Interest Groups

WASHINGTON -- We tend to think of democracy as a static thing -- we call it a ''form of government'' in school, or we say with pride, ''I live in a democracy.''But democracy is not a mountain or a machine; it's a living idea, an attitude of mind, a spiritual testament. It grows, as it grew with the nation and stretched across the seas through the influence of our example.The question becomes: Is our democracy responding, honestly and creatively, to the fears and the aspirations of most families?

I'm not big into conspiracy theories. I never bought into the grassy knoll in Dallas or the anti-Obama birther movement. And it will take a lot of convincing for me to believe Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan took a dive in Super Bowl XXXVII to please his friend (and opposing coach) Jon Gruden. But I do believe that America's political tilt toward progressivism is the product of a lot of grassroots work by very liberal groups intent on remaking the American economy and culture.

WASHINGTON -- In an unusual consequence of Election Day's vast conservative shift, liberal interest groups are anticipating a period of prosperity. The main reason, their leaders say, is that Newt Gingrich, in line to be the speaker of the House, is an ideal fund-raising tool.Such groups as the American Civil Liberties Union, Ralph Nader's Public Citizen and assorted environmental lobbying organizations say they are almost certain to receive sharp increases in donations as a result of the shift in Congress that will give the Republicans majorities in both chambers for the first time since the 1950s.

Bob Corbett had thought he'd be watching the construction of the mini-neighborhood of his dreams by now - the first co-housing condos for senior citizens in Annapolis. But his plans for the niche housing in the Eastport community have fizzled, ending more than a dozen years of effort, in what Corbett called "a real blow. " Co-housing, an idea imported from Denmark, is built around people who choose to create a community with a social compact that often includes a commitment to community responsibilities and making decisions by consensus.

WASHINGTON -- In a test of free speech against questionable campaign practices, the Federal Election Commission will examine whether some "issue-oriented" political advertisements that promote the views of private interest groups violate federal laws.The advertisements, which appear on television and in the form of "voter guides," are advocacy statements from interest groups -- the Christian Coalition, for instance, or labor unions -- that often indicate a preference for particular candidates without explicitly urging people to vote for them.

With two weeks before the general election Nov. 3, developer and parking lot magnate Kingdon Gould Jr. was the host for an invitation-only fund-raiser for Howard County executive candidate Dennis R. Schrader at Gould's home Friday in North Laurel.Schrader's Democratic opponent, James N. Robey, has asked development financier J. P. Bolduc to raise campaign funds for him.Taken separately, the two events seem innocuous. But they illustrate the competition among candidates to secure lucrative campaign contributions from interest groups with financial influence -- groups such as the development industry.

WASHINGTON - It is finally clear that the nation's most famed and coveted ballots - in all their dimpled, pregnant and chad-bearing glory - will not be counted toward any official presidential tally. But as Democrats warned during the protracted epilogue of the presidential election, the disputed votes in Florida will ultimately be counted, one way or another. With the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Tuesday night relegating tens of thousands of contested ballots to the storage bin, scores of private citizens and interested parties are racing to examine the cards under Florida's "government in the sunshine" laws that allow for the inspection of voting ballots.

I'm not big into conspiracy theories. I never bought into the grassy knoll in Dallas or the anti-Obama birther movement. And it will take a lot of convincing for me to believe Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan took a dive in Super Bowl XXXVII to please his friend (and opposing coach) Jon Gruden. But I do believe that America's political tilt toward progressivism is the product of a lot of grassroots work by very liberal groups intent on remaking the American economy and culture.

WASHINGTON -Nonprofit and public interest groups are scrambling to adapt to President Barack stringent new ethics guidelines, which are so sweeping that they have blocked the ability of many sympathetic activists to get hired by the new administration. Many of the groups are rushing to terminate or curtail their lobbying activities as a result of the rules, which bar new officials from making policy on any matter involving their former employer or clients for a period of two years or from working at an agency they lobbied within the past two years.

IN AT LEAST two races, Maryland voters, in both the Republican and Democratic parties, wisely stiff-armed cheap shot attempts to oust valued public servants for narrow, selfish reasons. Most offensive was the surrogate campaign waged in the Democratic primary against Comptroller William Donald Schaefer by his successor and political rival, Gov. Parris N. Glendening. Mr. Glendening backed a challenge to Mr. Schaefer by longtime Glendening ally John T. Willis as part of a vendetta borne of personal pique.

