U.S. Government

"Equal Protection" Suit: A Tired Last Gasp for Tobacco Industry Allies in Nevada

Submitted by Anne Landman on

The tobacco industry’s buddies in the bar and gambling businesses are at it again, suing to try and stop Nevada's new smoke-free law, which voters approved November 7 by a margin of 54% to 46%. The law bans smoking in bars that serve meals, slot machine sections of grocery and convenience stores, in video arcades, shopping malls, schools and day-care centers. Bar and casino owners are claiming the law is unconstitutional, and saying that it will hurt their businesses, while offering no proof that it has.

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Main Source: 
Las Vegas Sun, December 5, 2006
Topics: 
Election 2006
Front Groups
Tobacco

Will the new Congress try to impeach President Bush? Could a state?

After decisive Democratic victories in the recent congressional elections, some speculated that the party may seek to impeach President Bush from office, as the Republican Congress did to Bill Clinton in 1998. After all, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a resolution late in 2005 (which now has 38 co-sponsors) authorizing a special House committee to investigate the administration on a number of matters and possibly make a recommendation for impeachment. Following the elections, however, Conyers echoed the sentiments of Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), insisting that impeachment is now “off the table” in the 110th Congress. Conyers' office has separately confirmed to Congresspedia that he has no intention to reintroduce his bill in the new session of Congress.

Specifically, Conyers' resolution would have investigated the administration's:

Prospects for Ethics Reform in the 110th Congress

Guest poster: Paul Blumenthal of the Sunlight Foundation

Exit polls show that the 109th Congress severely misread the American voters and believed that passing lobbying and ethics reforms was unnecessary, despite the parade of FBI raids, criminal indictments, and jailed lawmakers and lobbyists. The leaders of the new Democratic majority have promised to enact the reforms the previous Congress shied away from.

Oiling The Wheels For the New Congress

Submitted by Bob Burton on

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is planning to launch a major "educational advocacy" program in January 2007 to influence the incoming Congress. The API represents 400 major oil and gas producers. According to PR Week, the program will include increased television advertising, speeches by economists and industry executives and tours of oil and gas operations for think tank staff and politicians.

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Main Source: 
PR Week (sub req'd), November 16, 2006
Topics: 
Advertising
Climate Change
Issue Management
U.S. Congress
Environment
Lobbying
Politics
Think Tanks

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