Another interesting internet tool can be found at the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), an organization established to educate the public about the role of money in state elections as yet another component for maintaining open government.
Want to know who registered lobbyists are or what companies are being represented? Curious about who is spending money to support a particular candidate or political party, even on the local level? It can all be searched through the VPAP site and database.
Who knew corporate giants Verizon and Anthem leaned red in political donations since 1996, as has the Virginia Association of Realtors? Is it a surprise the AFL-CIO has contributed only to the blue cause?
Would knowing one of the largest contributors in a Virginia campaign for senate was made by someone listing their address as Miami, FL seem odd to you? Did you know donors could also be vendors and lobbyists, too? Readers can note reported gifts, trips and honoraria, as required by law here as well.
Readers can draw their own conclusions, slicing and dicing this information by year, industry, occupation or other criteria. While laws like the Freedom of Information Act support this type of access, allowing another view into today's political arena, readers can still only speculate on what motivates such financial support -- be it a specific piece of legislation, to a particular partisan platform, a simple business expense, because of which party currently holds control, due to a hot social topic, channeled toward incumbents who control committees, or those aspiring to higher office. Who knows for certain?
Seeing where the financial support is going, and how it's being used is interesting, as is seeing who supports collecting and providing access to this data.
Who knows what motivates these political contributions? Surmising about who gives to what could become the parlor game of this decade (press credentials or punditry not required).