Disclosure

Corporate donors fuel Chamber of Commerce’s political power
Major U.S. companies wrote big checks last year to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for dues and political activity, recent disclosures show. But many other large corporations that have helped support the Chamber’s pro-business advocacy and ubiquitous political issue ads remain a secret to the public. The Chamber — one of Washington’s major political powers, with annual revenue of $200 million — pledged to spend $100 million this election cycle to support candidates focused on corporate concerns. But the corporate trade association does not have to name the companies that donate, and those firms can decide whether to share that information. [The Washington Post]

Business, labor rev up ground games More...

Today, the Washington Post joins the chorus of disbelief over the U.S. Chamber's intended shift in election strategy to avoid disclosing who's financing its political attack ads. The Post says the Chamber's switch to independent expenditures from the issue ads they used to run constitutes a "notable shift in strategy for the nation’s largest business lobby, which has long characterized itself as focusing primarily on policy rather than politics."

More...