Think Tanks – First Street Research Group

The Ties that Bind: Think Tanks and Lobbying

January 27, 2012 By First Street Admin Leave a Comment

This week the First Street Research Group published The Ties that Bind: Think Tanks and Lobbying, a series on the relationships between think tanks and the lobbying industry. First Street Research Group writer Laurie Bennett takes an in-depth at the connections between think tanks and the lobbying industry. While think tanks can exert enormous influence on policy […]

Think Tanks and Their Lobbying ‘Sisters’

January 27, 2012 By Laurie Bennett 5 Comments

In some regards, action funds are to think tanks what super PACs are to political campaigns. They’ve organized separately, to accommodate tax laws. While think tanks are usually 501(c)(3) nonprofits, advocacy groups operate as 501(c)(4) organizations. Action groups differ from super PACs, however, in some important ways. They needn’t maintain any semblance of being unaffiliated […]

Filed Under: Lobbying Organization, The Ties that Bind: Think Tanks and Lobbying, Think Tanks Tagged With: Center for American Progress, Competitive Enterprise Institute, George Soros, Heritage Foundation, Open Society Foundations

Think Tank Scholars and Their Lobbying Ties

January 26, 2012 By Laurie Bennett 5 Comments

For the past several days, we’ve tracked connections among government, lobbying and think tanks. Few families illustrate this web better than the Brzezinski clan. Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, is a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He previously held board seats with two other think tanks – […]

Filed Under: Lobbyist, The Ties that Bind: Think Tanks and Lobbying, Think Tanks Tagged With: fellowships, lobbying, think tanks

Lobbyists, Think Tanks and the Revolving Door

January 25, 2012 By Laurie Bennett 4 Comments

One of the most well-traveled career paths in Washington takes politicians and staffers from government to lobby shops to think tanks – not always in that order. John Podesta, founder of the liberal think tank, the Center for American Progress, has traveled this road several times. After working as counsel to Senate committees in the […]

Filed Under: Lobbying, Lobbyist, Member of Congress, Revolving Door, The Ties that Bind: Think Tanks and Lobbying, Think Tanks Tagged With: Center for American Progress, Dick Gephardt, Heritage Foundation, John Podesta, lobbyists, Paul F. McHale, Podesta Group, Quinn Gillespie, Ralph B. Everett, think tanks, Thomas M. Reynolds, Vin Weber

The Think Tank-Lobby Contra Dance

January 24, 2012 By Laurie Bennett 4 Comments

Donald Rumsfeld speaks to the Council on Foreign Relations at the Harold Pratt House, 2004. (Department of Defense photo)

In the world of influencers, think tanks typically keep a distance from lobbying. Although they’re not legally prohibited from lobby activities, the Internal Revenue Code limits the percentage of resources they can devote to such efforts while maintaining their nonprofit status. (For more detail, see this IRS page.) We searched our records for 76 major […]

Filed Under: Lobbying Client, Member of Congress, The Ties that Bind: Think Tanks and Lobbying, Think Tanks Tagged With: Brookings Institution, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Council on Foreign Relations, George Soros, International Crisis Group, Koch Companies Public Sector, Koch Industries, lobbying, Open Society Policy Center, Soros Fund Management, SRI International, think tanks

The Ties that Bind: Think Tanks and Lobbying

Think Tanks and Their Lobbying ‘Sisters’

Think Tank Scholars and Their Lobbying Ties

Lobbyists, Think Tanks and the Revolving Door

The Think Tank-Lobby Contra Dance

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