This is What Anonymous Funding Looks Like

Who paid William McKinley's presidential campaign expenses? The short answer is: we have no idea. Prior to the 20th century, and especially prior the 1970s, campaign finance was the darkest secret of American politics. Money was raised in secret, often in very large amounts, and spent in ways …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday October 4, 2011

The Prowl: Can I Lobby a Guy I Rejected?

So once again, despite my best efforts, my personal life has unduly complicated my professional life.  My ongoing efforts to keep these two spheres of my being from overlapping are truly failing in a spectacular way - so much that I am no longer quite convinced that this can even be done. A few …

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Written by Vivian Darkbloom on Friday August 5, 2011

The Prowl: Lobbying For Sex

I have been seriously wondering how successful I would be in this city if I were less attractive. I realize I have written about this before, but once again this week I have been seriously wondering how successful I would be in this city if I were less attractive. On Monday, I had a dinner …

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Written by Vivian Darkbloom on Friday July 15, 2011

How Orrin Hatch Enabled the Snake-Oil Industry

Snake oil produced by the nutritional supplement industry can be huckstered in the most truth-defying ways thanks to a law co-sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch. The New York Times this morning features a very appropriate scolding of Senator Orrin Hatch for his close ties to the dubious nutrition…

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday June 21, 2011