Money and Politics

The community organization ACORN is under fire for alleged voter registration fraud, and has been a longtime target for conservatives. Republicans are tying Barack Obama to ACORN, but John McCain also spoke to an ACORN rally in 2006. NPR and CIR look at the organization’s background and the controversy.

An obscure nonprofit has flooded campaign battleground states with an inflammatory DVD on radical Islam. Critics say the charity is trying to influence the presidential race. NPR and CIR investigate who is behind it.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and running mate John McCain have trumpeted her opposition to earmarks like the infamous “bridge to nowhere,” but Palin’s record is more complicated. As mayor, she hired a lobbyist to get federal money and, when running for governor, said she supported earmarks like the infamous bridge.

It was the first truly inflammatory anti-Obama ad to air on television, produced by the mysterious Coalition Against Anti-Christian Rhetoric. CIR tracks down the people behind it and finds a Hillary Clinton-backing hypnotherapist, an apolitical wedding videographer, and a convicted felon now on the run.

It could be the Swift Boat ad of 2008. A conservative group pops out of nowhere with a hard-hitting TV ad against Obama. A billionaire foots the bill. Obama’s campaign reacts fast. CIR and NPR look into the wrangling over the ad.

The Service Employees International Union, besides representing 2 million workers, is one of the most active and powerful political organizations in the nation. Beyond its own direct efforts, the union also helps create, lead, and fund dozens of organizations and coalitions that are influential in public policy debates and elections. NPR and CIR investigate.
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Election season is heating up, as independent groups from across the political spectrum launch new ad campaigns targeting candidates for president and Congress. CIR and NPR look at dueling ads featuring veterans and two competing campaigns reaching out to Christians.

Two politically opposed veterans' advocacy groups—Vets for Freedom and Vote Vets—are battling for voters. NPR and CIR look beyond the political rhetoric to examine the organizations' financing, and how they might affect this election.

CIR and NPR report on how nonprofits are quietly mobilizing to influence the 2008 elections. One network of liberal activist groups, started by Progress Now, is trying to shape the debate with a streamlined operation of small staff, low budgets and the Internet—and is backed by powerful connections from the Left.

Now that the presidential primaries are finished, independent political groups are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on TV ads to influence the upcoming presidential and congressional elections. NPR takes a look at one day of independent advertising, with reporting by CIR.

Independent political groups are already trying to influence the presidential campaign with TV ads and automated phone calls. Candidates John McCain and Barack Obama say they don’t want any more Swift Boat-like attacks. CIR and NPR investigate.

A nonprofit with ties to Hillary Clinton is under fire for running apparently illegal "robocalls" ahead of next week's North Carolina primary. The group promotes voting by women, but its misleading calls may discourage voting in the African-American community. CIR and NPR look into the organization’s political connections and financing.
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A new ad campaign attacking GOP presidential candidate John McCain is the opening salvo from a group of top Democrat donors, operatives and unions who have been amassing money for the presidential campaign. NPR and CIR trace the money flow and interwoven connections behind the group running the ad.

The 150-year-old King Ranch in south Texas helped shape the cowboy image of the American West. Now it's diversified into everything from citrus to pecans. And it's one of the biggest recipients of federal farm subsidies.

Sugar growers and their allies in Congress want the government to protect the industry from Mexican imports by diverting surplus sugar into ethanol production. CIR contributed research and reporting for this NPR story.

Top fundraisers for the presidential campaigns of Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain lobby on behalf of foreign governments, and in some cases, helped their clients gain access to the senators, according to a CIR and ABCNews.com investigation.

A CIR web exclusive chart showing which presidential candidates have fundraisers who also work as lobbyists for foreign governments.
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A CIR investigation for Politico finds new examples of presidential candidates relying on fundraisers with questionable backgrounds. Does the high-stakes campaign money race attract people with “shady” pasts?

Both parties lobby agencies to fund projects scrapped with the GOP spending bill.

An exclusive look into the inner workings of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell's fundraising operations by Lexington Herald-Leader reporter and author John Cheves.