Common Blog

  Common Cause has obtained the financial disclosure reports of eight of the nine Justices of the Supreme Court. Justice Alito’s is unavailable, either because it was not yet ready for release or because he filed an extension. Of particular note, Justice Antonin Scalia reports reimbursement for “Transportation, Food and Lodging” from an organization called [...]

The Senate’s filibuster rule is a microcosm of everything that’s wrong with Washington: the stubbornness, the bald partisanship, the compulsion to cut backroom deals instead of having honest, public debate. It’s not just that filibusters are annoying—they have real consequences for everyday people. Remember the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have reduced gender discrimination in [...]

Today, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced her plans to make the raw data behind California’s lobbyists and campaign finance database available, online, on one spreadsheet available to the public and updated daily. Secretary Bowen’s announcement is a reversal from a position she has long held since Common Cause began asking for this disclosure in 2011.

While Common Cause strongly supports an independent and thorough review of the IRS’s actions, the hearings should also account for the agency’s failure to enforce the law against political front groups masquerading as social welfare organizations.

Having pretty much abandoned enforcement of our campaign finance laws, the three Republican members of the Federal Election Commission have plenty of time on their hands these days. So it’s no surprise that they joined forces this week on a Politico essay that seeks to justify the FEC’s dysfunction. The piece by Commissioners Donald F. [...]