Money and Politics

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.

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 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?

As the new Democratic Congress heralded the elimination of earmarks from a major spending bill earlier this year, top Democrats and members of both parties deluged government agencies with special requests to fund pet projects, according to an investigation by CIR and the Los Angeles Times.

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