If YOU Agree With This Statement, It's Time to Vote Progressive

[buckethead]

AFSCME at number three. There is a mouthful.

[Tacachale]

One thing to keep in mind is that the Democrats are channeling a lot of the smaller and individual contributions, which make up a bulk of all donations, through ActBlue. If the Republicans could ever get a system like that off the ground, it would probably be comparable to ActBlue, if not bigger. Currently they're still handling small contributions on a smaller level, but the bucks are still there.

But yeah, the idea that unions are not a major political lobbying force on par with big corporations, or that corporations are all pro-Republican, is false.

[bill]

^ Very interesting and eye opening. 

It certainly is!  Kind of blows up all the stereotypes and generalities usually used around here.  The top twenty donors are OVERWHELMINGLY democrat.  The biggest republican boogieman... Koch industries... comes in at a paltry 77 ranking.  Pitiful.  Even Goldman Sachs gave more to dems than repubs.  JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley each split their money nearly 50/50.

ORG                                                                            TOTAL              DEM    REP


1 ActBlue                                                                       $57,470,970      99%     0%       
2 AT&T Inc                                                                     $48,025,567      44%     55%   
3 American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees   $46,382,548      94%     1%       
4 National Assn of Realtors                                               $41,403,426      47%    49%   
5 Service Employees International Union                           $37,829,428      76%     2%     
6 National Education Assn                                                 $37,197,739      82%     5%     
7 Goldman Sachs                                                             $36,344,887      60%     39%   
8 American Assn for Justice                                               $35,200,054      88%    8%     
9 Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers                              $34,637,147      97%     2%       
10 Laborers Union                                                            $32,213,700      88%      7%     
11 American Federation of Teachers                                  $31,883,616       90%     0%       
12 Teamsters Union                                                          $31,507,378      89%      6%     
13 Carpenters & Joiners Union                                           $31,309,258       85%     10%     
14 Communications Workers of America                            $30,422,596        94%      0%       
15 Citigroup Inc                                                               $28,932,667        50%     49%   
16 American Medical Assn                                                 $27,977,161        40%     59%   
17 United Food & Commercial Workers Union                      $27,632,675        93%       0%       
18 United Auto Workers                                                    $27,540,152        98%       0%       
19 National Auto Dealers Assn                                           $27,330,958        32%       67%   
20 Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union                           $27,082,727       98%        1%

\
Yes it is amazing what you find when you look for the facts.

[buckethead]

For the record, Jeffery is in no way averse to facts. He's one of the most thoughtful, open minded, and fair posters on the entire interwebs.

We all carry some level of bias. Few among us try to see through them in ourselves, but most of us relish the opportunity to expose them in others.

Jeffery = the Few

Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.

~John Kenneth Galbraith

[JeffreyS]

^ Thanks BH.  I was definitely Out in "left field" on that one. Pun intended.

[Ajax]

Jeffery = the Few

The 1%? 

[Ajax]

But yeah, the idea that unions are not a major political lobbying force on par with big corporations, or that corporations are all pro-Republican, is false.

Corporations are going to be practical and hedge their bets.  That's why I've been saying that if we get a Romney vs. Obama general election, then Wall Street will be happy.  The only candidate that threatens the status quo is Ron Paul, so maybe Wall Street has already won. 

[avonjax]

Of course most of this list is unions of one type or another. These are the groups that the Republicans are chomping at the bit to eliminate. And they are very large groups made up of many many members. So your argument is still kinda meaningless for me. And as for the others, they don't want to bite the hand that feeds them so they play both sides.

[ChriswUfGator]

^ Very interesting and eye opening. 

It certainly is!  Kind of blows up all the stereotypes and generalities usually used around here.  The top twenty donors are OVERWHELMINGLY democrat.  The biggest republican boogieman... Koch industries... comes in at a paltry 77 ranking.  Pitiful.  Even Goldman Sachs gave more to dems than repubs.  JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley each split their money nearly 50/50.

ORG                                                                            TOTAL              DEM    REP


1 ActBlue                                                                       $57,470,970      99%     0%       
2 AT&T Inc                                                                     $48,025,567      44%     55%   
3 American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees   $46,382,548      94%     1%       
4 National Assn of Realtors                                               $41,403,426      47%    49%   
5 Service Employees International Union                           $37,829,428      76%     2%     
6 National Education Assn                                                 $37,197,739      82%     5%     
7 Goldman Sachs                                                             $36,344,887      60%     39%   
8 American Assn for Justice                                               $35,200,054      88%    8%     
9 Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers                              $34,637,147      97%     2%       
10 Laborers Union                                                            $32,213,700      88%      7%     
11 American Federation of Teachers                                  $31,883,616       90%     0%       
12 Teamsters Union                                                          $31,507,378      89%      6%     
13 Carpenters & Joiners Union                                           $31,309,258       85%     10%     
14 Communications Workers of America                            $30,422,596        94%      0%       
15 Citigroup Inc                                                               $28,932,667        50%     49%   
16 American Medical Assn                                                 $27,977,161        40%     59%   
17 United Food & Commercial Workers Union                      $27,632,675        93%       0%       
18 United Auto Workers                                                    $27,540,152        98%       0%       
19 National Auto Dealers Assn                                           $27,330,958        32%       67%   
20 Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union                           $27,082,727       98%        1%

The irony is the arch-conservative are normally shitty businessmen. That's par for the course.

