Month: November 2010

Independent groups flexed

The Times reports. On the way to winning back the majority in the House on Tuesday, Republican challenger after Republican challenger overcame significant fund-raising gaps to beat their opponents, bolstered by a deluge of spending by independent groups. UPDATE: Sometimes losers outspent winners.  The Post explains. In two-thirds of the House seats that Republicans picked […]

From the House to K Street

Who’ll make the move?  Roll Call reports. The exodus from Capitol Hill in January should provide a ready supply of talent to K Street interests, which are expected to field an unusually large crop of soon-to-be ex-lawmakers. But lobbyists warn that the extent of the Democratic losses in Tuesday’s elections will likely mean a glut […]

Astroturf to astrotweets

A new Indiana University study explains that fake Twitter accounts may be involved in grassroots politics. Researchers have found evidence that political campaigns and special-interest groups are using scores of fake Twitter accounts to create the impression of broad grass-roots political expression. A team at Indiana University used data-mining and network-analysis techniques to detect the […]