told them he supported a “nation-to-nation relationship.”

And now it’s time for the payoff. Spears said he hopes for administration support for tribal wind power projects, dollars for education, and, of course, a Department of the Interior secretary well-versed in Indian concerns.

The Associated Press reports that former governors John Kitzhaber of Oregon and Tony Knowles of Alaska, as well as Democratic Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado, are on Obama’s shortlist for Interior secretary.

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November 21, 2008, 10:37 am

DEFENSE: Eastern Europe to U.S.: Wait, Wait, Now We Want Your Missiles!

By Nikola Horejs

Czech Republic/CIA World Factbook image The controversy over the missile defense system the United States plans to build in Eastern Europe has taken almost a 360-degree turn recently. Until November the Bush administration had been courting our “new Europe” pals, the Poles and Czechs, offering planes, missiles, discounts, and other goodies to help smooth the way for the Star Wars installation. But on November 4, the tables turned.

Polish and Czech ministers have been touring Washington in recent days, quietly meeting with advisers to Prez-Elect Obama and encouraging him to maintain Bush’s plans – though they’re being tight-lipped about it. “I can’t tell you whom I’ve met; I am not a fool,” Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vondra told PaperTrail after his closed-door meeting at the Brookings Institute on Tuesday. Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, spoke the next day at the Atlantic Council of the United States. Poland will “wait until the new administration makes its assessments,” he said, but “we would like to see the project continue.”

That may be a hard sell. The missile defense project is among the top candidates for Pentagon budget cuts. The system hasn’t been proved effective, argue some experts, and it gives angry Russians an excuse to deploy more missiles themselves. Obama’s aides have said repeatedly the new president would support the system only “when the technology is proved to be workable.”

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November 19, 2008, 5:42 pm

POLITICS: Dingell vs. Waxman — Are Their Pasts Prologue?

By Josh Israel

Representatives Henry Waxman and John Dingell UPDATE: The Democratic caucus voted Waxman into the chairmanship by a count of 137-122.

California Democrat Henry Waxman scored an early-round victory over Michigan Democrat John D. Dingell today in Waxman’s quest to unseat the longest-serving member of the House of Representative and claim his Energy and Commerce Committee chairmanship for the upcoming 111th Congress. In a 25-22 vote, the House Democratic Steering Committee endorsed Waxman for the job — though the final vote by the full Democratic caucus won’t come until Thursday.

The 69-year-old Waxman’s challenge to Dingell’s leadership focuses on disagreements over the latter’s leadership on issues of, as Waxman put it, “energy, climate change, and health care.” Dingell has drawn fire from environmental groups for favoring the interests of the automobile industry over pro-green concerns.

The 82-year-old Dingell, who has represented his southeastern Michigan district since 1955, is a top recipient of largesse from the energy and automobile industries. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, he received more than $300,000 in contributions from the energy industry in 2007 and 2008 alone — more than from any other sector. His attachment to the automobile industry — unsurprising given his Detroit-area district — is longstanding. The Center’s 1998 book The Buying of Congress, found that from 1987 to 1996, Dingell’s three top sources of campaign contributions were executives, employees, and political action committees from the “big three” automakers of Detroit: $59,900 from General Motors, $59,125 from Ford, and $55,950 from Chrysler. Another $37,591 came from the United Automobile Workers labor union.

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November 18, 2008, 9:29 am

ENERGY: New Numbers in Senate Still May Not Add Up for Renewables

By Marianne Lavelle

New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman There’s an early energy test coming for the new Congress. The question: Will lawmakers follow the lead of 29 states and the District of Columbia and commit the nation to drawing a certain percentage of electricity from renewable sources like solar, wind, and geothermal energy?

The renewable energy goals vary by state, from Maine’s pledge of 10 percent by 2017 to Minnesota’s aim for 25 percent by 2025. But nearly anything Congress does would be an improvement, say advocates, with alternative energy currently providing less than 3 percent of U.S. electricity.

At a conference last week in Washington, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, mentioned this idea of a “Renewable Portfolio Standard” (RPS) — one he has long championed — as a concept that has already been thoroughly debated on the Hill and “that I hope now we will have the necessary votes to pass.”

