"Citizens United v Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 50 (2010), was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment.
The Court struck down a provision of the McCain–Feingold Act that prohibited all corporations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting “electioneering communications.” "
Charlie Rangel "Beginning in 2008, Rangel has faced a series of allegations of ethics violations and failures to follow tax laws. In February 2010, the House Ethics Committee concluded that Rangel had violated House gift rules by accepting payment from corporations for reimbursement for travel to conferences in the Caribbean, and required him to repay those expenses. The Ethics Committee has also worked on three more serious investigations, which involve allegations of improperly living in multiple rent-stabilized apartments in New York City while claiming his Washington, D.C. home as his primary residence for tax purposes, of improperly using his office in raising money for a public policy institute in his name at the City College of New York, and of failing to disclose rental income from an apartment in the Dominican Republic. In March 2010, Rangel stepped aside as Ways and Means chair. In July 2010, Rangel was charged with multiple ethics violations by the House Ethics Committee and will face a formal hearing to determine his fate."
Ben Nelson "Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson is not afraid to buck his party when it comes to fiscal issues.
The Nebraskan did it again this week, voting against a bill extending unemployment insurance benefits to millions of Americans.
New state figures for June found that the state's unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent in May, compared to the national average of 9.5 percent."
Joe Barton "During a Congressional hearing, Barton apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for the White House's investigation of the Gulf oil spill, calling it a "shakedown", which promptly raised controversy.
During his political career, the industries that have been Barton's largest contributors were oil and gas ($1.4 million donated), electric utilities ($1.3 million) and health professionals ($1.1 million)[30] He is ranked first among members of the United States House of Representatives for the most contributions received from the oil and gas industry, and number five among all members of Congress.[31] His largest corporate contributor, Anadarko Petroleum, owns a 25 percent share in the Macondo Prospect, the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[32]"
John Kerry "Times are tough for everyone. Including gazillionaire John Kerry. The Massachusetts senator is under fire for docking his brand new $7-million yacht in Rhode Island. It's not illegal to moor your boat there or anything. It's just that Rhode Island doesn’t have a boat sales and use tax anymore. If the luxurious yacht, which apparently boasts an "Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage" were berthed in his home state (commonly known as "Taxachusetts") then he’d be on the hook for almost $500,000."
All of the above direct quotes from these sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_B._Rangel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Barton
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/07/john-kerry-saves-500000-by-docking-ultraluxury-yacht-in-other-state.html
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/22/ben.nelson.vote/index.html
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