Sunlight Foundation

Doughnuts for donations

bkrueger — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:19:44 -0400

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr has been busy raising money of late.

Burr held his annual Krispy Kreme breakfast this morning in Washington, D.C., and he was honored at a fundraising dinner the night before by the financial services industry, reports Barb Barrett.

Burr, a Republican, hails from Winston-Salem, home of the gooey sweet concoctions known for their Hot Now! signs. The fundraiser was held at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, about a block away from Burr’s Senate office.

Political action committees who served as hosts paid $1,000 to attend, while other PACs received entrance for $500. Individuals, according to the invitation posted on Sunlight Foundation’s Party Time blog, could pay what they could afford.

The doughnut breakfast followed a dinner the night before hosted by the financial services industry in Burr’s honor. That fundraiser, at a Washington seafood restaurant, cost up to $2,500 for PACs and $1,000 for individuals.

Update: Burr campaign consultant Paul Shumaker says the senator’s campaign raised between $25,000 and $30,000 at the Krispy Kreme breakfast this morning, with about 40-45 guests attending. About 20-25 guests attended Wednesday night’s dinner, he said, which raised $20,000 for Burr’s re-election effort.

Burr appears at $2,000 a seat roundtable

bniolet — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:54:18 -0400

Sen. Richard Burr is scheduled to appear tonight at a roundtable on health care. Admission is $2,000 a seat.

The event, which has a maximum of 35 seats, is to benefit the National Republican Senatorial Committee, reports the Sunlight Foundation's Party Blog, which tracks parties that feature members of Congress.

A more exclusive seat is available for $5,000 (limit 20).

Also attending the fundraiser are Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Mike Enzi (Wyoming).

Dome has asked Burr’s campaign office if the senator will release a list of attendees.

The Party Time blog notes that Burr's biggest donors come from the pharmaceutical and health products industry.

Update: A Burr campaign spokesman said he did not have a list of attendees handy since the event was run by the NRSC. He said he would try to get more information.

Burr goes whole hog on Eastern cue

janestancill — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:41:12 -0400

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr might hail from the Piedmont town of Winston-Salem, but any voters wondering where he stands on the important political issue of ‘cue might wonder no more.

Burr will stand up for Eastern N.C. barbecue at a fund-raiser for himself scheduled Wednesday in Washington, reports Barb Barrett.

The "Burr-B-Q Showdown" also will feature Sens. John Cornyn of the Texas beef brisket; Kit Bond of the Kansas City style; and Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander bringing on the Memphis.

Tickets are $2,000 per political action committee and $500 per individual to help host the party; $1,000 per political action committee and $100 per individual to attend. Burr held a similar event last year.

The barbecue dinner, at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is one of several fund-raisers this month in Burr’s honor, according to the Sunlight Foundation, a non-partisan government watchdog group.

Last week included a breakfast and a dinner, and next month there is a golf tournament for Burr scheduled at the five-diamond Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.

Burr is running for his second term in 2010.

N.C. delegation's favorite words

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:23:00 -0400

What does North Carolina's delegation talk about in Congress?

The Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on government transparency, has created a fun new way to answer that question.

The Capitol Words project uses speeches recorded in the Congressional Record to measure the frequency of specific words used by each member of Congress.

Some results from the past year are obvious. Reps. G.K. Butterfied, Mike McIntyre, Heath Shuler, Howard Coble and Bob Etheridge basically said "North Carolina" the most.

Sen. Richard Burr, who is the ranking member of a Veterans Affairs committee, said the word "veterans" the most — some 277 times.

Rep. Walter Jones, who represents Camp Lejeune, said "Marine" 98 times, while Rep. David Price, who chairs an Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security, said "security" 48 times.

Other results were a bit surprising. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican, said the word "Democrats" some 428 times — the most of any word used by the delegation.

To see North Carolina's words by year, month and session, click here.

Kissell to hold D.C. fundraiser

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:56:19 -0500

U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell will have a birthday fundraiser.

The Biscoe Democrat will hold a birthday party and North Carolina barbecue at the National Democratic Club Townhouse in Washington on Jan. 28 — three days before he turns 58.

Tickets to the event range from $500 for a guest to $5,000 for a chair.

The event is being promoted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which backed Kissell's campaign.

Previously: Kissell to hold "defense breakfast" in Washington.

Hat Tip: Sunlight Foundation

The other political parties

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:42:51 -0400

The Sunlight Foundation is tracking the other kind of political parties.

On its new "Political Party Time" Web site, the open government advocacy group is tracking invitations to fundraisers for members of Congress.

For example, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr held a "Breakfast with Burr" this morning at a Washington, D.C., Krispy Kreme. Snagging a seat at the sugar-coated table cost political action committees $500, or they could pay $1,000 to be a host.

Individual attendees were encouraged to pay "whatever you can afford."

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, meantime, favors Charlie Palmer's steakhouse. Receptions to benefit her have been held there on April 24, July 20, July 30 and Aug. 5 of this year. Hosts have included former Sen. Lauch Faircloth, Sen. Jon Kyl and the International Paper PAC.

For a complete list, click here.

Virginia tries YouTube legislature

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:10:34 -0500

What would a YouTube legislature look like?

Virginia is about to find out. Using a $2,500 grant from the Sunlight Foundation, the nonprofit Richmond Sunlight Web site will purchase the closed-circuit video of an entire legislative session.

The video will then be converted to QuickTime, posted on the online video-sharing site YouTube on a daily basis and integrated into the nonprofit's Web site.

Once on YouTube, the videos will be available for embedding on any blog or Web site anywhere with minimal effort—opening the doors to the legislature 24/7 from now until forever.

In recent weeks, both Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Graham and the state NAACP have called for legislative Webcams.

The Virginia experiment shows that's a less expensive proposition than you might think.

A checklist for online sunshine

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:05:53 -0500

The Sunlight Foundation has a checklist for online sunshine.

The goals were developed as part of its Open House Project, which aims to make the U.S. House of Representatives more available online. But they would be a good starting point for any such effort.

"These kinds of principles could work at a state legislature as well," said spokeswoman Gabriela Schneider.

The checklist is a little jargon-heavy, so here's a rough translation of a few goals: Do not use proprietary computer formats, broadcast committee meetings, require disclosure reports be filed electronically and create a verification system for archived records.

While Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Graham and the head of the state NAACP have called for legislative webcams, the Sunlight Foundation also calls for the video to be archived as well.

Currently, the state legislature offers streaming audio, but it does not provide archives. (Savvier computer users can use programs like Audio Hijack to record proceedings, however.)