The election did give RPS at least four likely additional votes in the Senate, since Democratic victors Mark Udall in Colorado, Tom Udall in New Mexico, Kay Hagan in North Carolina, and Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire all have records of supporting such a measure, unlike their predecessors.

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November 17, 2008, 1:53 pm

POLITICS: Bundlers to the White House: Craig, Jarrett First in Line

By Sarah Laskow

Valerie Jarrett, recently named a senior adviser in the new Obama administration We already know that Obama’s transition staff is stacked with campaign donors and fundraisers. And despite the vaunted small-donor base developed by the Obama campaign, big-ticket bundlers are also beginning to filter into the emerging Obama administration, led by Gregory Craig and Valerie Jarrett.

Both Craig, who will be White House counsel, and Jarrett, tapped as a senior adviser, have strong professional credentials. Craig served as a foreign policy advisor to Senator Ted Kennedy and in Madeleine Albright’s State Department. He also has the distinction of having played John McCain during debate prep. Jarrett is a force in Chicago politics and one of Obama’s longest-serving advisers.

It’s worth noting, though, that both Craig and Jarrett offered the Obama campaign more than just trenchant advice. Jarrett raised more than $100,000 as a campaign bundler, according to Public Citizen, a D.C. watchdog group. Craig raised more than $200,000.

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November 14, 2008, 2:22 pm

POLITICS: Question: How Many Free Chili Half-Smokes Can Obama Eat?

By Sarah Laskow

Photo courtesy of Ben's Chili Bowl Iconic D.C. restaurant Ben's Chili Bowl is adding the Obama family to its very short list of customers that eat for free, The New York Times reported earlier this week. (Previously, the list was limited to Bill Cosby.) If PaperTrail were so lucky to be added to this exclusive list, we would take advantage of this offer as often as possible, so we certainly don’t want to be spoilsports. The president, though, is subject to federal regulations limiting the gifts he can receive. So just how many of Ben's famous chili half-smoke sausages can Obama eat without stepping over the ethical line?

Answer: If the new prez leaves his family at home, he can gobble down 10 free chili half-smokes a year (but only if he doesn’t want chili-cheese fries with those). You see, presidents, like other federal officials, generally are barred from accepting gifts “given because of the employee’s official position” unless they’re “unsolicited” and cost $20 or less “per source per occasion.” And there’s an annual limit of $50 per year. Now, those tasty chili half-smokes at Ben’s each cost $4.95. So that’s ten half-smokes for a total of $49.50, pre-tax, putting Obama just under the line.

But what if Michelle, Malia, and Sasha . . . oh, and body man Reggie Love come along? Realistically, before racking up a bill that goes over the line, the Obamas might want to follow this piece of advice from the federal gift rules: “It is never inappropriate and frequently prudent for an employee to decline a gift.” Once he gets a chance to try Ben’s, though, Obama might just want to keep this gift for himself, anyway.

November 14, 2008, 9:14 am

ENERGY: The Green Energy Revolution May Already be Underway

By Marianne Lavelle

John Podesta is currently leading President-Elect Obama's transition team after taking a leave of absence from the Center for American Progress. Photo used under Creative Commons license courtesy of flickr user Thuresson. The idea of an “energy stimulus” is picking up momentum in the corridors of power, along with a fancy new title. Look for such a plan, perhaps going by the name of “green recovery” or even “green prosperity,” to be the first climate change initiative of the Obama administration and the newly bolstered Democratic leadership of the 111th Congress.

The most detailed run-down on a potential plan for a job-creation bill that will, not so incidentally, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, happens to have come out of the Center for American Progress (CAP). That’s the influential think tank headed by John Podesta until he took a leave of absence to lead President-Elect Obama’s transition team. The September report, authored by Robert Pollin and University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute economists, says that a $100 billion investment over two years (one-seventh the cost of the financial sector bailout bill, for those counting) would create 2 million new jobs. These jobs would run the gamut, from weatherizing homes and schools to new mass transit and water infrastructure construction to solar and wind energy manufacturing.

