Majority Accountability Project attacked at DailyKos

A diary writer at DailyKos, the liberal website that has become a rallying point for Democrat activists, expressed open frustration with the success of the Majority Accountability Project (www.majorityap.com) in shedding light on the activities of Congress’ nine-month old Democrat majority.

“Many of you may have heard of Majority AP (http://majorityap.com/),” read an August 29, 2007 post.  “It is a website that claims to be independent, but is really a far right wing site that does nothing but attack the Democratic majority.”

Majorityap.com is an independent, Internet-based news service serving as on-line clearinghouse of information on the House Majority.  Majorityap.com conducts its own investigative stories available to the public, on-line community and the mainstream media.

Since its April 23 launch, majorityap.com investigations have appeared in more than two dozen mainstream media outlets, ranging from the New York Times to the Rush Limbaugh Show.  Among featured stories were the original majorityap.com research and reporting that led to the ouster of a controversial lobbyist as head of Democratic Freshmen PAC, the fundraising arm of the House of Representative’s freshman class.

Additionally, a host of Democrat Representatives, and at least one U.S. Senator, have been forced to return questionable campaign contributions following investigations by majorityap.com.  U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill and Representatives Mike Arcuri, D-NY, and Tim Mahoney, D-FL, vowed to return campaign contributions after majorityap.com revealed that they had come from a well-heeled trial lawyer under a 20-count federal indictment.

U.S. Representative Chris Carney, D-PA, and Patrick Murphy, D-PA, also returned contributions in response to majorityap.com articles.  Carney had violated a campaign pledge not to take money from oil and energy companies, while Murphy’s literary agent violated federal contribution limits.  Both returned their checks.

Most recently, freshmen Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, and David Loebsack, D-IA, issued statements vowing to return contributions from fugitive donor Norman Hsu, after majorityap.com called both to task for accepting his support.  A third Democrat receiving Hsu’s support was Murphy, who told the Philadelphia Inquirer he had returned Hsu’s donations prior to the majorityap.com report.

The DailyKos writer also called liberals to action, saying “we need to pass legislation that disbands” majorityap.com.  His rallying cry came just days before the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) sided with DailyKos in determining the site was covered by the FECs media exemption, which ”applies to media entities that cover or carry news stories, commentary and editorials on the Internet.”

DailyKos’s status had been challenged following a complaint claiming the site was “illegally acting as a political committee by giving support and free advertising to Democratic candidates.”

In addition to seeking federal legislation, the writer openly advocated violence against majorityap.com.

“Whenever I hear these bastards call us the ‘Democrat party,’” he wrote, “I feel like showing a brick to their heads.”