But that doesn't stop the damage to the rest of us.

The huge amounts of systemic risk these views create is borne by all of us.

[BridgeTroll]

I wonder what university conducted the famous "arch conservative is shitty businessman" study?

[ChriswUfGator]

Personal observation.

How's your buddy Riverside Gator holding up these days?

[BridgeTroll]

Ah... so another stereotype and generalization. To quote a well known local lawyer...

That's par for the course.

[FayeforCure]

^ Thanks BH.  I was definitely Out in "left field" on that one. Pun intended.

JeffreyS, admittedly it was a bit of a surprise to me too, especially knowing that union membership today is only 30% of what it was in its heyday.

So I decided to do some digging. Here is what I found...........the Big corps keep others out:

Corporate lobbying is a very exclusive club

Posted by Brad Plumerat 10:06 AM ET, 11/08/2011



Washington is teeming with lobbyists. In 2009, there were 13,700 of them. So you’d think it would be easy for any company to stride into town and start pressing its issues on members of Congress. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Only a relatively small number of firms lobby each year. What’s more, the turnover is quite low. Lobbying, it seems, is not a game that just anyone can play.

That’s according to a new working paper from William R. Kerr, William F. Lincoln and Prachi Mishra of the National Bureau of Economic Research, who scoured the lobbying records of publicly traded companies from 1998 to 2006. They found that fewer than 300 firms in the sample actively lobbied Congress in any given year, and it was mainly large, rich firms getting in on the fun. Lobbying status is also persistent over time: “The probability that a firm lobbies in the current year given that it lobbied in the previous year is 92%,” the report said. Influence-peddling tends to be dominated by the same tiny handful of companies year after year:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/ezra-klein/StandingArt/lobbying%20--%20firms%20entering%20exiting.JPG?uuid=wf30FgoWEeGQ4P3JZQNLyQ

The authors found real barriers to entry for firms and groups who want to lobby. It takes time and effort to learn the relevant laws, to hire lobbyists (whether in-house or outside), develop an agenda, figure out who your allies and opponents in Washington are and establish relationships. “To the extent that lobbying represents a legislative subsidy to sympathetic policy makers,” the economists wrote, “politicians may also require such an initial investment of resources to signal a firm’s willingness to support them over time.”

That also means that the companies most affected by a given legislative issue won’t necessarily be the ones talking directly to Congress about it. For example, the authors looked at what happened when the law governing H-1B visas for high-skilled immigrants was set to expire in 2004. Capitol Hill didn’t see an influx of new companies dependent on high-skilled foreign labor arrive and start complaining. What mostly happened was that a few of the existing firms already lobbying on other issues (say, Microsoft and General Electric) shifted their focus and resources toward immigration.

Now, obviously there are still trade associations and nonprofits and other advocacy groups who push their issues on Capitol Hill as well. But it’s fairly difficult for an individual company to start lobbying directly unless it’s been roaming the halls of Congress for years and years.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/corporate-lobbying-is-a-very-exclusive-club/2011/11/08/gIQAPLln0M_blog.html

And besides.........influence peddling is done in a variety of ways.......not just lobbying:

Citigroup replaces JP Morgan as Chief of Staff:

http://www.youtube.com/v/6_rNsMy5sk0?

[FayeforCure]

WOW, I just knew it.........I just knew it.

JeffreyS, our info is more accurate rather than the misleading GOP info. From Open Secrets:

2012 Overview
Business-Labor-Ideology Split in PAC & Individual Donations to Candidates and Parties

Corporate influence over government (as in who is funding our government the most) is FAR larger than Labor influence over government. Open Secrets states this in their 2012 overview of Political Donors to Candidates and Parties:

Whatever slice you look at, business interests dominate, with an overall advantage over organized labor of about 15-to-1.

Obviously this business money only goes to new Democratic candidates if they happen to be Republican lite, or Democratic incumbents (in Democratic districts) to create some goodwill...........as 95% of incumbents get re-elected anyway.

http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/blio.php

[Tacachale]

^You missed the next line:

An important caveat must be added to these figures: "business" contributions from individuals are based on the donor's occupation/employer. Since nearly everyone works for someone, and since union affiliation is not listed on FEC reports, totals for business are somewhat overstated, while labor is understated. Still, the base of large individual donors is predominantly made up of business executives and professionals. Contributions under $200 are not included in these numbers, as they are not itemized.

http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/blio.php

In other words, the bulk of all donations are individual contributions ($530 million out of $715 million), and by their metric they're counting a bulk of individual contributions as "business" contributions, while few of them are counted as "labor".

In addition the Dems do much better than the Republicans with "ideological" individual donations, presumably due to their vastly superior way of organizing small contributions as well as support from well organized lobbying groups like EMILY's List, the American Association for "Justice", and the Human Rights Campaign.

I can't find any numbers to back it up, but presumably the influence of labor unions has decreased significantly since 1989 (and before), though they are still a major interest (ie, larger than any others besides the largest companies).