In case you missed it …
The watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics nailed the Tea Party types in Congress, revealing that these so-called anti-Washington politicians are increasingly pulling in large amounts of cash from special interest groups.

One of the most interesting findings: the Tea Party, which especially hates the bank bailouts, is being represented on Capitol Hill by lawmakers who take a lot of money from the American Bankers Association.
The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics compiled a spreadsheet with all the campaign donations to the House Tea Party Caucus and found many of the outspoken freshmen are openly settling in as creatures of Washington.
The 15 official freshmen members of the Tea Party Caucus raised a combined $3.45 million from nearly 700 PACs between January and September, according to a joint study by the center and iWatch News.

The joint analysis found that Rep. Dennis Ross, a Florida Republican, has received more than $252,000 from PACs, which represents about two-thirds of the money he raised during the first nine months of the year.
His chief of staff, Fred Piccolo, was unapologetic about the money when asked for comment by iWatch News, saying, “One person’s ‘special interest’ is another person’s ‘personal interest.’”

Oh, how clever. I suspect the first time those words – or something similar – were spoken in the halls of Congress was about 60 years ago.
Michigan’s lone member of the caucus, Rep. Tim Walberg, a Tipton Republican, collected $220,000 from 109 PACs.

Inside the Belway, the center and iWatch found, many of Washington’s most familiar names “spread the financial love” to the new Tea Party lawmakers.
The top five corporate PACs that donated to these freshmen, according to the joint study, were:

  • Honeywell International, a Fortune 100 company best known for its defense manufacturing, which made 52 donations worth at least $105,000
  • The American Bankers Association, one of the major trade associations for the financial sector, which made 31 donations worth at least $53,000
  • Lockheed Martin, one of the biggest defense contractors in the country, which made 30 donations totaling at least $28,000
  • Koch Industries, the company run by conservative billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, which made 29 donations worth at least $38,000
  • And the National Association of Realtors, a major trade group for real estate agents, which made 29 donations worth $34,000

You can read the full written report by Center for Public Integrity staff writer Aaron Mehta and Center for Responsive Politics senior fellow Bob Biersack here.

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