Laurel City Council member Michael Leszcz was elected chair of the Patuxent River Commission Jan. 11, and Howard County Council Chair Mary Kay Sigaty was elected as the PRC vice chair. Leszcz was first appointed to the PRC in 2005 by Gov. Robert Ehrlich; he was reappointed in 2007 by Gov.Martin O'Malley. He represent Laurel and other municipalities that are adjacent to the Patuxent River Watershed. The PRC is a 34-member, interjurisdictional group created by the General Assembly in 1980 to address Patuxent River watershed issues.

Each January, when Maryland legislators gather in Annapolis to kick off the annual legislative session, they are welcomed by special-interest groups and their lobbyists eager to wine and dine them in the hope of winning a little goodwill. Typically, the first week or two are devoted to large receptions to which all members of the General Assembly are invited. These events can cost the sponsors tens of thousands of dollars as they set out lavish spreads and provide open bars for their legislative guests.

Maryland law allows small political contributions to be bundled together and reported as "lump sums" in disclosure reports, and to hear defenders of the practice talk about it, the tactic is merely the campaign finance loophole for the little guy. The fat cats have their limited liability corporations, personal loans and political slates that allow them to funnel tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars into candidates' campaign accounts with no...

WASHINGTON -Nonprofit and public interest groups are scrambling to adapt to President Barack stringent new ethics guidelines, which are so sweeping that they have blocked the ability of many sympathetic activists to get hired by the new administration. Many of the groups are rushing to terminate or curtail their lobbying activities as a result of the rules, which bar new officials from making policy on any matter involving their former employer or clients for a period of two years or from working at an agency they lobbied within the past two years.

Though a residents' committee charged with studying ways to better involve residents in land-use decisions agreed on 40 recommendations, the group is drawing criticism - from within and without - that it did not do enough. The Public Engagement in Land Use Task Force, which was created by two County Council members, is scheduled to formally report its findings to the council May 27. The group's 40 recommendations include: *Creating a brochure in print and on the county government Web site that explains how to participate in the land-use decision process.

Political interest groups working outside the traditional confines of campaign finance laws spent more than $4.3 million in two Maryland congressional races during this year's primary, according to newly released campaign finance reports, and their success in defeating two incumbents here could portend an expensive and aggressive effort nationwide to target other swing districts in the coming months. Liberal groups have gone after Rep. Albert R. Wynn before, and conservative activists have long tried to unseat Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest.

MONEY'S LIKE heroin to politicians. They want it. They need it. And as much as they flirt with quitting their habit for good, they always come slinking back for more. So even if a bill banning so-called "soft money" had passed the House and been signed by President Bush, cash would still have been a corrupting issue in American politics. Corporate pushers would have found another way to peddle their influence. Public officials would still have been able to get their finance fix. But campaign finance reform legislation (known as McCain-Feingold in the Senate and Shays-Meehan in the House)

WASHINGTON -- A group of lawmakers joined with several women's interest groups and the nation's largest mutual fund company yesterday to try to build momentum for legislation to increase the amount of money that nonworking spouses can invest in Individual Retirement Accounts.At a Capitol Hill luncheon sponsored by Fidelity Investments, the financial services company, speakers urged support for the stagnant IRA legislation by casting it as an issue of fairness to women."This bill supports the notion that work inside the home is asimportant as work outside the home," said Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill.

WASHINGTON -- With their efforts to win more government funding stymied in Washington, medical researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere are taking their lobbying campaign on the road -- and into the presidential campaign. The doctors and scientists plan to raise the profile of their issue by advertising and organizing in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. It is the latest move in an effort to reverse an erosion of federal funding for medical research, and another example of interest groups using the presidential campaign to push their individual issues.

WASHINGTON -- This year's spending plan for the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and Social Security Administration, crafted by the new Democratic majority in Congress and signed into law this week by President Bush, provides a mix of good and bad news for the Maryland-based agencies, according to congressional aides and other government officials. The National Institutes of Health, which funds much of the country's medical research, including hundreds of millions of dollars each year to Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland, received $28.9 billion, a $620 million increase over last year.