Special interests funnel $6 million to Florida lawmakers

St. Petersburg Times by Steve Bousquet, Breanne Gilpatrick, Alex Leary, Marc Caputo, Mary Ellen Klas | Mar. 15, 2009 (Special Report)

In the latest election cycle, dozens of Florida legislators raked in $6 million in special-interest campaign money and spent a good deal of it on themselves for meals, rental cars, plane trips and hotels.

Some lawmakers are feeding at the trough of contributors, enjoying expensive dinners at upscale restaurants with donors' money at a time when one of every 10 Floridians is on food stamps. Others are churning cash from one political committee to ... Full Story »

Posted by Leo Romero

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Subjects: Politics
Topics: Money and Politics
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Posted by: Posted by Leo Romero - Mar 15, 2009 - 8:53 AM PDT
Reviewed by: Leo Romero (review), Fabrice Florin (review), Gregory Kruse (review)
Content Type: Article
Edit Lock: This story can be edited
Edited by: Fabrice Florin - Mar 15, 2009 - 12:28 PM PDT
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4.8
 by Gregory Kruse - Mar. 15, 2009

Just the kind of thing we need but on a larger scale. A cooperative effort which puts the reality of political life into the spotlight without undue recrimination. It really brings up the question of whether we have the political will to solve some of these problems facing our public servants or will we continue to let them come up with their own solutions, which inevitably go against the public interest.

The door was cracked open by Reagan and thrown open by Geo. W. Bush. It's every man for himself, and audacity is the word. This could go on for ... More »

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3.0
 by Leo Romero - Mar. 15, 2009
Leo posted this story.
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3.9
 by Fabrice Florin - Mar. 15, 2009
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