This week, CAP further refined the vision — putting out a memo outlining $47.2 billion in short-term spending options, including money to go directly to citizens — $2.5 billion annual “cash for clunkers” program to get old, polluting autos off the road, and a $2,000 tax credit per household for purchase of energy-efficient appliances and insulation.

The whole approach tackles head-on the charges by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the anti-corporate tax group American Council for Capital Formation, who argued that action on climate change would break the U.S. economy.

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November 13, 2008, 11:33 am

POLITICS: Governor Bobby Jindal Spins the Center’s Work

By Sarah Laskow

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal name-checked the Center for Public Integrity when touting his gubernatorial accomplishments on MSNBC Tuesday, but he didn’t get our assessment of his state’s new ethics package quite right. And while we love the publicity, we feel compelled to set the record straight.

“We’ve revamped ethics. Louisiana is now on the top of the list, according to the Center for Public Integrity,” Jindal told anchor David Shuster.

While Louisiana’s new law, which will not take effect until 2009, is on par with other tough ethics laws across the country, the Center has never said that Louisiana ethics law is “on top of the list.” It’s good – don’t get us wrong – but, sorry, Guv, we can’t give you the top ranking. Here’s why:

The Center’s States of Disclosure project systematically ranked disclosure laws for state legislatures in 1999, 2004, 2005, and 2006. In these reports, our team evaluated every state’s laws in order to compare them accurately. In 2008 the Center re-scored Louisiana’s new ethics law when Jindal’s substantial reform package made the changes a newsworthy event. The law certainly scored better on our survey than its predecessor, which ranked a dismal 44th. But other states have passed ethics reform since 2006, and since we didn’t reevaluate every state’s law, our report was careful to say that Louisiana’s law was only among the best.

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November 12, 2008, 6:04 pm

POLITICS: Health Care Reform Stays in the Picture; Health Lobby Probably Does, Too

By Andrew Green

Montana Senator Max Baucus Conventional wisdom had it that the current economic morass might temporarily sideline President-Elect Obama’s push to reform health care. But today brings news that a handful of influential Washington players might not be willing to wait.

Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat and the chairman of the Finance Committee, today released a 104-page position paper mapping his vision of health care reform. Meanwhile, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy is convening a spectrum of stakeholders in hopes of getting legislation together by Obama’s inauguration, according to The Washington Post.

And health care reform advocates are likely not the only ones excited by this news. The health care lobby — one of Washington’s largest — is probably already gearing up for a fight similar to that of the early ’90s, when the Clinton administration unsuccessfully attempted to overhaul the health care system. The Center spent a year documenting the millions of dollars and thousands of hours spent lobbying various players in the health care reform effort, culminating in our 1994 report, Well Healed: Inside Lobbying for Health Care Reform.

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November 10, 2008, 11:55 am

ELECTION ’08: Felons in Office: Ted Stevens Set to Join an Even More Elite Club

By Andrew Green

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens If the current returns hold up, then Alaskans will have reelected a newly convicted felon to the U.S. Senate; Senator Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in that august body, currently leads his opponent by about 3,000 votes. His victory comes less than two weeks after he was convicted on seven counts of corruption. Unlike the chattering classes, what surprises PaperTrail is not Stevens’s victory, but that he will be the first convicted felon to be elected – or reelected – to the U.S. Senate. Apparently, in even the darkest corners of our history books, we have so far managed to avoid this eventuality.

But that doesn’t mean this country has entirely avoided electing convicted felons to office. If he wins, Stevens will belong to an even more select group than the Senate, including:

• Matthew Lyon: The first person convicted under President John Adams’s infamous Sedition Act, which prohibited publishing “false, scandalous, and malicious writing” about the U.S. government and its officials, Lyon won reelection to the House of Representatives in 1798 while in jail. (Were that law still in effect, most office-seekers would also probably end up behind bars.)

• James Michael Curley: Though only under indictment at the time of his 1945 victory, Curley served part of his fourth and final term as Boston’s mayor in prison. Five months into the 18-month term for mail fraud, President Harry Truman commuted the sentence.

• William Musto: The mayor of Union City, New Jersey, described by The New York Times upon his death as having lived with “unchecked gusto,” won reelection the day after he was sentenced to prison in 1982 “for helping mobsters and contractors pocket public money designated for schools.”

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