So much for GM’s self-imposed ban on political contributions. According to The Washington Post:

General Motors reported making $47,000 in contributions to lawmakers and congressional candidates in July, the first it has made since November 2008. The company stopped giving through its political action committee just as it began to seek government assistance to stay in business.

The U.S. government provided support but also steered the company through bankruptcy. Today, the Treasury owns a 60 percent stake in the company, which recently announced plans to go public with a stock sale.

GM earlier gave $41,000 to groups and causes associated with lawmakers. The latest contributions were made directly to lawmakers’ campaigns.

The Post notes the fact that GM is spreading the wealth around to both political parties: $26,000 to Republicans and $21,000 to Democrats. Below is the list of GM PAC recipients from the Federal Election Commission:

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You’re hoping for another 1994, eh? Well, you’re not going to get it if D.C.’s biggest union bosses have their say — and they don’t just have a say, they have a checkbook to put where their mouths are. And both words and munitions are taking on an overtly combative tone.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting:

The AFL-CIO plans to roll out its biggest political campaign ever, surpassing the $53 million spent in 2008 to help elect President Barack Obama, to try to avert a repeat of the 1994 midterm election when Democrats lost a majority in Congress.

If that sounds a bit aggressive, that’s nothing compared to the powerful head of the AFSCME public employee union, who is saying “The time has come to draw a line in the sand…Regardless of your party affiliation, if you’re not with us, you are against us.”

(We’re pretty sure we’ve seen other people get hammered for using the same language, but we digress…)

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