TPM - NRA Spent Big To Help Senate Judiciary Republicans
The National Rifle Associations executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, spoke Wednesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun safety. There, he came face to face with a number of Republican Senators who have benefited from his organizations spending in recent years.
According to Public Campaign, a non-profit supporting campaign finance reform and public campaign finance, the Republicans on the committee have in recent years benefited from at least $700,000 in various forms from the NRA, the NRAs PAC, or the organizations employees.
Public Campaign put together its numbers with help from data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics and the Sunlight Foundations Influence Explorer. According to the group, since 1998, the NRAs PAC or NRA employees have given at least $120,000 to Republican members of the committee and their leadership PACs. More recently, since 2008, Republican members of the committee have been aided by over $587,000 in independent expenditures.
The biggest recipient of the NRAs money is one of the committees newest members: freshman Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who got a $344,742 boost in independent expenditures from the NRA during his race against former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona. According to Public Campaigns figures, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has received $136,639 from the NRA, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the Judiciary Committees ranking member, has received $78,526. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is the only Democrat on the committee who has received an NRA donation. Leahys Green Mountain PAC has received $7,000.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/01/senate_judiciary_committee_nra_money.php?ref=fpnewsfeed
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To the detriment of the needs of the majority, in the service of their gun company clients, and to give us this: